6. Dissolving Fear for Fun and Profit

TRANSCRIPT:

Welcome to Episode 6 of HOW TO MAKE MORE MONEY, a podcast that helps you get seriously good at the game of making serious money.

I’m your host Kelly Hollingsworth, and I’m so glad you’re here. If you were with us in the last episode, Episode 5, we discussed becoming the messenger in your business using the skill of SPREADING THE WORD. That’s the second skill you need to create a business that goes to seven figures and beyond. In spreading the word, what you want to do is communicate in a way that people enjoy listening to, and that motivates them to buy. And I gave you my three-ingredient recipe that makes up every successful marketing message. This is how you invite people into the transformation that your business creates.

Spreading the word is conceptually very easy, but it feels very difficult because of fear. There is no moment in your business life when you are as likely to be afraid as when it’s time to get out there and declare who you are. Put a stake in the ground and announce, “this is the problem I solve.” And tell people about what you’re doing, and invite them to come with you on the journey.

When entrepreneurs are feeling fear, mostly what people tell you to do is, “Just put yourself out there. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Discomfort is the currency of your dreams.” None of this is helpful. It’s actually counterproductive. Why is this the case?

Because fear has a smell, and it’s not one that attracts people. I say this all the time, Over the last three decades, it’s what I’ve witnessed over and over. Too many times to count. And recently I came across an intriguing study that backs this up with science.

Some researchers from the Netherlands published their findings on this topic back in 2012. I found an online account of this study at livescience.com. If you want to read about it, it’s linked in the show notes. In any case, basically this online account says that the researchers collected underarm sweat  from 10 men while they watched either frightening scenes from the horror movie ‘The Shining’ or repulsive scenes from a movie. And then the researchers asked 36 women to take a visual test while they unknowingly inhaled the scent of men’s sweat. “When women sniffed “fear sweat,” they opened their eyes wide in a scared expression, while those smelling sweat from disgusted men scrunched their faces into a repulsed grimace.”

What does this tell us? The study concluded that people CAN smell fear. And guess what? To paraphrase one of my on-screen idols Jerry McGuire, this “is not what inspires people.” Maybe that’s a direct quote. I think that’s exactly what he said.

But why doesn’t it inspire people? Because emotions spread just like the COVID virus. If you are around someone who’s agitated, how do you feel? Agitated, right? There’s a reason, when someone is upset, that we tell them to “calm down.” We don’t want to be around someone who is upset, because we find it upsetting. We catch their emotion, and we feel upset, too.

Who do we want to be around? We want to be around the “cool people.” Who are the cool people? According to my online dictionary, they are “fashionable and hip.” They are “very good.” The word “cool” is also used as an intensive. As in “a ‘cool’ million dollars. But here’s the most important meaning behind the word cool:  The cool people are “calm and composed.”

We want to be around people who are calm and composed because they don’t suck all the energy right out of our skulls like emotional vampires. Why are they so pleasant to be around? Because they’re impervious to emotional contagion. Everything’s happening around them. Emotions are spreading like wildfire. But they don’t catch it.

If you want to dissolve fear for fun and profit, and I highly suggest that you do, the way you do that is becoming one of the cool people. And this means dialing up your alpha energy.

What do I mean by the word alpha? Is this episode starting to sound like a vocabulary lesson? Maybe it is. I’m sorry about that but stay with me for a second, because this is important.

The first time I heard the word alpha was, not surprisingly, in the hedge fund industry. It’s a finance term. Generating “alpha” is what every hedge fund manager wants to do. Alpha is a skill-based return. You’ve heard the term, “a rising tide lifts all boats?” When the market is going up, the hedge fund managers who ride it to the top and make money through no particular effort or skill are those boats. They are lifted by a rising tide. And in case you can’t already tell, this is not impressive. We call the profit that comes from riding a wave “beta” return. Anyone could do it. All you have to do is buy an index fund and wait for the market to rise.

Alpha, as opposed to beta… Alpha is where the magic is. And the money. So what is alpha? Alpha is the return that’s generated not because of the market’s fluctuation, but in spite of it. It’s money generated from skill. The skill-based portion of the return is called alpha, and almost no one can do this, and that’s why the “alpha” hedge fund manager is one of the most highly compensated entrepreneurs in the world.

So how do you create this kind of return in your own business? With alpha energy. The alpha in any room is the person whose emotional state does not change based on what’s happening in the room. Notice the contrast. The beta-producing hedge fund only rises when the market rises. The success is circumstance dependent. The alpha-producing hedge fund rises regardless of the market’s direction. The profits are circumstance independent.

And let’s take a pause here and clarify something important. Alpha energy is not gendered. How do I know this? We commonly think of the “alpha male.” That’s the first place most of our minds go to when we hear the word alpha. But if alpha was inherently male, we wouldn’t need to tack the word “male” onto the end of it. So for the female humans who listen to this show and who want to make more money, I want to invite you to cultivate the alpha inside yourself, because alpha is where we all want to be, my friends.

We want to be successful independent of the circumstances. We want to be the person who is calm and composed—and making money–when the market, or the economy, or your particular industry, or the people in the room you are currently in, are not composed. Why do we want this? Too many reasons to count, but one is, that’s what other humans find attractive. Other humans are drawn to the alpha. We’re just like wolves. So if you want to attract people towards you and your business, alpha energy is how you get that done.

The other thing about being the alpha is it helps you see where the opportunities are. I’m pretty much never afraid about what the market or the economy or an industry or a group of people are saying, doing, or thinking, because no matter what, I know there’s opportunity to make money by delivering humans to a happy ending. My confidence about my prospects for success are circumstance-independent, and in this respect I have an alpha approach to making money. And P.S. the alpha is where the money is. Did I mention that?

A third advantage to being the alpha is just that it’s a lot more pleasant. Is there a more wretched, pain-wracked creature on the planet than one who is whipped in the emotional winds every time something happens in the world? These people suffer immeasurably. If you haven’t noticed, they are suffering all over social media as we speak. And that is not only painful. It’s a waste of time. It’s a waste of time because it doesn’t serve anyone. And if you’re not serving anyone, you’re not creating money.

So let’s sum up these first three reasons that alpha is “where it’s at” as far as money is concerned.

• The first is that your success is circumstance-independent. You can make money no matter what happens.
• You are more attractive, and not just as a businessperson. As a human being.
• And your life is more pleasant. Because your emotional experience of the world in any given moment is determined by you. Not by what’s happening outside of you.

I could list benefit after benefit, and I’m sure we will touch on them all eventually in upcoming episodes. But for today, what I’d like you to take from this is that being the alpha is all upside. This is one of the true, rare, and valuable risk-free returns in the world. And a risk-free return doesn’t come along that often, so when you see an opportunity for one–all upside, and no downside–you should jump on it.

That’s what the best hedge fund managers in the world do. When the mainstream press covers hedge funds, they like to talk about how “risky” it is. But that’s just because they don’t really know what they’re talking about. The wealthy don’t get wealthy because they take big risks with money. They’re always looking for the risk-free return, and the best risk-free return I can offer you today is that alpha energy is never going to let you down. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

And here’s the beautiful thing. It’s a gift you give it to yourself. How do you do this? With the third skill that you need to create an income that goes to seven figures and beyond. You do it with the skill of HIGH-PROFIT THINKING.

How does high-profit thinking help? It creates the alpha state and dissolves fear by creating an awareness that your circumstances are never the problem. It’s only your reaction to those circumstances that can ever be problematic. And your reaction is wholly within your control.

High-profit thinking is the activity of reacting to events or circumstances in a manner that results in profits. For example, a “beta” hedge fund manager thinks that a rise in the market is good, and a decline in the market is bad. Up leads to profits, down leads to losses. The alpha knows that there is no good or bad. There is just, which side of the trade are you on? The right side, or the wrong side? The market does what it’s going to do. Your brain decides if you’re going to profit from it, or lay down and take a loss that day.

It’s exactly the same for the rest of us. Whatever is happening outside of you, whatever the situation you’re in or the events you’re witnessing, your brain decides what to make it mean, and what you make it mean determines whether you’ll make money.

So now that you know what high-profit thinking is, let’s talk about what it’s not. This part may surprise you, but high-profit thinking is NOT mindset.

High-profit thinking is not mindset. It’s an activity. Not a state of being.

In business, everyone talks about “mindset.” The importance of mindset. You will hear that you must have a “money mindset.” People will tell you that they are a money mindset coach. Or that they’re looking for a money mindset coach. And you will hear me using this word “mindset” occasionally. “Mindset plus message equals money” has a nice alliteration to it and when I say it, people understand what I’m talking about. What’s in your mind PLUS what’s in your message determines whether you will create a meeting of the minds between you and your buyer that makes you money.

So I don’t want to throw mindset completely under the bus. The idea that you set your mind to something is about as helpful as it gets, especially when it comes to making money.

But just because I use the word from time to time doesn’t mean that “mindset” is a terrific concept to use in all contexts. I’ve been known to let certain words fly that I wouldn’t say everywhere. Some words are helpful in certain situations, but definitely not others. And mindset is not one of those words you want to throw around casually, because it’s not super helpful much of the time.

First of all, don’t we all just want to groan when people talk about the importance of mindset? I do.

You may find this surprising because I am a causal coach. I am certified in a method of coaching that says you get what you think. Money comes, in large part, from mastering this concept. I also am a master coach instructor, meaning that I certify my clients as master coaches when they are able to master this method of coaching that says you get what you think. So I know that what’s happening in your mind is of critical importance, and even I am sick of the word “mindset.”

Why is this the case? Because the concept of mindset suffers from some serious problems when you try to apply it in business or to any other goal that you have in your life.

First let’s consider the definition. (Here we go with our vocabulary lesson again.) “Mindset” is defined to mean “an habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.” Another definition is “the established set of attitudes held by someone.”

Do you feel how entrenched that is? It’s habitual. It’s characteristic. It’s established. If you’re struggling to make the money you want to make, what is habitual, characteristic and established for you is NOT helpful. Because what’s habitual, characteristic, and established for your mind is not making money.

And when that’s where your mind is, it can feel impossible to go anywhere else. This is why you’ll see people throw up their hands and say, “I just don’t have a money mindset.” As if money mindsets are dropped into our mouths when we’re infants. As if we’re all baby birds, waiting to be fed, but only some of us get the best worms.

When people are focused on mindset, almost universally, what is not front and center in their minds is that thinking is a verb. Mindset is a noun. A static thing that you have or don’t have. Thinking is a verb. It’s something you do. Something you control. It’s not something that’s in your possession, or missing from your life.

Guess which leads to more money, when you’re not currently making money? Thinking. Not mindset.

So today, while we’re focusing on skill, and how we can develop our skills to make so much more money, we’re going to throw the static nature of “Mindset” under the bus. And embrace the ACTION of thinking instead. You may still hear me use the word mindset, because I love the formula mindset plus message equals money. It’s fun to say. But I want to stress that the way you get a mindset is not by a rich juicy worm being dropped into your mouth. You develop a mindset by exercising your brain. Thinking is the activity that builds your money-making muscle—your brain—and for most of us, there’s nothing characteristic or established or habitual about it. if you want to make money, you’re going to be exercising your way out of a lifetime of faulty programming and low-profit thinking about where money comes from, and into a new way of thinking that supports making money.

It’s the difference between “Money appears when the market goes up, and disappears when the market goes down,’ vs. “Money appears when I think effectively, independent of what the market does.”

This is a foreign concept to many of us. Make money no matter what the market does? No matter what else happens? And in this respect, high-profit thinking is just like Pilates. You look at the things some people do when they’re doing Pilates. And you think wow that’s amazing. Maybe yoga. It’s Foreign at first, and eventually you get good at it. At some point, when you’ve worked that muscle enough, you’ll be seriously in shape and flexible, and you’ll be able to do things other people can’t do. Because you and will have built up some serious muscle, and muscle memory. We can call that mindset, but the important thing to notice is that high-profit thinking is the activity that gets you there. It’s an action that you do every day. It’s just like going to the gym and lifting the weights or logging the miles on the treadmill. Mindset is merely the byproduct of putting in the reps.

This is where the rubber meets the road, my friends. Lots of folks will talk about wanting it, but few are willing to actually put in the reps. It’s even worse than working out, as far as the number of people who are willing to do it, because the brain is the highest calorie-burning organ in your body, and it’s also the laziest. So the willingness to work your brain, and to think in ways that create money, when that feels foreign, isn’t something you’re going to find in very many people. And this is a big reason that a few people will always make money, no matter what you do to them, or where you put them. They’re simply willing to put in the reps, and to use their brains to play a bigger game.

So now the question is, is this you? Are you ready to use your brain to play a bigger game? If so, then the skill of high-profit thinking sounds right up your alley, and you’re one step closer to getting that seven-plus figure income that we all want.

What’s the next step? Stay tuned for the next episode. Because we’re talking about the fourth skill for generating that income you want, and it takes high profit thinking and dials it up even higher. It’s fascinating. I don’t want you to miss it, so stay tuned for that, and thank you for being here today.