Summary: Many of us are afflicted with a condition called “I can’t”. Another way to describe this affliction is “limiting beliefs”. Limiting beliefs are what keeps many of us from achieving our goals and dreams. We limit our true potential because we tell ourselves we can’t do this or we can’t do that. In this article, I describe my own personal journey with the word “can’t.” I also give you some tools for overcoming this affliction. Finally, I give you one of the most powerful motivators for overcoming your limiting beliefs and that is to ensure you don’t influence your children with the same affliction.
Many of you know that we run a popular real estate course called Zero to Freedom through Cashflowing Rentals.
In the course, we teach you how to go from knowing little or nothing (zero) about real estate to buying your first rental property.
Your first rental property represents freedom because you’ll have gained the knowledge, skills, and network to successfully purchase investment properties and from there, you’ll have the confidence to grow your real estate empire.
Student Transformations
What many of you don’t know is the transformation our students undergo during our course.
They go from having a lot of fear and uncertainty about investing to becoming confident investors.
Many go on to buying their first rental property either during the course or soon after finishing it. Several months later, we have a number of students who already own 20, 30, and even 40 units!
We believe that much of this change has to do with the amount of work we do with them on the psychology of investing. Our firm belief is that 80% of success is due to your psychology.
With the right psychology, your chances of success go up significantly. With the wrong psychology, your chances of achieving your goals go down significantly.
One example of the work we do with our students is addressing their limiting beliefs. These limiting beliefs typically are framed in the word “can’t.”
Early in the course, we hear our students say things like:
“I can’t invest because I don’t have the money.”
“I can’t compete with professional investors.”
“I’m not good with numbers, so I can’t be a successful investor.”
So much of the early work in the course is aimed at addressing these beliefs.
My own journey of using the word “can’t” starts with early childhood.
I learned it from my parents who had their own limiting beliefs.
I didn’t know it was called limiting beliefs but I observed them always playing it safe and not trying anything new.
It also showed up when they used fear to keep me from taking risks or maybe even keep me from the disappointment I might feel if I tried something and failed.
I know they were only trying to protect me but this has had a life-long impact on me.
To this day, I still catch myself saying “can’t.”
But the good thing is, I now have the tools to overcome these limiting beliefs.
So what are some ways to overcome this “can’t” affliction?
Watch your language
The first thing you must do to overcome your “can’t” limiting belief is to recognize the impact that your language has on your thoughts.
If you keep saying I can’t do this or I can’t do that, then you’ll start to really believe and internalize it.
And it’s not just about recognizing the negative effects of language on your thoughts. It’s also appreciating the power that language has to start making you believe that you can do something.
So instead of “I can’t,” you start saying out loud, “real estate investing isn’t hard!” or “I can learn how to do this!”
So the next time you catch yourself saying “I can’t,” shift your language to, “I can do this!”
Ask a question
Once you start recognizing how often you tell yourself that you can’t do something, the next step is to ask a simple question every time you catch yourself saying I can’t.
How can I?
I have found this to be an extremely empowering question. It puts the power of the solution in your hands.
By asking the question, you are challenging your brain to come up with an answer.
If you keep asking the question, you’ll be surprised how easily the answers will come because you are smart and capable, whether you believe it or not.
Ask a better question
Asking “how can I,” really gets your brain thinking of solutions.
Another great question to help you refine your solutions is to ask the following question:
“Is it possible that…”
The way to use this question is to take your proposed solution to a big problem and start asking multiple, “is it possible” questions.
Let’s say you tell yourself you can’t invest in real estate because you don’t have any money.
In addition to asking “how can I” this is when you want to ask yourself multiple “is it possible” questions.
“Is it possible that somebody has figured out a way to invest in real estate with no money down?”
“Is it possible for me to learn a no money down strategy for real estate investing?”
“Can I learn how to do it successfully if I find the right teacher? Is it possible?”
“Is it possible to find a mentor who can help me build my network?
Asking these questions helps you challenge your beliefs and helps you gain confidence that you can overcome them.
Think about your children
If you are going to make a big change, you need a big motivator. And for those of us with kids, I’m sure none of us want to see our kids growing up telling themselves that they “can’t” do something or achieve their goals.
This is really my motivation and the way I catch myself every time I say the word “can’t.”
I think about my kids and how they will learn how to be from me, as I learned from my parents.
So the next time you hear yourself saying you “can’t” do something, remember that it’s the same as telling your kids what they can’t achieve in their own life.
My hope is that this will also help stop you from telling yourself that you “can’t” do something, especially achieve financial freedom with cashflowing rentals.
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