“I’m not making enough. I need more clients. I must be doing something wrong. I’ll never make it in business. I don’t know what I’m doing…”

Do these gremlin comments run through your head? Being in business is tough! Even the most resilient of us can get down ourselves from time to time. Self-doubt, rejection, second-guessing ourselves—this is all part of the territory when it comes to being in business for yourself.

When we walk around asking ourselves, “What am I doing wrong? Why don’t I have more clients?,” our questions just invite more gremlin-talk.

What we focus on grows. Questions such as, “What am I doing wrong?” focus our attention on what we are doing wrong, which creates negativity and discouragement. When we get into that frame of mind, we might as well be spraying “client repellant” all over ourselves. Potential clients pick up on our frame of mind. A negative frame of mind is not attractive to our Ideal Clients. In fact, when we are in a negative frame of mind, we may actually attract clients who drain our energy.

To shift to a more positive frame of mind, try asking questions that invite opportunity and creativity:

What opportunities are in front of me?

What is working that I can do more of?

What can I tweak just a bit so that I can do better next time?

What do I need to learn?

What support do I need to get the results I want?

Here’s another tip:

End your days journaling about your WINS and Successes. You’ll be surprised how many you have when you put your focus here. When the gremlin voices get loud, you can look back on your entries and see how far you’ve come.

One of my favorite journal prompts comes from my colleague, Milisa Burns: “What went well today and why?” I love this prompt because it not only focuses our attention on our wins and successes, but it also prompts us to reflect on what we did to set ourselves up for the WIN. When you identify what you did that set you up for a WIN, you can intentionally do more of that!

Business success is as much about acquiring solid business skills and strategy as it is about keeping your head on straight. Remember, what you focus on grows!

Dr. Sabrina Schleicher specializes in training coaches and therapists to double their Ideal Clients so they can build thriving, lucrative practices working part-time. Get her free audio training, "3 Secrets to Doubling Your Ideal Clients in 90 Days," plus scripts to discover exactly what your Ideal Clients want from you at http://www.tapthepotentialcoaching.com ;

Do you have a burning question about marketing or growing your coaching practice? Send it to me at admin@tapthepotential.com with “ILCT Blog” in the Subject Line and I may answer it in an upcoming blog post.