Get the Strength to Do That Thang!

Welcome to LegalBiz Cafe! Digitally remastered with AI, in this podcast series, Attorney Shaune B. Arnold gives to frustrated professionals like YOU the tools and resources you need to make the LEAP to entrepreneurship so you can start, build or fix a business you will absolutely LOVE. 

What gives an entrepreneur the strength to leap? In this heartfelt episode, Shaune explores how courage, commitment, and clarity form the backbone of entrepreneurial success. Discover how to build confidence, reclaim your focus, and tap into your true power to create the business—and life—you were born to lead. 

Transcript

Hello, everyone, …and welcome to legal biz cafe. I am your host, Attorney Shaune B Arnold, and I want to welcome you this week and every week. I also want to invite you to listen to Your Business, Accelerated! They are two very different shows. 

Here on legal biz cafe, we deal with those emotional issues that stop you, the mindset issues that stump you as an entrepreneur and keep you from progressing and building an iconic business that you will love. But over there on Your Business, Accelerated!, we deal with hardcore business operations issues that can stop you and keep you from building that amazing business. 

So, you see, we're covering all the bases for you. One show deals with the heartfelt issues that stump entrepreneurs. The other show is all about business processes and legal issues that you need to understand to run an iconic business. So, let's deal tonight with some of those softer issues, some of those heart issues.

Where did you get the strength to make the leap into entrepreneurship? Inquiring minds wanna know! You know, you hear me talking about entrepreneurship, and it sounds exciting! It sounds sexy, and it sounds really easy when I say it. But where do you get the strength to do it?

Well, I think that some people, of course, are born to entrepreneurship. Some people just get it, you know, from birth.

I have a girlfriend who, at age 10, organized her neighborhood’s kids to do plays and skits and things and then charged the parents for tickets to come see the show. She was the promoter, at, like 10 years old. Some people are truly born to entrepreneurship. Others have it thrust upon them, like I did.

In 2010, after the banks had frozen up, my job froze up. I was transaction counsel. If there was no money, there were no transactions.

At that time, I was working at that time to create some business training programs. I had been practicing law for almost 20 years at that point, but I was not emotionally ready to make that leap into entrepreneurship, which meant starting my own firm. I just didn't have the strength to do it.

Thank God I was studying NLP at the time. It truly made the difference for me. NLP gave me the resources I needed to adjust my values structure to support my new entrepreneurial bent. It helped me get past the limiting beliefs and fear that had me paralyzed and unable to start my own firm. NLP worked wonders for me. To this day, I’ve never looked for another job. I just hung my shingle, and I never looked back.

There’s another group of folks that will remain on the sideline. They are hoping to start build a business. They're hoping to fix a business that they love, but they are stuck. They lack confidence. They lack cash. They lack commitment and connections. This saps their strength and confidence. They come home from work and sit on the couch, unable to even dream about starting their own business.

So where do you get all these things? Where do you get the confidence, cash, commitment, connections and courage? Well, you know you have to believe in yourself. All charity begins at home, right?

in terms of your confidence, it really does begin at home. We've talked in earlier shows about NLP and the fact that your beliefs are stored in your unconscious mind. This is why you have to be very careful about what you say to and about yourself. The things that you SAY to yourself really show you what you BELIEVE about yourself. Sometimes, the ONLY positive things that you're going to hear in this world are the things that you say about you.

Be very careful about what you say about yourself. Don't call yourself stupid or useless. Don't say those things because it undermines you. It undermines your confidence. And you need everything you've got. You need all the strength that you can get.

Be kind to yourself. Be gentle with yourself and believe in yourself. Do these things and you'll find your strength will rise. You'll get even stronger when you increase your skill set by reading every day on the subject that that's your passion, whatever your passion is. Most people don't read beyond high school, so if you read, you're sure to be an expert in no time.

For example, I have an audio product called, The Art of Negotiation. In order to create that product, I had been practicing business law for well over 20 years. I’ve negotiated quite a few contracts and deals in that time. This audio really lays out negotiations for you and tells you how to think outside the box, how to be creative, how to eliminate the fear that you feel when you get in negotiating conditions and settings, and how to get what you want from absolutely anyone.

Well, in order to get all that for you, I had to organize my thoughts. Well, despite my long-standing experience, I felt that I had to reach beyond myself and what I already knew. I read half a dozen books on negotiating. I went back and read all the books I had on negotiating, from law school going forward. I don't get rid of books. I used them to pull the subject apart, re-constructed it, reimagined how to teach it and my twist on it. People love it! It sells like hotcakes and it's just fun. When those audios started selling, I became a stronger entrepreneur. Success breeds confidence and strength. 

So, what do you know that you need to showcase to the world? Don’t be shy. Read books on your subject. After you’ve read different perspectives, ask yourself, what did they miss? Does your own experience add a new twist to it? If so, you can write your own book, offering a different perspective, and get your own work out there.

Be confident. The only person who is going to toot your horn like you can is you, so confidence begins at home. You've got to take care of yourself and do all the things that are necessary to buttress your mind and your heart so that you can believe in yourself and you can share what you know with other people. This will give you strength.

Do you have the focus that it takes to be a successful entrepreneur? Your focus is at the core of your strength as a business person. I was telling somebody recently that I think my biggest blessing is that I am one of the most focused individuals you'll ever meet. When I say I'm going to do something you will find down the line, I do it. It may take me some time but, I keep my goals top of mind. I find ways to remind myself of my longer term goals. By keeping the goals in mind, I unconsciously do things and make decisions that support those goals. This is the essence of inner strength. Life has a way of distracting us. To maintain our focus is to maintain our strength.

In order for you to find the strength to do that thing, you will have to determine how badly you want your dream. You already know, you have to commit to doing the work. You may have to put your daily tasks on autopilot so you can fit it all in and get it done. Putting yourself on autopilot also ensures that you don’t feel the daily pain of working to achieve your goals.

To live in your strength, you cannot make excuses. You cannot blame other people. You cannot stop halfway and talk about what you were going to do but somebody stopped you. That's not legitimate. Nothing stops you. Nobody stops you. Do you want your dream? Commit to it.

So, what happens if you run into a block? ...It happens. …Well, reach for your personal connections to get help. Never be afraid to ask for help.

As an entrepreneur, you should be joining civic organizations, spiritual communities and maybe a gym to keep your mind, spirit and body strong. Networking with groups expands your reach. You also want to go to trade shows, so you meet potential clients in industries that you want to work in. 

I leave you with that, friends. You are already strong. You can handle whatever is on the horizon. Your strength comes from your depth of courage. Maya Angelou said courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, none of the other virtues matter.

Thank you so much for joining me on this week's episode of Legal Biz Café. I am Attorney Shaune B. Arnold, inviting you to follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter X. My moniker in all of those places is Shaune dot Arnold. I also invite you to join me again right here next week; same bat time, same bat channel, on LegalBiz Café. Bye-bye, friends.