Unlock Your Genius Zone

The Four Phases of Change: How Flow State Helps Entrepreneurs Push Through the Valley of Despair | Ep. 55

• Ine-Wilme Coetzee • Episode 55

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Have you ever sat down and accomplished more in 2 hours than in the previous 2 days? That's the power of flow state - and in this episode, I reveal how specific music frequencies can help entrepreneurs consistently access this powerful productivity zone.

In This Episode:

  • The science behind flow state and why it transforms entrepreneur productivity
  • How to navigate the four phases of emotional change (uninformed optimism, informed pessimism, valley of despair, and informed optimism)
  • Why music with specific frequencies is the key to reliable flow state
  • Real results from a client who made more progress in 5 weeks than in several months
  • My personal journey using flow state to create and launch Innovation Incubator

Key Takeaway: Most entrepreneurs don't struggle from lack of ideas or talent - they struggle with getting unstuck and pushing through the "Valley of Despair." When you master flow state, you can complete your million-dollar ideas instead of abandoning them.

Get FREE lifetime access to my Flow State Formula Private Podcast (limited to first 100 listeners): https://www.innervoiceinstituteofmusic.com/private-podcast-opt-in-page

Experience the specific audio frequencies that will move you from anxiety and overwhelm to focused productivity - designed specifically for entrepreneurs.

Connect With Me: Instagram: @ine.wilme

Podcast intro music: J.S. Bach Cello Suites, Suite No. 3 in C major, Prelude 
Musician: Mari Coetzee 

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Speaker 1:

Have you ever sat down at your workstation and literally got more done in just two hours than you had in the previous two days? I had one of those blocks just yesterday and it was glorious. I felt like my business was moving forward, that I was making traction, and I felt honestly more energized after that work session than I did all of the ones in the past two days. Imagine a work session where you didn't check your phone, you didn't overthink, you didn't procrastinate and you just created. If you've experienced that, you know what flow state feels like. Flow state where the ideas are spinning, the offers are being created, the words are being typed, and it's just a little bit harder than any other regular work session Just a tiny little bit harder, and this keeps you focused enough on the task, but not so hard that you're frustrated. That is really what flow state is. We are challenging ourselves just a little bit past our skill level and what this means is we are staying focused. So let's look at the opposite scenario. Imagine you are not in flow state. You're going to be kind of like a dryer whose pipes are filled with lint. It is working so hard to just dry these clothes. It keeps working harder and harder. The clothes got hotter and hotter, but they still stay damp, and I know, unfortunately, from experience what happens with dryers like this they burn out, they become a fire hazard and if you work in work blocks without flow state, you are going to burn out eventually, my friend. So what are we going to explore in today's video is how you can use flow state to really get through the four phases of emotional change. This is something that I read about in a book that I'm reading right now fell on the ground. I'm reading the 12. That I read about in a book that I'm reading right now fell on the ground. I'm reading the 12 week year, and in this book he talks about the four stages of emotional change and these four stages if I can find the photo, I will. So in these four phases, you run the risk of quitting. Now. Getting into flow state like having a trusted formula to get into flow state will actually give you the ability to go all the way through and win. So that really is what we're talking about, because when you're winning, you have a tangible result, something you created from each work session, something where not only are you getting into flow state really easily, but you are also proud of the work. You're building, this track record of success behind you, and that really is what you want. Every single time you work, you want to know you're moving the needle, you want to trust that your actions are going to bring you to the goals you have and you want to be confident in the process. Right?

Speaker 1:

So most people think that the reason that they're stuck is that they don't have enough ideas, they don't have enough talent, they don't have enough time. That's usually not the case, kind of like our dryer example. That dryer just thought it needed more time, it thought it needed more energy, it thought it needs to work harder. But what we really needed to do is get it unstuck. And if we get to the root of the issue here, you're going to save yourself 10 X amounts of time. Flow state is the key to that.

Speaker 1:

One client I love, love, love this client so much. Her name's Julia. She joined one of my programs, innovation Incubator at the beginning of March and she came to me. She said Ina, I have so many ideas I literally don't know where to start. I feel stuck with how many ideas I have. I need to know my next step and I need to have a plan, like someone just telling me okay, you do this, then you do this, then you do this step by step and after setting up some systems where she could get into flow state, challenging herself, getting out of her comfort zone just a little bit every day, she got into flow state and she said I made more progress on these ideas than I have in the last several months and I'm so proud of her because she did the work, she did what it took and got into flow state. And now she launched a YouTube channel in like 48 hours unheard of or probably quite rare. She also created an entire new offer, including the sales page. She's getting into conversations with people to sell this new offer and she is about to launch a new lead magnet. And this is all in like five weeks of working together.

Speaker 1:

So the question probably on your mind is, ina how do I enter flow state? How do I do it quickly? How can I make it more predictable? How can I control when I enter flow state instead of just waiting for it to happen, or maybe twice a month, happily having a work session where you just happened to get into flow state? The answer is one word music.

Speaker 1:

Now, when I say music, I'm not saying you have to pick up an instrument and become a musician. What I am saying, though, is there are specific frequencies that our brains are biologically wired to respond to, and what this means for you is you will get into flow state every single time, because flow state is connected to our emotions, your emotions. Think about the word emotion puts you in motion. Your emotions have the ability to affect your actions. Your actions affect your results, and what's the result? We want more work in flow state. So, if we think about music, music really is the language of emotion, and if we couple the language of emotion with a specific frequency I'm going to tell you about today, you are going to win every single time. You're going to win every single time You're going to get into flow state so quickly. So let's talk about really how this applies to those four stages of emotional change, and really how it applies when we have a new idea, because I'm sure, as you're listening to this video, you are someone who has a lot of ideas. You want to know that you're going to see results, and, honestly, this four-step formula is going to see results every single time, because, if you're able to go through all the dips, the valleys, the roller coasters of the cycle of emotional change, you are going to see an idea to completion. You're going to finish a million dollar idea.

Speaker 1:

So first off, before we go into these four phases, I just want to encourage you that your ideas are inspired. The reason I say that is inspiration we think about. Okay, I'm inspired with this new idea, or I had a brand new inspiration today, or a light bulb moment, however you describe it. The word inspiration comes from the word inspire in Latin and it really means the spirit within. So when you have an idea, it is divine inspiration putting that idea in your lap, in your sphere of influence, so to speak, and this gives you the opportunity to see it through. So don't take your ideas lightly, don't let them derail you, but just know that every idea is planted as a seed, for a reason and for a season. Not every idea you'll be able to take action on, but if you think about one specific idea you'd really like to see to completion, as you're listening to these four phases, this video will be 10 times more valuable to you. So go ahead and pick an idea. If you need to pause the video, pause the podcast episode. Go ahead and do that. Pick an idea. I'm going to give you examples as I walk through this, but I do want you to really visualize this yourself, okay, okay. So I have my handy dandy notebook here and we're going to map this out so you can see it visually.

Speaker 1:

So when we start along this journey, we are in part one uninformed is optimism and it's kind of a funny word, I know, because we think about it. We're uninformed, we're very optimistic. It is very literal what this part means. It's the beginning. The idea is fresh. You've got a new Google Doc open. You're scribbling the notes, you're excited about this new offer. You maybe don't really know what you got yourself into yet, but you're excited. You feel filled with hope for the future and, honestly, this is a great place to be. John Maxwell says when you have hope for the future, you have power in the present. So that means that you are empowered to take action. You are basically fearless. You haven't really faced any real resistance yet and the excitement is high, so you're in a great place to take action.

Speaker 1:

Now I'm going to take my example. So the example I'm going to take for all of these phases is when I developed Innovation Incubator. Innovation Incubator is my eight week coaching program and this has quite the story attached to it. I think I actually have an episode titled something like from idea to income in 22 days or something like that, but you're going to hear bits and pieces of the story. So I had the idea October 20th. I was filled with enthusiasm. I started selling it literally three minutes after having the idea and I hadn't really encountered any resistance yet. Nobody had said no to it yet. So the idea was kind of like.

Speaker 1:

I always think about this analogy for ideas. You remember when you were a teenager and your grandma gave you some birthday money. Maybe, if you're kind of like me, you would hold on to that birthday money because it represented anything in the world. It had endless possibilities. Once you actually bought the thing you wanted, the possibilities were gone. You had spent the money. So sometimes maybe you fall in this trap. You are worried to spend your idea because the thing is, if it stays in your head, it's perfect. It has no, it has no mistakes attached to it. Basically, no rejection, no fear. It's perfect. And we can be tempted to stay here. But if we do the right thing as entrepreneurs and people who want to create value in this world, we will take action. And that brings us to.

Speaker 1:

I'm going to draw a dotted line here, because this is the difference between positivity or optimism and pessimism. So this dotted line is our difference between optimism and pessimism. We go into this is phase one informed optimism. We go into this is phase one, informed optimism. We go into pessimism. We are now in informed pessimism. This is phase two. So phase two is right there. And in this informed pessimism, you realize, okay, this idea is going to take more than a pretty Canva graphic and a well-written Instagram caption. You realize maybe you are not quite as qualified as you maybe thought. Maybe there are seven different skill sets you suddenly realize you need to have.

Speaker 1:

I know this was me when I first started my business. I had zero clue what I was doing. I had zero Kajabi skills. I had absolutely no marketing experience, no sales experience, and it is at this point I have to say everybody reaches this point. You think what was I thinking? Am I qualified to do this? Is anybody going to care? The first time I experienced this in the innovation incubator creation cycle, it was day 20. I hadn't gotten any sales yet. And granted, at the same time, it was a very new idea so far, but it was day 20. And I was at this point where I remember my husband and I we went on a date night that night and I told him I have been on quite a few sales calls and nobody is saying yes yet. Now, remember, I still had the word yet in there. Because I've been through this, I know that I was going to reach this point. So what I did is I followed the flow state formula process. I listened to the right music. I in fact played the right music because I'm a I'm a cellist, I can actually create the music myself. And what ended up happening is I hopped on a sales call that very next day and because my belief in the product had suddenly accelerated, because I'd gotten into flow state, I closed the sale.

Speaker 1:

The energy you feel is transferred onto your client, onto your prospect, and then they can turn into a client, because really, what sales is is a transfer of belief. It is a transfer of belief that you believe in yourself, that you believe in the person, that one's very important and the belief you have in your product. Those three things, if you can transfer the belief in those three things, you have a sale. So this is a very critical phase and most people they try to push through this informed pessimism, stage two, with just willpower. But when you get into flow state consistently, when you have this formula, you are going to win and you're going to realize the word win is coming up quite frequently, but you're going to win every single time because it gives you energy, it gives you forward momentum, no matter what phase you're in, and that movement builds belief. That is critical critical for making sales.

Speaker 1:

Okay, it gets worse. Sorry, to burst your bubble, it gets worse. We then go into phase three. We are on a downward spiral. There's hope, though there's hope. We're on a downward spiral, we're basically at our low point. And at this low point you are in what the author of the 12 week year calls the valley of despair.

Speaker 1:

The valley of despair is a make or break moment In the process of creating sales events. I've been now creating these every single month, sometimes twice a month, for seven or eight months. By now I've done a lot. There's been days when I didn't get any registrants. There have been moments when I am literally sobbing at night asking my husband why am I doing this? Is it worth it? Is it really worth it? Is it worth the work? Am I capable? And it is points of times like this when I am 99% tempted to give up.

Speaker 1:

But if there's one thing I've learned in my seven years of entrepreneurship is winners do not quit and quitters do not win. And the second thing is this you cannot fail if you do not quit. So I follow a flow state formula. I actually have a link for you for the flow state formula. So if you want to just skip ahead and get that, absolutely do. It is free for the first hundred people. It's an activation that's going to get you into this flow state I keep talking about. But keep listening because this is going to actually help you.

Speaker 1:

So most people, what they do here, they're in the valley of despair. They go, oh, this is too hard, can't do it, back up to uninformed optimism because that's easier. It's so much easier. It feels good to start something new. But here's the thing If you do not go through the valley, you will not harvest the fruit. Last June I was at a sales conference and my sales coach I will never forget her last presentation, that one of the things she said at the very, very end of this conference. She was telling us about this valley of despair and she said something that just blew my mind. She said the valley is where the fruit grows.

Speaker 1:

The only way to access the fruit of your labors, the fruit you have been planting, the seeds you've been planting, is to go through. You have to go through. In fact, in Psalm 23, he talks about going through the valley of the shadow of death. You have to go through, like if that's the message that I can give you. You have to go through, you have to push through, because here's what happens when you go through. With the right tools to support you, like the flow state formula, you will reach my favorite phase informed optimism. And X marks the spot. Really should do an X instead of a circle. X marks the spot informed optimism.

Speaker 1:

This is stage four. You have really reached results. You're finally starting to see results from your hard work. I remember just last night I was telling my husband I have been waiting to see results from my work for seven years. I have been doing trial and error for seven years straight, every day, knowing I will reach a point where I look back and I know the work was worth it. Now, what I want to encourage you with is this process doesn't have to take you seven years. You can, in fact, go through all these phases with support. In about eight weeks, you can reach informed optimism which then actually flows into a surprise phase five, right here success and fulfillment. It is possible. You can skip the trial and error phase and learn from my seven years.

Speaker 1:

But what I want to encourage you with today, the one action to take is to get into flow state, because it makes each of these phases easier. It is not the full picture, not the full answer, but what it's going to do is give you hope. It's going to give you the ability to push through when things get tough, and I've been really leaning into my tough love as a coach these days and it's working. So, as your coach, as you're watching this video, listening to this episode, I want to encourage you. You've got this. You are more capable than you think. Most people do not reach their potential because they don't believe in how big their potential really is. So sell yourself on yourself. That is the number one best sale you can make is to sell yourself on yourself and you will see the results you're looking for.

Speaker 1:

So, my friend, your one action that I want to leave you with today is to sign up for the flow state formula private podcast. It's an experience where you will move from anxiety, from despair, from the negative emotions in the pessimism, the valley of despair type of moment, into a feeling of peace, into a feeling of groundedness. You can see like I'm sitting more, I'm sitting with better posture, I'm like leaning into my seat because I feel grounded when I think about what this music does. This music has specific frequencies designed to take you into that desired state. So, my friend, to take you into that desired state. So, my friend, you've got this, the music has got you, and I wish you the best of success. So go take that action and then send me a message on Instagram with your thoughts, with your ideas, what comes up for you as you listen to this music. And the first 100 people get it for free. So definitely act fast. You'll get lifetime free access to the resource.

Speaker 1:

There's actually an episode I'm working on right now with a dear friend of mine, a collaboration we've been we've been waiting, honestly, to do for about six months, but it's finally in the works. So, my friend, go, take action, go listen to the private podcast and I will see you next time. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend, share this YouTube video. It means the world to me and gives the ability for this show to grow and for you to grow along with it. So go ahead and hit subscribe, hit the follow button and I will see you in the next one.