Are you someone who struggles with imposter syndrome? Maybe you aren’t charging what you’d like to charge because you’re scared it’s too much. Well, my friend, you’re in the right place because while this is not my area of expertise, my guest Dustin is an expert in this area. So, if you’re a creative entrepreneur or you’re working on overcoming limiting beliefs, then you’re going to want to tune in because you will leave with so many actionable steps and I cannot wait for you to hear it!
Dustin Mushinski is a mom, wife, seven-figure entrepreneur, business coach, and podcast host. She’s obsessed with teaching women how to have it all without it feeling hard or losing their mind in the process. She went from being a stressed out and struggling single mom to crazy in love with her husband, raising their girls in their dream home, generating multiple six-figure income, and doing it all on her own terms. She knows that you can have it all – you can have an amazing business, and a love-filled marriage, and a gorgeous home, and be an amazing mom, and make a lot of money, and get 8 hours of sleep all while never missing an episode of The Real Housewives. She calls this The And Life, and she’s on a mission to help you create yours.
The crazy part about money mindset is most of the thoughts and beliefs you have around money are set by the time you are 7 years old. Money is a huge part of our society, and as a child, you see people interacting with and talking about money. For example, if your dad always turned the lights off at home to save money, that programs you to have a certain money mindset when you’re older without you even realizing it.
So, whenever Dustin is teaching money mindset, the first thing she likes to do is define it. Here is how she explains it: Think of your money mindset as your internal operating system, meaning your thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and relationship about money and your ability to have and receive money. That right there is your money mindset. And while we may think the amount of money we make is determined by how smart or hard-working we are, the thing that actually determines that is your mindset around money.
In order to understand your own money mindset, Dustin shares some questions you should ask yourself.
It’s important to think about these things because we have a relationship with money, and if you aren’t paying attention to your money and appreciating it, money won’t love you back.
While there is a lot to digest, beginning to understand that you have a money mindset, it’s in control of a lot of stuff, and taking a look where it could potentially be blocking you is something that is going to help you change your mindset.
For so many people, it’s hard to imagine someone paying them a certain amount of money whether it’s for photography, a course, coaching program, etc. It’s having that mindset of Who am I to charge that? Why would anyone pay me that? This is where you have to take a look and do the work to understand your relationship to money and understand how people use money.
Dustin explains that the concept of people not being able to afford something is all perception. We buy things that are necessities, like food and electricity. The other way people spend or invest their money is on things they find valuable. And what’s valuable to you is going to be different than what’s valuable to someone else.
So, when you are selling your services, the people that are choosing to invest are not just investing in you, but also in themselves, and that’s a huge mindset shift. For example, when someone invests in your photography services, they are investing in the photos and the experience for themselves.
Another mindset shift to consider is understanding the transformation they are going through from the time they start working with you to the time they are done, and that is priceless. If there is one phrase Dustin wants you to hear, it’s this life-changing one: My work changes lives, and therefore I can charge a premium price for it. So, it’s important to remember that people are investing in things that they find valuable, and you are providing a great service that changes lives.
Dustin’s approach may be a bit controversial, but she feels that pricing is an energetic thing, and she tells her clients to go with the path of least resistance. For example, if you’re a newer photographer shooting weddings, and people are telling you that your base package should be at least $10,000, but you can’t even imagine charging that, then you’re not energetically behind that price point…yet. Dustin suggests starting at a price point that you are comfortable charging (within reason for your industry) and raising your prices in a ladder form, which ultimately helps you to create momentum and confidence.
The first thing to understand with imposter syndrome is that while it’s annoying, it’s normal. By definition, an imposter is someone who’s pretending to be someone they are not, so if you are showing up with your camera taking pictures and delivering photos, you’re a photographer. You’re not an imposter.
To go even deeper, imposter syndrome is you questioning if you’re good enough to do what you are doing. When your brain is telling you you’re not good enough, it’s actually doing its job. Here’s why: your brain has an ego and a higher self. Your ego is the part of your brain whose job it is to protect you. It says things like Who am I to do this? Whenever you’re doing something new, it is trying to protect you from getting hurt. You deal with this by talking back to it, but the key is not to make yourself wrong for it. Thank your brain for doing its job and keeping you safe, but let it know that you and your higher self have got it under control. And you can start to have thoughts of Who am I not to o this?
When you can understand how your brain works and learn how to push things back where they belong and remind yourself no matter what, if you have a desire, it’s meant for you, you will be able to overcome imposter syndrome.
A limiting belief is any belief you have that is going to be in direct conflict with your desire. So, if your desire is to be a six-figure wedding photographer, but you have a belief that nobody is going to pay you more than $1,000, that’s a limiting belief.
Dustin believes that the process is the same for every limiting belief, which she calls a limiting belief detox. The first step is to identify the limiting belief, which is half the battle. Next, you question it and ask if there is anything to prove to you that would make the limiting belief true. Spoiler alert: Nothing makes your limiting belief true! If you’re having trouble doing this for yourself, Dustin shares a hack to make it easier. Think of someone you love and answer it on their behalf. What would you tell them if they had a limiting belief?
Now, the most powerful part of this process is that you get to decide what your belief is. A belief is an opinion, not a fact, and opinions can be changed, so you get to change the belief. What do you need to believe in order for you to change that limiting belief?
It’s as simple as just flipping it, and Dustin compares this to wearing outfits. If you are getting ready to go out and you put an outfit on that doesn’t make you feel good, you aren’t going to walk out of the house in that outfit. You’re going to march back to the closet and find something that makes you feel good. The same is true with your beliefs and your thoughts. Any belief you have that makes you feel like you can’t do something, get rid of it and get a different belief.
That right there is the process of overcoming a limiting belief.
Dustin also talks about affirmations and the importance of repeating things over and over again. Whether you think it, say it, or write it down, the only way to rewire your brain is through repetition. When you do that, the neural pathway becomes ingrained into your brain and it becomes a natural belief you have to the point where you can’t even remember a time you didn’t have that belief.
Dustin is obsessed about teaching money mindset! So, if you’re wanting to learn more money mindset tips from her, head on over to her Instagram.
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