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- [00:00]
Cliff Ravenscraft
In this episode of Podcast Answer Man, I am sharing with you a conversation that I had with Alex Freeman in his Upflip podcast from about two years ago. It's not very common for me to share an episode that I've already done in the past, and this actually isn't even one of those. I did recently republish this in the Cliff Ravenscraft show, but I wanted to bring it here to Podcast Answer man because for the first decade or so of training and teaching people how to podcast, I witnessed something, and that is that back then, I was focused only on helping people answer the technical questions and overcoming the technical hurdles of how to successfully launch a podcast. And yet, what they were most wanting to do with that podcast was to do what I've done. They were inspired by my own podcasting journey of going from hobby to full time career, creating a business, doing the work that I feel most called to
- [01:02]
do in the world.
- [01:03]
And they wanted to do the same. And what I recognized is that while most of my students and clients back in those days had successfully launched a show that technically was produced incredibly well, and also the audio quality was phenomenal, most of those people failed to find their path to success in creating a consistent income as a thought leader doing work that they felt most called to
- [01:37]
do in the world.
- [01:38]
And when I began to see and witness that pattern and recognized that the most common issues for the people that I was serving was not the technical stuff, that's when I made the decision to branch out and to expand into helping these individuals with business strategy and business mindset. And as a result of seeing a radical shift in the trajectory of the lives of those who were creating successful businesses and using podcasts to reach an audience in a profound way that led to the outcomes that they were hoping to achieve, word got around. And that's when I was invited to be a guest on the Upflip podcast. And Alex Freeman wanted to really dig into some of the biggest principles that I was sharing around business mindset. What does it take to truly succeed in creating a business? And if you are out there and you've been wanting to generate an income as a thought leader, as a coach, if you've been creating content and you haven't yet seen consistent financial success, I believe you're going to find something meaningful for your journey in this conversation.
- [03:04]
Half of all businesses fail in their first year. 80% have failed within five years, 96% of all businesses fail within the first decade. That means that only 4% of people who create a business have a business 10 years later. And that doesn't mean that those 4% actually succeed and are profitable. It just means that they're still, they're still moving along. And I'm my belief is that the wrong mindset or a negative mindset is actually the reason for all of those failures.
- [03:38]
Alex Freeman
Why do some people achieve great success in business while others fail? The way they think about and approach their business is a big factor. And that's something Cliff Ravenscraft, the Mindset Answer man, knows well. I'm Alex Freeman and today on the Upflip podcast, I'm talking to Cliff about how to achieve a mindset that leads to success in business. He'll explain what a mindset is, how that impacts business decisions and share actionable steps to make lasting changes that will catapult you to success. Let's get to the conversation. Cliff. Thanks for joining us today, Alex.
- [04:09]
Cliff Ravenscraft
I am super honored to be here. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
- [04:13]
Alex Freeman
So, to just start us off, can you talk a bit about your background and how you've become an authority on podcasting and business?
- [04:19]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Sure. For me, it all started when I began podcasting as a hobby with my wife about the television show Lost back in 2005. We were one of the first few hundred podcasters in the world. And by our third episode, because there were so many people who wanted to listen to podcasts, but so few podcasters, we had 27,000 subscribers by that third episode. And then we decided to launch a few other shows and by the end of our first year we were reaching hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. And then within two years I made a decision. I wanna do this full time. And my main source of income was podcast coaching and consulting, teaching people how to launch a podcast. Things took off professionally and as a result of a few influencers who had pretty large audiences, I became incredibly well known. I started hosting Disney cruises for our community, which got the attention of the CEO and co founder of Blog World. He invited me to come speak. It was a standing room only kind of gig. And he then invited me to become the director podcasting for Blog World New Media Expo, which was the industry leading conference for social media at the time. Over the course of 12 years, I helped more than 40,000 people successfully launch a podcast, generating a few million dollars in the process.
- [05:36]
Alex Freeman
Incredible. Lost is unfortunately not in the purview of this podcast, but I absolutely am obsessed with that. That was the starting point because I'm also a huge Lost fan. But in a broad sense, can we talk about the the term business mindset, can you break that down for us and what we should be thinking is being included in that term when we use it?
- [05:56]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, for me, I think about contrasting business mindset with, let's just say, an employee mindset. I think that a business mindset includes the following beliefs that people pay you for value or transformation, not for your time. I believe that you don't have to work hard for money, you simply need to provide value. How much money you charge for your products and services is based upon how much value you bring to the client or customer and that there's no such thing as failure, there's only education, temporary setbacks that allow you to learn new lessons that leads towards the perfect plan to get you to your desired outcome.
- [06:37]
Alex Freeman
You've also talked about a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset. Can you break down the what those two terms are as well, and which one is better for an entrepreneur?
- [06:46]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, a fixed mindset is the belief that you can only work with the amount of skills, talents and abilities that you are either born with or that you had attained by a certain age. You know, there's this saying out there that says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. That's a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is one where you believe that you never stop growing. It's an unceasing process. You can always learn a new skill. Abilities and talents can be acquired through passion and practice at any age. And I personally believe that a growth mindset is better for everyone. Certainly it's required for anyone who is an entrepreneur that needs to pivot in business to keep up with the changing world that we live in.
- [07:30]
Alex Freeman
So is a business mindset the same thing as an entrepreneurial mindset? And if it isn't, how do they differ?
- [07:36]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I suppose that somebody could be a senior leader within a company and have a business mindset, but not have what it takes mindset wise to actually own your own business. I think that an entrepreneurial mindset requires that a person have a certain system of beliefs around the idea of risk taking and also realizing and fully accepting the fact that the results of those risks are their responsibility alone.
- [08:03]
Alex Freeman
So now that we've kind of established some of the. Some of the different terms that we may refer to here as we go through the rest of the interview. The next question, I guess is, is why are we talking about this? Why is mindset important for a business leader? And what are the advantages of making sure you have the right mindset?
- [08:19]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I think that mindset boils down to, first of all, understanding a set of beliefs that you hold in your mind. For example, it's what you believe is possible, what you believe is not possible. How you believe things should be what you believe you should or should not do. And the problem is that most of our beliefs were established at very early age. And all beliefs have consequences. So our beliefs determine how we think about any situation in life. It determines what actions we're going to take, and the actions that we take determine the results that we get. So every belief or your mindset about anything, positive or negative, has consequences. The advantage of having a growth mindset is that you can actually change what you believe.
- [09:05]
Alex Freeman
I guess the flip side of that would be a negative mindset that somebody might find themselves in. Can you talk about the risks or downsides of failing to cultivate that business mindset?
- [09:15]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, sure. It shows up in all the statistics. Half of all businesses fail in their first year. 80% have failed within five years. 96% of all businesses fail within the first decade. That means that only 4% of people who create a business have a business 10 years later. And that doesn't mean that those 4% succeed and are profitable. It just means that they're still. They're still moving along. My belief is that the wrong mindset or a negative mindset is actually the reason for all of those failures. So success in any area of life, including business, is 20% of knowing what to do and how to do it. It's not a lack of knowledge. The issue is that 80% of success in any area of life, including business, is mindset. It's the ability to consciously and rationally change and evaluate what it is that you believe to be true. It's your ability to control how you think and feel in any given situation. It's the ability to control your emotional state of mind so that you can respond rather than react. So the downside of failing to cultivate a business mindset is that your business is almost certainly to fail.
- [10:28]
Alex Freeman
And then what are the key characteristics of the successful business mindset?
- [10:33]
Cliff Ravenscraft
It's that belief step I was talking about earlier. People are paying you for value, not your time. The key characteristics are that you could actually work less, make more. Another key characteristic is that you're not constantly blown like the wind every time some sort of unexpected situation shows up in your business. In fact, you expect the unexpected.
- [10:54]
Alex Freeman
What are some of the red flags that someone should look out for that might indicate they need to shift their mindset?
- [11:01]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Two main red flags immediately that stand out to me, number one, they often experience stress and overwhelm when faced with any unexpected situation within their business. Or number two, the business is not consistently profitable month after month.
- [11:20]
Alex Freeman
And then how are, how are somebody's mindset and outlook related? Are those two terms for the same thing or are they slightly different somehow?
- [11:28]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, when I think about the question of outlook and mindset, I think about outlook as having vision. And there's a saying out there that goes that without vision the people will perish. I believe that this also applies to business, that without the vision, the business will perish without a proper outlook. And I think that the quality of the vision that an entrepreneur will have for their business will be directly in proportion to what they have as a mindset. If they have a limiting beliefs about what is possible, they'll have a limited vision of what they can create with their business.
- [12:02]
Alex Freeman
When I think about a business mindset, I often think about either serial entrepreneurs or high level CEOs that have proven they can operate in multiple industries. Which, which begs the question of is there one kind of ideal business mindset that everyone should be aspiring? Or does the quote unquote right mindset change between the individual and maybe the industry that they're working in?
- [12:27]
Cliff Ravenscraft
My experience is that the right mindset, once acquired, you can actually use that to achieve success in any area of life, but also in any business. And that's why you'll find out there in the corporate world, you'll have CEOs of a major corporation can be, you know, acquired by another company to come in and fix things based upon their experience, even though it's a completely different industry. Of course, I see this in tech companies where one tech company focus on software as a solution and another tech company is a product based business. But I've also seen it in somebody who's an insurance company CEO, then all of a sudden coming in and taking over something that completely outside of the industry of insurance. So I think that once you learn the mindset, which is again 80% of success, you can go into any situation and use that skill of your mindset to transform any business.
- [13:25]
Alex Freeman
What is one thing about business mindsets that people often get wrong or misunderstand and how should they approach it instead?
- [13:32]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I think many people believe that they can change their limited mindset or their beliefs simply by reciting affirmations. I've often heard people say, well, if I could just say this enough times, eventually I'll start to believe it. I'm a huge fan of affirmations, but they don't work unless you discover the power of the subconscious mind and how to communicate with your subconscious mind. And for this, I would just simply recommend two different books. One would be Psycho Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, and the other book is Think and Grow rich, specifically Chapter 4, titled Auto Suggestion by Napoleon Hill.
- [14:11]
Alex Freeman
If someone has never gone through any kind of self reflection, particularly about their mindset, what are the steps that they should take to identify where their mindset is?
- [14:22]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Currently, this is super easy simply by asking questions. And I've got seven questions here that help me instantly find out what somebody's mindset is. So question number one is, what is something that you'd like to experience in your business that you are not currently experiencing? Number two, do you believe it's possible to experience that in your business? Number three, how long do you think it'd take to make that a reality in your business? Number four, what is one, two or three actions that you could take within the next seven days, 30 days, or 90 days that'll get you closer to that outcome? Number five, why haven't you already taken these actions? Number six, what is one or two things that you need to put an end to to make this a reality? And number seven, why have you not already put an end to that? All right, and then so these questions right here, I believe that will actually reveal the current beliefs and mindset that are related to whatever goal or dream or desired outcome that they're going after.
- [15:19]
Alex Freeman
And then once somebody's identified where, where the mindset might need some adjustments, what, what's next? What steps should they be taking to. To shift that mindset?
- [15:28]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I came up with six steps for this. Number one would be make a list of all of the beliefs that are associated with that particular area. Number two, determine the source of those beliefs. Where did you pick that up from? Number three, evaluate the truth of those beliefs. Is there any evidence to the contrary? Number four, disassociate from every belief that does not support the movement towards your desired outcome. And number five, replace limiting beliefs with empowering alternative beliefs. And number six, condition these new beliefs through repetition and, and by creating an environment that will support them.
- [16:05]
Alex Freeman
I mean, I think that those are incredibly clear steps. I think the questions are also very clear. But changing how one thinks is not easy. So what are some resources or tools that people can use to make sure they effectively make those adjustments?
- [16:21]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, one thing I would say is that changing how you think isn't easy is actually a belief. And I personally have discovered that it's incredibly easy to change how you think. And it can be done in an instant once you learn how to communicate with your subconscious mind. And I actually do have three books that I would recommend. Two of them I mentioned already, Psycho Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. Book number two, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and book number three would be Unlimited Power by Tony Robbins. If you were to read each of those books two or three times, you will find it's easy. And you can change what you believe and how you think in an instant, in a single conversation.
- [17:07]
Alex Freeman
What are some signs that someone could benefit from from coaching or a mentorship to, to help them shift their mindset? And how important is that for. For someone who is, who is trying to make those changes?
- [17:16]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, three signs that you could benefit would be, number one, are you currently easily stressed or overwhelmed when an unexpected situation shows up in your business? Are you having trouble consistently, month after month showing a profit in your business? Or number three, another big sign that you could benefit from coaching or mentorship is do you ever feel like you're working a lot but you're not feeling fulfilled, that you feel like you're missing something in your life? Any of those? Of course, I could go on and on about the things that would give you a sign that you could benefit from some coaching or mentorship, but the importance of getting, whether it's coaching, mentorship, or seeking some help with this limited mindset that's holding you back, it's essential for success to get beyond what you currently think and how you currently feel about life and about the situations you're facing. So it's essential, whether it's coaching, mentoring, or education in some other way. You've got to. You can't get different results in life or in business without changing what you believe, how you think and how you feel.
- [18:22]
Alex Freeman
And in terms of finding that mentor or coach, what, what steps should somebody be taking, you know, especially if they don't have a big professional network to draw from as of, as of yet?
- [18:32]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, the first thing I'd say is find a role model, somebody who's already experiencing what it is that you want to experience, somebody who's already read the books, taking the courses, gone to the seminars, created the plans, experienced setbacks, unexpected situations that have come up, obstacles that are in the way they've learned to create a perfect system that has produced result that you currently desire. Find somebody like that and then learn from them. Now, you may find that person and they become a virtual mentor to you, or you may actually have the ability to create a relationship with them. But no matter what you do, you should find somebody who is already out there doing what it is you want to do and somebody whose message resonates with you.
- [19:16]
Alex Freeman
This is going to bring us to a section of the show that we call our Fan Blitz Questions. These questions come from our YouTube community. So here we go. Quick hit answers here. Alan Fernandez is asking how should a business owner make high stake decisions? Any framework which aids in making those decisions.
- [19:31]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, one of the books of wisdom in the world says this. It says plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. So surround yourself with some wise advisors that you can tune into. I would encourage everyone to fully investigate the mastermind principle and take your high stake decisions to your personal mastermind group and ask them what their thoughts are from their experience, from their education, from their imagination and creativity. Ultimately, in the end though, my biggest takeaway here is not that this book of wisdom says plans fail for lack of following the advice of all those advisors. It says it just that you you failed to get the advice. So ultimately in the end, follow your own gut and your intuition what it says. But do so after you've had some other perspectives.
- [20:23]
Alex Freeman
Brian Grant would like to know what are some mindset tips for dealing with self inflicted wounds when it comes to business.
- [20:30]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Real simple. Read the book the Big Leap by Gay Hendricks and learn what he calls is the upper limit challenge. He describes very clearly how that gets established in our life and how to overcome it. Also another book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. Discover the money mindsets that are causing you to self sabotage in your business as well.
- [20:56]
Alex Freeman
Now that you're at this stage of success, what advice would you give to your teenage self?
- [21:01]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Number one, discover how your subconscious minds and how to communicate with it. Number two, learn the power of auto suggestion. Number three, decide consciously what you choose to believe. And number four, learn how to control and master your emotional state at all times.
- [21:23]
Alex Freeman
Can you tell us about your most bizarre business encounter?
- [21:26]
Cliff Ravenscraft
I'll simply say this. I one day received a check for $12,000 as a voluntary contribution from somebody who was just following the stuff that I was sharing about my business journey. And if you want to read the letter that's associated with that, you can go to mindsetanswerman.com check and read why this guy just randomly sent me a check for $12,000.
- [21:52]
Alex Freeman
Incredible. If you could sell your your services to one celebrity, who would it be?
- [21:57]
Cliff Ravenscraft
This has already been accomplished in my mind back in the day, I didn't think of movie stars or sports people and all this other stuff as celebrities. In my mind, one guy who would be considered a celebrity was Dan Miller, author of the book 48 Days to the Work youk Love. Because this was the first personal slash professional development book that radically changed how I see the world. I used to think that you had to work hard and you had to do things that were unpleasant for you to earn a good living and be responsible. And he taught me in that book that you can actually make an incredible living doing what you most love to do do in this world. And so, in my mind, he was a celebrity, and I did get to work with him. He became a client and a personal close friend, and he is personally responsible for several millions of dollars of revenue in my business. Wow.
- [22:46]
Alex Freeman
Last fan blitz question here. If there was a movie made about your journey, what would the title be?
- [22:51]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Free the Dream.
- [22:53]
Alex Freeman
Cliff, a few more questions from me here. A mindset is a very intangible thing. So as you're. As you're making these adjustments, how. How do you evaluate if they're successful?
- [23:04]
Cliff Ravenscraft
What are.
- [23:05]
Alex Freeman
What are some signs that you should look for that your mindset is changing for the better?
- [23:09]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Yeah. Well, Alex, I kind of see mindset as a very tangible thing. I was really impressed by the opening chapter, or it might have been the introduction in T. Harv Ecker's book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. He said this, and I'm paraphrasing this. He said, I can determine a person's mindset on any topic within three to five minutes. And with just as much time, I can actually tell you or predict what their experience of life will be related to that topic from that point forward. And so I could ask somebody five questions, and I can predict how much income they make. So I think mindset is actually a very tangible thing. But as far as signs that their mindset is changing for the better, simply evaluate to see if they're getting better results related to the things they desire to accomplish in life. So, for example, are they actually dreaming bigger dreams? Are they setting bigger goals every year? Are they pushing through their fears? Are they accomplishing more? That's really the clear indicator of whether or not their mindset is changing for the better.
- [24:12]
Alex Freeman
So then, once someone has made shifts to their mindset, how do they prevent themselves from. From slipping back into bad habits? How do you make those mindset changes stick?
- [24:22]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Two things come to my mind. Number one is repetition is the mother of skill. A lot of people, including myself, I've been known to do this, will read a book, go to a course, hire a coach and learn some new skills and techniques and some practices and some strategies. You implement them and you see immediate results and you just think, well, gosh, now I've kind of mastered that, except for the fact that if you want to master anything, repetition is how you do that. And so it's important that you continue to do the things that help helped facilitate the change in the first place. I've. I've been known to learn and inquire a new skill and then kind of go back to my old ways. And I get, when I go back to my old ways and I typically get my old results again, the second thing that comes to my mind is upgrade your peer group. And I believe that the quality of your life will be determined by the expectations of your peer group. I heard that from Tony Robbins. His mentor was Jim Rohn, by the way, who says that your life will be determined by the five people you spend the most time with. And so I would say get into a mastermind group of people who are living according to the life and mindset that you desire.
- [25:33]
Alex Freeman
You've mentioned how quick and sometimes easy that you think making those mindset adjustments can be. So I'm curious what your favorite kind of mindset hack might be and what quick and easy steps someone can take to make an impactful change.
- [25:47]
Cliff Ravenscraft
The quickest hack is the mastermind principle. Go to a mastermind group of people who are already operating in life at the level you desire to operate. Tell them what it is that you currently desire, what you're currently facing, where you feel like you're stuck. And you will instantly gain insight from their education. Experience, skills, talents and abilities. And a single conversation can provide you with a perception of what's possible that will radically change the trajectory of your life.
- [26:14]
Alex Freeman
So just because someone has established themselves a strong success oriented mindset, it doesn't mean that they won't encounter setbacks and failures in life. So how does having that success oriented mindset change how that person responds to those moments?
- [26:30]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Yeah, the first thing that comes to my mind, and I'm not one of these people, I still have failure in my vocabulary. But I just think it's important to point out that there are some success minded people, they don't even understand the concept of failure. It does not exist for them. They simply evaluate what can be learned by results that have happened from the actions that we've taken. And then they apply what they learn and change their approach as Often as necessary. Failure to them would just mean that they stop trying. But, you know, because you tried something, it didn't work out. They never consider that to be failure or whatever. It might be a setback, it might be an obstacle, it might be a delay, but it's just temporary. Defeat is the worst language they would use to describe it. Failure is a little tough for them, but they see setbacks as an opportunity also to develop a more perfect plan to get their desired outcome and something that's reproducible and something that's going to help them safeguard from similar setbacks in the future. And the biggest thing I see in the success oriented mindset people is that they expect the unexpected. They're not caught off guard when things turn out differently than what they had hoped.
- [27:38]
Alex Freeman
Do you have an example you could share with us of a business leader who has an ideal mindset and so that we can, we can kind of see what that looks like in practice?
- [27:45]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Steve Jobs is the first person that came to my mind when I heard this question. And he often had a vision for a product that he wanted to create. He also often had top engineers in the world tell him that what he wanted to create simply was not possible. It defied physics. He often fired those experts that had a fixed mindset about what was possible. He then transferred his vision of what he wanted to create to those engineers who were able to dare to dream about pushing the boundaries of what is believed to be possible. And today, a few billion people on this planet benefit daily from many products that were at one point just a thought in the mind of Steve Jobs.
- [28:38]
Alex Freeman
The flip side of that would be a poor mindset causing business problems or failure. Do you have an example of that that we could hear?
- [28:45]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Oh, yeah. There was this time that I had a client who scheduled a one hour consulting call with me to help solve a technical issue with a piece of podcasting equipment. He knew that I charged $300 per hour with a minimum of one hour. That's what I did back in the days when I had a limited mindset about business. Anyway, we got on the call, I solved his problem in less than two minutes. He was incredibly pleased and requested that I send him the invoice for $300 and the call was going to be over. I refused to send the invoice because I didn't believe that I earned $300 because in my mind he was paying for an hour. There's a whole other set of beliefs that went along with that, but I a history of refusing to send Invoices just like that. And if you want to learn more about that story and why I used to have a habit of throwing money in the trash, check out mindsetanswerman.com free for a one hour video where I talk about this thing.
- [29:46]
Alex Freeman
You know, we talk about, we've been talking about business leaders throughout this conversation. But obviously to lead, you must have people that you are leading. So how does having the right mindset make someone better at leading and motivating other people?
- [29:59]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I think that if you have the right mindset, a person actually can influence how other people think and feel about what they're facing. They can help shift the perceptions of what is possible. They can help people see things and circumstances in their life from a whole new perspective, giving them maybe hope or light at the end of the tunnel.
- [30:22]
Alex Freeman
And then how does this manifest in the, in the day to day. What are the, what are some day to day habits of people who have a success mindset?
- [30:29]
Cliff Ravenscraft
The very first thing that I want to share is that it's this principle where they read or study for insight, not agreement or rejection. And I used to really struggle with this. I would open up a brand new book that somebody recommended and the way that they're presenting a topic is different than what I've been conditioned to believe. And I'm absolutely certain, I have this great feeling of certainty that what I believe is true and this book is telling me what I believe is true is not true. And so I reject that. And sometimes I'd put a book down. But my life radically began to change for the better when I stopped reading books to see if what it was stated is something I agreed with or I reject that I need to reject. Instead, I just began to read all books for insight and letting that wash over me. And so that's the first thing is they read and study for insight, not agreement or rejection. And then some other success principles are journaling, documenting what's going on, meditation so that you can, you know, break free from some of the cycles and habits of thinking circularly, rest or power napping, recreation on a regular basis, and working out, staying physically active. Those are all success habits for right mindset.
- [31:44]
Alex Freeman
There are the inverse of all of those options being potentially a bad habit that negatively is affecting someone's mindset. But are there, are there some that maybe can sneak into our day to day that is going to affect the mindset negatively without us realizing it?
- [32:01]
Cliff Ravenscraft
There are three things that I see in my own life in the past, and something I see every single day for entrepreneurs and business owners. And number one is eating lots of processed foods, consuming too much sugar. What we put on our food is absolutely destroying our mindset. It there's, there's a lot of correlation there. And then of course, not just internally, but externally, watching too much news media that you know the doom and gloom the sky is always following. Here's the next thing you need to be afraid of that can be detrimental to your mindset. And also the third one that I'll have I'll list here is watching a lot of television show and movie narratives that consistently show the business owner as a villain.
- [32:43]
Alex Freeman
How does helping others help improve your mindset?
- [32:47]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I believe that the best thing that you can do to help is to help yourself by improving your mindset first. And it's only in having a healthy mindset that you can truly be of any real help to others. This is why it was once said that the second greatest thing a person can do is to love others as you love yourself. And also, if you've ever been on an airplane, you've likely been told that in case of an emergency, you should probably secure your own source of oxygen before trying to help somebody else attain their source of oxygen.
- [33:22]
Alex Freeman
You've mentioned a few throughout this episode, but who are some thought leaders in the business world who've inspired you and been influential in developing your own business mindset?
- [33:31]
Cliff Ravenscraft
The people that come to my mind is Dan Miller, author of the book 48 Days to the Work youk Love, Michael Hyatt, New York Times bestselling author and former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, Tony Robbins, Napoleon Hill, and every single member of my Green Room Personal Mastermind group, my friend Ray Edwards, Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income, Michael Stelzner from Social Media Marketing World, Mark Mason, Leslie Samuel. I meet with these guys and have met with these guys for one hour every week since October 2010.
- [34:04]
Alex Freeman
Are there common root causes that you see to the development of a negative mindset?
- [34:10]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I think that the root cause of a majority of our limiting beliefs in our mindset, we adopted all of this stuff. Well, a majority of this stuff when we were seven years of age or less. It was the things that our parents said to us or the things that we witnessed them doing. Same thing with our teachers and our religious leaders, the peers that we hung out with, our culture, news media, television shows, movies, just all the things that we experience for the first seven years of our life. We do not have this critical thinking capacity to determine what am I choosing to believe here? But instead for the first seven years we're just susceptible to any suggested idea or experience and we make assumptions about what things mean. And unfortunately, we carry about 80% of our beliefs from those first seven years that determine what we do and what we think and how we feel today. And we're unconscious, meaning that we're unaware of a majority of what we believe that operates our life.
- [35:11]
Alex Freeman
What are some some other common myths or misconceptions about business mindsets and why are they wrong?
- [35:17]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I tapped into this a little bit before, but I'll go into just a little bit more clarity. Common myths number one, that affirmations alone will work to shift our mindset. And then another common myth is that affirmations don't work. Now that sounds contrary, but I believe that affirmations do work. However, it's only after you have done the work to become consciously aware and also remove all competing beliefs with this new affirmed belief that you have. Now, the next thing is that also most people don't actually have a deep feeling of conviction that their new affirmation statement is true. And so their subconscious conscious mind, you can repeat it a thousand times and it will be rejected if your subconscious mind says, nope, I have too much evidence. Contrary to that.
- [36:07]
Alex Freeman
Something else you mentioned earlier that I'd love to get a little more clarity on before we depart. Here is the Mastermind principle. Can you. Can you talk about what that is, how you learned about it, and how it leads to business success?
- [36:18]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Sure. The Mastermind principle is when two or more people come together in a spirit of one perfect harmony with the intention to focus on a desired outcome. That group can come up with insights and ideas that would be impossible for any one member to come up with individually. I learned about the Mastermind Principle from the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. He said that a person in a mastermind group can accomplish more in a single year with the aid of their mastermind group than they could in a lifetime if they relied on their own effort. And in fact, I have an entire six episode podcast series titled Upgrade your peer group over@upgradeyourpeergroup.com where I go into many stories about how all of that has been true in my life.
- [37:07]
Alex Freeman
And then could you also talk about the relationship between a business mindset and goal setting?
- [37:13]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Well, I think how big a person is able to set goals or dream is determined by what their mindset currently is. I also believe that the ability to achieve any desired outcome or goal is determined by their mindset. So I'll just say one thing. I have a friend of mine who I've been following for years and he often will launch a new project. He's often been known to say, this probably won't work out or this might not work. And I as soon as my friend tells me what his big dream is, what his big goal is, I don't care how much time he puts in it, how much money he puts in it, how much effort, how many, how big of a team he surrounds himself with. If if you go into the set this big goal with the mindset that this probably isn't going to happen, it's almost doomed to failure before you start.
- [38:02]
Alex Freeman
If there was one thing that you would want our listeners to take away from this interview, what would it be?
- [38:08]
Cliff Ravenscraft
All beliefs have consequences. It's as simple as that. Every belief that you have comes with a consequence. If you believe something to be true, then your subconscious mind will do everything within its power to make sure that you live in alignment, that you have an experience that you are congruent and honest and true with yourself. So if you believe something to be true even though it's not, your subconscious mind will make sure to convince you through your experience of life that it is true.
- [38:37]
Alex Freeman
And last question here. You've mentioned a lot of great books throughout this conversation, but what is your favorite business book and why?
- [38:45]
Cliff Ravenscraft
Hands down, if there's one business book you're going to read, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, it is the most thorough and the most in depth study of what a successful business mindset actually is. As far as any book that's ever been published, there's no one book that is more condensed. And if you read that book 10 times, you'd still pick up new insights on the 10th time.
- [39:11]
Well, there you go. That was my conversation with Alex Freeman and the Upper Flip podcast from two years ago. I hope that you, if you feel any urge to at all take notes on what you heard here, maybe go back through and listen to it a second or a third time, do that. It will radically change your experience of life if you were to integrate some of those insights. In fact, I'm gonna put some very thorough show notes in this episode's show notes. So go ahead and check those out. You could even copy those, paste them into your note taking software. And if you would like to benefit from the Mastermind principle, I have been facilitating the Next level mastermind since November 2017. We are a small group of like minded service first entrepreneurs who are absolutely committed to a successful, positive business mindset and we all have our education, skills, talents, abilities, experience, education. All of it that we bring together every week for 90 minutes for the success of every single member of the group. You heard me share with Alex in my conversation with him. I have been personally in a Mastermind group with Pat Flynn, Ray Edwards, Michael Stelzner, Mark Mason and Leslie Samuel and we've met every single week since October 2010. That's more than 15 years. And I also facilitate and am there with each member of the Next Level Mastermind, not only playing the role of facilitator, but also mentor and coach. If there's anything that comes up along your journey as a member of the Next Level Mastermind, you have that access to me and my thinking. I would love to do life with you. If you are interested in that. Head over to next levelmastermind.info. that's next levelmastermind.info. of course you can also email me today. My email address is cliffliffravenscraft.com until next time. I encourage you to take your business mindset to the Next Level podcast and some man.