Is Your Business Problem Technical or Spiritual?

I recently received a call from someone I respect highly who was asking about some challenges they were facing in their business. They came to me because they wondered if there was a “lack” mentality operating and keeping them from succeeding.

After asking a few questions, and listening to the answers, I pointed out some marketing issues in their business. I also said, “I feel pretty darn confident there’s not a lack mentality operating here. I think it’s just a marketing issue.”

It can be very, very painful to you as a business owner. I’ve seen people spend a tremendous amount of time, money and energy working on their beliefs, only to see their business still struggle because some very simple fixes were needed in the marketing or in the business model.

However, I’ve also seen folks work exhaustively on the technical aspects of their business, and yet their beliefs, mindset, and heart-attitude kept sabotaging their efforts.

Whether I’m working with our clients or mentoring the Heart of Business practitioners, or just talking with colleagues, making a mistake in discerning the root can cause tremendous difficulties in moving forward.

So let me give you some insights into how to discern where the problem is coming from.

From Big Picture to Nitty Gritty

When I was a paramedic, we learned a cascading assessment. Meaning you could use some key indicators to tell which direction to go in, and then tunnel in for more detail.

So in this situation, a key indicator is how much time have you spent in either area?

If you’ve spent a ton of time working on the details of your business, marketing, etc, and it’s still now working, chances are your heart and your beliefs could use some help.

Conversely, if you’ve been doing a ton of spiritual/mental work on yourself, but hardly any learning and development on the business itself, guess what? Time to switch your focus.

However, you may have been spending time on both, so let’s look a bit closer.

Have You Hit Your Ceiling?

My colleague had had extended periods of being much more financially successful. This was a low ebb, and so was a good indication for me that it wasn’t a spiritual issue.

For where you are right now, have you been more successful? I don’t mean moderately, but have you experienced a different category, a different level of financial success? If so, your being knows what that feels like, knows the reality of that.

If you are bumping up against your income ceiling, then you may need to spiritually expand your ability to receive and steward.

There is an exception to this. Sometimes people who were in a highly-paid corporate job, or received an inheritance, and now find themselves with their own business can be disconnected from their previous success. When your paycheck is handed to you, and you don’t fully experience how the money comes in, it can all seem a bit unreal.

In a job, you generally are responsible only for a portion of a business, not the whole thing. Consequently there can be a lot of fear and doubt that can creep in and sabotage you once you become fully self-employed.

And if you haven’t hit your ceiling, then you may just need business help. I see this with folks who had been successful with referrals, but then the referrals dried up and they don’t have any marketing systems in place.

Are You Clear What You Are Doing?

Take a moment and think about your marketing. Think about your business systems. Think about your sales process. Are you clear about what you’re doing, how and why? Clear enough to write it all down and explain it to someone?

If you aren’t, then chances are there are technical solutions you need.

If you are, and yet things seem exhausting, overwhelming, and too much, then I’m guessing some good’ol spiritual healing and clarity will help your heart find an easier path forward.

Do You Have Reactions?

Money touches a lot of parts of business. Do those parts make you squeamish in any way? Do you have reactions when you face the various areas where money shows up, like pricing, or accounting?

If you have emotional reactions, then chances are it’s not just a technical issue, but some belief, attitude or experience in your hear that could use some compassionate healing.

Most Need Both

The spiritual and the material are not separate from one another, so it’s rarely 100% one or the other. For my colleague, I can’t imagine there’s not some great spiritual material to work on. Each of us has an infinite potential to keep evolving and opening our heart to deeper and deeper levels of love and connection.

The bottom line: don’t depend on just one approach to solve your business problems. Learn the technical aspects of how to do business, and also do the spiritual and emotional healing work to make sure you can apply those technical pieces effectively.

For you, how do you discern the difference between a technical or a spiritual solution?