The Direct Seller's Podcast
The Direct Seller's Podcast
Breaking the Self-Sabotage Cycle
Ever feel like you're working ALL the hours, creating endless content, and spinning your wheels but still stuck in the same place? Rachel gets brutally honest about the ONE thing that's actually holding you back in your network marketing business (spoiler: it's not your company, your team, or the economy). In this no-fluff episode, she breaks down the three sneaky ways you're sabotaging your own success and shares the exact mindset shifts you need to finally get out of your own way and start seeing real traction.
Key Takeaways
- Stop letting "perfection paralysis" keep you stuck – Your website doesn't need to be flawless, your reels don't need to be Oscar-worthy, and your funnel doesn't need to be perfect before you launch. Remember: perfection is just fear in high heels – she looks cute but she's still the same person holding you back.
- Consistency beats capability every single time – The problem isn't that you're not talented enough; it's that you're not staying focused on ONE thing long enough to see results. Stop idea-hopping between building your team, creating courses, starting podcasts, and joining new companies.
- Busy work doesn't equal income-producing activities – Creating endless Canva designs, tweaking your Instagram bio for the 47th time, and researching for hours isn't moving the needle. Safe doesn't get you paid, and low-risk activities keep you broke.
- Your self-sabotage patterns are actually signs you're ready for your next level – Instead of seeing perfectionism, shiny object syndrome, and invisible hustling as proof you're not cut out for this, recognize them as flashing signs that you're ready to level up.
- The solution isn't more strategy – it's getting out of your own way – You already have the skills, knowledge, and potential. The only thing standing between you and your goals is the fear-based decisions you're making as the CEO of your business.
- Your success has already happened – you just need to believe it – Have a conversation with the version of yourself who's already accomplished everything you want. What would she tell you about where you are now? When you truly believe your success is inevitable, you'll start acting like it.
Call to Action
Ready to stop overthinking and start getting actual results with what you already have? Rachel helps her Expand program clients take their existing skills and ideas, simplify them into a clear plan, and get them out into the world so they can make money fast. If you're tired of being your own worst enemy and ready to see what happens when you finally get out of your way, reach out to Rachel. All her contact information is in the show notes – and don't worry, you won't get any "hey girl" messages or weird sales pitches!
Love this episode? Leave a review and let Rachel know which self-sabotage pattern hit you the hardest. Your success is inevitable – it's time to start acting like it.
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www.rachelaperry.com
Welcome to the Direct Sellers Podcast, the podcast for direct sellers who are ready to get uncomfortable, build their business and grow a team while changing the face of the direct sales industry. I'm your host, rachel Perry. Join me as we get real and talk about all the things you need to kick some serious direct sales booty From overcoming limiting beliefs to sharing the exact strategies you need to attract the right people who become customers and beg to join your team. I've got you covered, girl. I'm going to be your new BFF when it comes to balancing life and kids while building your direct sales business with poise, peace of mind and, of course, a good set of fake eyelashes. Let's get started. Hello, hello, my beautiful friends, welcome back to another episode of the Direct Sellers Podcast. I'm your host, rachel Perry, and today we're gonna talk about self-sabotage, and I happen to be an expert, so I felt that I was probably the best one to talk about it. But before we get there, oh my gosh, if you are watching this video, you can see this massive pile of dorm goods.
Speaker 1:John Mark goes to school on Wednesday. In fact, when you're listening to this, it's tomorrow and I'm not okay. I'm excited for him, but I am not okay and like cause he's a freshman, this is it. Like I've got all the feels. I can't talk about it a lot right now because I feel like I might start crying. My mom gets so annoyed with me, I think when I talk like this she's like you need to stop, and my mother-in-law too, like you need to be strong, you need to. They're fine. Like this is their chance. Don't let them see this. And I and I try really hard to keep this from him. He knows I'm going to miss him. Yesterday he goes mom, don't worry, I'm going to try and come back on a weekend. And I said no, you're going to stay there until fall break, because I know that that's those first. What six weeks are so important for connecting and all of that. I would like nothing more than to see him, but it's important for him to stay there and get established.
Speaker 1:I'm still really sad and that's okay. I feel like. I feel like my mom doesn't totally get it. Love her, but I feel like she doesn't totally get it. Uh, when it comes to that, like it's okay for me to be sad, it's okay for me to be anxious. So, mom, if you're listening, just want you to know, oh goodness, okay.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about let's. Let's talk about self sabotage. Okay, let's do this, let's do this thing, okay. You can have the best product, you can have the perfect strategy, you can even have a killer idea that could change your life when it comes to business, but you could still be stuck at the same time.
Speaker 1:And when I say stuck y'all, I mean like spinning your wheels, working all the hours, loading things into ChatGPT, creating content and wondering why nothing's changing. That kind of stuck, in fact. I found myself there many times. But here's the hard truth, you guys. The biggest thing this is so much a lesson for me today too the biggest thing that's holding you back right now isn't your company, it's not your team, it's not the fact that they're not working, it's not your upline, it's not your business idea, it's not even the economy, it's you. Yep, I said it, I said it, and I feel like I have permission to say this, and I can say this because I've been there more times than I'd like to admit. I wear self-sabotage like it's my comfiest pair of sweats. Okay, do you know what I'm saying? So today we're going to get, we're going to talk about it right, about what it means to be your own worst enemy in business, how to know if you're doing it and, most importantly y'all, how to stop. By the end of this episode, you're going to know exactly where you might be sabotaging yourself because sometimes it's sneaky and how to finally get out of your way so that you can start seeing traction in that thing, whatever it is building your network marketing business, building your team, building your own digital offer, building your own business. We're going to focus on that, so we're going to get into it.
Speaker 1:But I just want to give a shout out to one of my students she knows who she is who gave me the idea for this podcast today. We were just having a group coaching call this is she's in my expand program and she said to me she was sharing a win, I believe. And then she was or it was an aha or something she discovered and she said you know, I'm my own worst enemy. And I was like, yes, we are all our own worst enemy. So I'm gonna share this, because this is also something that I struggle with on the daily.
Speaker 1:I have to tell you what a big, a huge example, I think, of what my self-sabotage looked like, and maybe you'll be able to relate to it, maybe you won't, but for years, I kept going back to what was comfortable for me. So, as you know, I left the tag team in 2000. Well, in 2020, we closed the doors to the tag team, which was a partnership, a very successful partnership that I'd been a part of before, for seven years prior, and I knew that my passion for the network marketing industry had changed. I was no longer excited about teaching network marketers how to party on Facebook. I had lost that passion, which is okay. It's okay to sort of grow out of your passions. We up-level, we grow, we reach a new. In fact, I was talking to one of my expand students today and she's like I'm just not feeling the passion for my network marketing company that I had before, but I do have a passion for some other things, and I said let's explore those things because this is what happens, right, we sometimes this happens. It's okay, but I kept going back.
Speaker 1:So I started out after the tag team and I was like I'm a business coach and I'm going to teach people how to build their own businesses. Well, that was fun and exciting, but what I tended to do when I noticed myself doing was I kept going back to what was comfortable, which was teaching network marketers how to grow their network marketing business, and I still do that. But here's why this was self-sabotage. I didn't do what I really wanted to do. I didn't talk about building their own income stream. I kept going back to what I knew. It's what I'd done for years. It was safe and, honestly, I was good at it.
Speaker 1:But deep down, I knew it wasn't the only thing I wanted to teach. I wanted to help network marketers create income streams of their own that belonged to them, something no company could take away. And y'all. I kept watching companies close. I kept watching network marketers be left to just sort of struggle and drown on their own. And I'm like this needs to stop, rachel. You need to stop self-sabotaging, because every time I felt that pull to expand and yes, I said expand, and yes, my program is called Expand, yep, mm-hmm, oh my gosh. It's like the Taylor Swift Easter eggs, except it's not an Easter egg because it's already created. But I'm just saying but every time I'd feel that pull, I'd slide right back into my comfort zone. The that pull, I'd slide right back into my comfort zone.
Speaker 1:The trainings that I knew the strategies, that I knew the same conversations that I've been having for years, because the reality is, even though I didn't consciously think this, I knew that if I stayed in my lane, I wouldn't have to risk failing in a new one, and the failing covered a lot of different things, like do I have the audience for it? Do I know what I'm doing? Hi, rachel, yes, you do In fact, know what you're doing, but it's in my head and the truth is, by doing that, I was keeping myself really small, I was shrinking myself, I was protecting myself from the fear of being new at something again, and I was also keeping the people I could really help from getting the support they needed. Y'all, it wasn't my audience, it wasn't the market, it wasn't my content, it was me. It was me.
Speaker 1:I know you relate to this, and so over the years, both in my own business and coaching hundreds of others, I've noticed that there are three big ways we sabotage ourselves. So the first one is perfection, paralysis. Okay, yes, listen, you tell your. Oh my gosh, if I, when I tell you, so many of my students get stuck in this, I get stuck in this, although I think this is not my biggest area of self-sabotage. That's the next idea, but this I see a lot. It's this perfection paralysis.
Speaker 1:You tell yourself you're getting ready when really you're stalling. You want your website to be perfect, or you want your offer to be airtight, or you want your funnel to be flawless before you show, or you want your offer to be airtight, or you want your funnel to be flawless before you show anyone, or you want your reels to be amazing. You want your emails to be fantastic. You want your party format to be the best ever. But here's the problem. Y'all You're going to appreciate this Perfection is just fear in high heels.
Speaker 1:Yes, I said that, isn't that the best analogy? Perfection is just fear in high heels. She looked cute, okay, but she's the same thing. She still is the same person. You don't need to be perfect, you need done. You can fix and improve once it's out there, my friend, but you can't fix what you never launch. You can't fix what you never do. I'm dropping some truth bombs today.
Speaker 1:Okay, the third way, or sorry, the second way we self-sabotage. This is me idea hopping you chase shiny objects like it's going out of style. I very clearly have ADHD and that is has been one of my biggest struggles as a business owner is that I have a very, very challenging time staying focused on one thing, and the trouble is, success comes from focusing on one thing, so I tend to chase shiny objects. Kind of goes back to the story that I shared about self-sabotage right, one week you may be focused on building your team and the next week you're like no, I think I'm gonna come up with something new, and the next week you are doing something else. Listen, I've been there. It's like I'm gonna build a course Nope, I'm going to build a course. Nope, I'm going to start a podcast. Nope, now I'm going to join another direct sales company, because I think that's the answer. This company is different.
Speaker 1:The truth is, it's not that you're not capable, it's that you're not consistent long enough to see results. Oh, that hits me where it hurts. Y'all that hits me where it hurts, but it's so true, we got it hurts. Y'all that hits me where it hurts, but it's so true. We've got to pick one path and we've got to stick with it long enough to know if it's working. We don't know if it's not working if we keep moving on. Do you know what I'm saying? Yes, yes, rachel, I hear what you're saying. Yes, in fact, I do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay, the third area, the third sort of form of self-sabotage that I've seen so many people do, so many direct sellers and business owners do, is now, y'all, this one, she's sneaky. This one's sneaky it's when you look busy but you're not really doing anything. That moves the needle. You know who you are. You know who you are. You know who you are. You're like creating things on Canva. You're tweaking your Instagram bio again. You're researching for three hours instead of connecting with people to make a sale. You're putting a ton of information into ChatGBT and you are creating so much content that never gets put out there.
Speaker 1:Y'all busy work feels safe because it's low risk, but guess what, safe doesn't get you paid. Here's the thing. Every network marketer I've ever coached leaders, non-leaders, whatever, people who are building their own business, even the ones who are making really great money they've done at least one of those three things. They've fallen into perfection paralysis, they've idea hopped or they have sort of invisibly hustled. I didn't give a name to that one, but you know what I mean. Like you're doing all the things but it's nothing that's moving the needle. The problem isn't that you have fear. The problem is letting fear be the CEO of your business, y'all? Yeah, those high heels are cute, but, girl, they are not getting you anywhere.
Speaker 1:What if, instead of seeing these patterns as proof that you're not cut out for this, you actually saw them as a giant flashing sign that you're ready for your next level? Like, you already have the skills, you already have the knowledge, you already have the potential. You just have to stop tripping yourself up before the race even starts. Like, I want you to think about the version of yourself who's already accomplished all the things you want to accomplish, and I want you to have a conversation with her. I want you to look at her and go okay, girl, hey, what's up? What do I need to know? What do you have to tell me? You're already there. What do you have to tell me about where I am now? Because you guys, that is so powerful, that is so powerful. Your success is inevitable. It has happened already. You just have to believe it, because once you believe it, my friend, guess what? You're there. So, if you're listening to this and you're thinking, yeah, rach, I relate to this so much, well, girl, you're not alone. Okay, because I did it for you Because, listen, I feel you and if you're ready to stop that overthinking and you're ready to start getting actual results with what you already have.
Speaker 1:This is literally what I help my clients do every single day Inside expand. I take the skills and ideas you've already got, we simplify them into a clear plan and then actually get them out into the world so that you may make money fast. If you are curious about what this expand program is, girl, reach out. Reach out. All the information where you can connect with me are in the notes. Listen, sister, you owe it to yourself and I want you to remember this.
Speaker 1:You are not your mistakes, you are not your distractions. You are someone who can decide today to stop being your own worst enemy, and when you do, you'll be shocked at how quickly things start moving. When you physically or emotionally I'm not sure which one it is but when you get out of your own way, amazing things will happen. We've just got to get out of it. Get out of your own way. Amazing things will happen. We've just got to get out of it. Get out of our own way, y'all. I hope this was helpful.
Speaker 1:Pray for me. Actually, when you're listening to this, it will have already happened. No, actually, it won't have already happened. I'll be doing it tomorrow, moving my son into school. So say a prayer for me, because I'm going to need it. I'm going to need it, and so is he. Pray for him that he has a really incredible year. If you're a prayer warrior, I would just love that If you could pray for John Mark and let me know so I can thank you.
Speaker 1:All right, my beautiful friends, I hope you have an amazing week. I'll be back here next week with another episode and I'll be telling you all about how drop off at college went. So you guys listen. I love your faces. Thank you for listening. I'll talk to you next week. That's it for this episode of the direct sellers podcast, but our fun doesn't have to end now. You'll catch me hanging out over on Instagram between episodes and I'd love for you to join me. So hop into my DMs. I promise you're not getting any hey girl messages and I promise I'm not going to be asking you to weirdly buy anything. Send me the message podcast so I can send you my free 90-day action planner, because who doesn't love a good template?