The Empowered Entrepreneur — by Zach Marañon
November 15, 2023

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Hey bud,

Last week I talked about how important it is to cultivate a positive frame of mind.

I’ve found this to be an especially crucial skill to develop as a budding entrepreneur.

In this issue of the Empowered Entrepreneur, I wanted to dive deep on why that is by reflecting on my own entrepreneurial journey so far.

Overcoming Self-Doubt

Growing up, I was the type of kid to go with the crowd.

To do what the majority would do.

I remember when I was in one of our high school swim varsity training sessions, our coach had us do a time trial.

She told me that I was doing a time-trial for the breaststroke.

I was with 4 other teammates at the starting block, and when our coach signaled for us to start, we dove into the water.

As we were underwater, I saw that the teammate beside me started doing butterfly.

I was surprised, and so I decided to copy what he was doing instead of doing breaststroke as instructed.

After 3 strokes, my coach blew her whistle and waved at me to stop.

“I SAID YOU SWIM BREASTSTROKE! YOU LACK BELIEF IN YOURSELF!” She shouted to me.

Ouch.

She had me repeat the time trial.

That moment stuck with me, because I was unconscious of my own self-doubt until my coach called it out.

From then on, I decided to work on overcoming it.

Hindsight is 2020.

And looking back, this is what led me to choose the uncommon path of getting into a no salary, all commission sales job straight out of college instead of the usual path of employment.

This is what led me to choose the uncommon path of continuous and conscious self-improvement.

This is what led me to choose the uncommon path of entrepreneurship even if I was experiencing a good level of success in my sales career.

I had to slowly and consistently develop a positive frame of mind over time so that I can overcome my limiting beliefs and my own self-doubt.

Facing Uncertainties

Starting a business is hard. There are a lot of uncertainties.

Uncertainty of how much income will come in the next month.

Uncertainty of if the venture will even work out.

Uncertainty of when the next client will appear.

These uncertainties — I’ve told myself — are normal as I set up the business in 2023 (its first year).

To face these uncertainties and keep moving forward, I’ve had to work on 3 things: gratitude, faith, and a positive frame of mind.

Every.

Single.

Day.

I would wake up at 4am and meditate for about 30 minutes just to get myself in a good headspace and cultivate these 3 things.

I’d think of all the good things I have in my life, whether big or small.

I’d visualize the vision of my business succeeding and being highly profitable (even if I’m not even profitable yet).

I’d repeat self-affirmations so that I cultivate the right belief systems to make this venture successful, and collect evidence of those affirmations throughout the day through actions or results.

I’d do this every single day because it guides the actions I need to accomplish for that day.

I find it keeps me going.

Of course, delayed gratification is also key.

Right now I may be in the “Danger Zone” and not profitable yet, but I have faith that one day, things will start to flow in faster than I can believe.

All it takes is time, consistency, and the knowing that things are always working out for us (even if sometimes it may not look like it).

In Conclusion

What keeps me going is the fact that I’ve learned to love the journey over the destination.

Every single progress point gives me a bit of joy — even if it doesn’t directly translate to revenue right away.

If you’re on a similar path, I pray you keep faith in your vision, and go through each day with eyes of gratitude.

And of course, a positive frame of mind.

We’re all gonna make it.

If you want to learn more about developing a positive frame of mind, you can read the letter I posted last Saturday here (in case you haven’t opened it yet).

All the love,
All the power,

— Zach Marañon

P.S. Whenever you are ready, there are 3 ways that I can be of help to you:

1. Follow me on Instagram here if you want a source of bite-sized ideas and content that can help you reach your next level in life.

2. Book a free kick-off conversation for one-on-one coaching here if you are an entrepreneur or sales professional currently looking to create solutions to a problem or challenge in your life but you seem to be stuck.

3. Download my goal setting guide here if you are wanting to create clarity on your desired outcomes (Free until 100 downloads — and then I convert it to a paid resource).

P.P.S. If you are from the Philippines and are looking for a personal mastery workshop to help you experience growth and transformation, check out Discovery by I Am Plus Coaching and Training Systems. It’s where my journey of self evolution personally got fast-tracked.