In the world of self storage, fundraising for self storage, or any other worthwhile endeavors, one needs to know what to do, but the most important aspect of success is one’s mindset.
One’s thinking.
Most people are not present to it, but you’re thinking is actually the filter through which reality is experienced.
Try on there is no objective reality “out there.” There is just life unfolding; that unfoldment is perceived and processed by your thoughts and beliefs. That is your life experience, not what is happening, but your interpretation.
Now, this is good news because the one thing we truly can have e control over, in many ways the only thing, is our thoughts.
It is said when Columbus landed in the West Indies; the indigenous people could not even see the ships because they had no mindset or filter in which an object like that could have any reality.
What happens in life and what is possible for someone is filtered through one’s mindset and belief systems, giving that person the life experience and what is possible for them.
So that is why when discussing fundraising for self storage, I first go over three mindset shifts I think will make a big difference. I voice these from working with people and from experiencing them myself.
In Episodes 368 and 369, I went over the first two shifts I think are important.
I would like to conclude this series with the third mindset shift.
Mindset Shift Number 3: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Any time we create a new possibility for ourselves, take on a bigger game in life, and/or step into a larger role than we have ever taken on before; there is a gap between where we are now and where we are going.
One of the experiences many have in this gap is feeling like we do not belong. We are talking and interacting with people about where we are headed, but we are not there yet.
Imposter Syndrome.
Many people, if not all people, experience “Imposter Syndrome.” Thought like, “who am I to be talking about this?” … or “who am I to be doing this?”
“Why would anyone ever listen to me?” (a thought I experience often).
When we step into the fundraising role for the first time, it can be especially brutal because we are usually talking to people who have been more financially successful than we have, and “we are telling them why they should invest in our deals?”
That was my experience.
On my first fundraising adventure, I had the experience that everyone I talked to was more successful than I was.
Why would they ever invest with me?
Yes, I knew my numbers and had a reasonably good idea about the industry, but on many levels, I experienced myself as a fake…a phony…because I had never truly put a real estate or a self storage project together on this scale.
I remember when I wrote the book Creating wealth Through Self Storage. After it was out and in print, I was an author.
But yet, I sure didn’t feel like an author. Perhaps it was just a fluke that it sold so well when published. Maybe it was the book promotion coach I hired. Perhaps it was because there were so few books in the space.
Imposter Syndrome.
It is almost a given that when you start fundraising or go from one level of fundraising to another, you will experience Imposter Syndrome as well.
I say, expect it.
Nothing is wrong.
This Mindset Shift (number three) and Mindset Shift one work hand in hand.
When we begin to alter who we are for ourselves, as discussed in Episodes 368, our attention begins to go from ourselves and our “deal” to the investors.
The way to move through Imposter Syndrome and create a loyal base of investors is to shift from “I am not asking for money” to “I am helping people solve a real problem they have with my opportunity.”
In short, when we focus on ourselves, how we feel, how we are coming across to others, and how good our deal is, our intention is own ourselves. Inwardly focused.
This inward focus on ourselves, our deal, and what we are experiencing creates the space where Imposter Syndrome manifests.
When we truly focus on the challenges our investors may be experiencing, their needs, and how our investment can truly solve their issues, there is less attention on ourselves.
Less attention on ourselves removes the oxygen. Imposter Syndrome needs to be experienced so acutely.
In the course I am creating, Fundraising For The Small Investor In Self Storage, I will go into the types of fundraising there are, what to do, and even deal structure options; but for any of that to be successful, I suggest we first create the Mindset Shifts we have been discussing.
I encourage any feedback or questions that may help you on your self storage journey.
