3 Powerful Ways to Get Rid of Self Doubt About Money How to decide you're not going to listen to the negative voice in your head anymore.

By Noah St. John Edited by Jessica Thomas

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Thomas Barwick | Getty Images

No matter how successful of an entrepreneur you are, there's always going to be a voice in your head that says I can't do it. These thoughts are something I refer to as "head trash" with my clients.

Here's an example of a scenario when this voice seriously affected one of my clients. She was nervous because she was about to give a sales presentation to a group of entrepreneurs. She's an expert in her field, but she didn't have a lot of experience doing sales presentations and didn't want to appear "pushy" or "salesy," to use her words.

However, of course she wanted to make sales, because otherwise her time would have been wasted and her self-confidence would have been shot. Have you ever found yourself in a position like this — where you know your topic front-to-back but still feel nervous about doing the wrong thing or worse, take yourself out of the running altogether?

Nowhere is learning to silence this voice as important as when it comes to money. Listening to the voice enough could hinder your sales goals and make your company less financially secure. Here are three of my secrets to getting rid of your head trash about money.

Identify the issues

Think about one of the goals that you have for yourself or your company. As you're thinking about this goal of yours, your very next thought might go something like this...I really want to hit the goal, but...

  • I can't do it because I don't have the time.
  • I can't do it because I don't have the money.
  • I can't do because I'm divorced.
  • I can't do because I have kids.
  • Because I live in the wrong city.
  • Because I didn't go to the right college.
  • Because because because…

What's the problem with that way of thinking? It's that we human beings have a nearly infinite capacity to make ourselves right. Once you think of excuses, you're going to defend them to the death, because many people would rather be right than be happy (or even successful).

Understand how much your self doubt about money is costing you

Once you have a better understanding of what your head trash about money actually is, it's crucial to understand how much that limiting belief is costing you. Consider it in terms of time, money, profit, the effort it takes to grow your business, the people you hire and the people you don't hire.

List all of the ways holding onto that particular head trash about money is costing you — not only in money, but also in time, effort and opportunity.

Make a decision

Once you identify your head trash about money and realize how much it's costing you, now it's time to make a decision. Decide that you are not going to listen to that negative voice in your head anymore.

For instance, I grew up poor in a rich neighborhood. As a result, I ended up with a ton of self doubt about money — along with the belief that I'd never have any. I had big goals and dreams, but I also had that negative voice in my head that said I couldn't do it. So my head trash would say things to me like:

"I want to speak around the world, but who's going to listen to me? I'm a no name from Maine. I dropped out of college twice. I'm nothing special. Who's going to listen to me?"

Even though I was saddled with all that head trash, I was able to get rid of it and launch my business. And my client? Once she identified her head trash about money ("People will think I'm pushy") and saw what it was costing her (sales), she made a decision that she wasn't going to listen to that negative voice any more.

The result? She ended up selling more than $12,000 worth of products in just 90 minutes on stage. Follow these tips so you too can get rid of your self doubt about money.

Noah St. John

CEO of SJECGlobal.com

Noah St. John is an executive leadership and peak performance consultant and highly in-demand keynote speaker. He speaks virtually for groups ranging from 25 to 25,000.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

What Is Stargate? OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank Team Up for $500B AI Infrastructure Initiative.

President Donald Trump is reportedly announcing the news on Tuesday.

Leadership

What It Takes to Be a Boss Every Employee Loves

Letting employees know you're invested in them makes a huge difference in their attitude. Here are four easy ways to build morale in the office.

Taxes

What the Inauguration Means for Your Taxes

In his first term, President Trump accomplished one of the most significant overhauls to the tax code in decades with the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). With issues surrounding the economy and job growth front and center, the next four years may bring another wave of change.

Franchise

Turn Your Love of Travel into a Successful Business with Cruise Planners

Cruise Planners has over 30 years of travel franchise experience and the nation's largest home-based travel agency franchise network.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

At Least 50 Local TV Meteorologists Across the Country Were Just Laid Off — Here's Why

The layoffs are happening at over two dozen local television stations and some meteorologists have more than 35 years of experience with the same channel.