What It Takes To Succeed In Self Storage Today – “Ability To Take Action When There Is Fear” Mindset

Over the last four weeks, we have been studying What It Takes To Succeed In Self Storage Today.

Having worked with a lot of people over the last decade and a half, supporting them in getting in this fantastic business of self storage, I have noticed some patterns to their success. 

It is not what they know, but more how they view themselves, their views on the world, and specifically their views on success.

I have distilled these down to what I am calling mindsets.

Let’s quickly review.

1. “Can Do It” Mindset.
   1. A mindset, or more accurately put, a deep internal belief that if someone else can do something, I can too.
2. “I Don’t have to Know Everything At This Moment T0 Act” Mindset.
   1. This goes hand and hand with number 1 above, but I have seen people with this mindset and not number one.
   2. A belief and knowing that you can take action now knowing you will know what you need to know when you need to know it, but something is required at this moment. Without this, most people never get their business off the ground.
3. “Problems And Obstacles Are Part of The Process” Mindset.
   1. Most of us have a fundamental belief taught by the world that “In life, if I am doing things right, there should be no problems.” This is not true. In life and business, there are problems. Try creating new, bigger problems, worthy of giving the next decade of your life to as you get in the self storage business.
4. “Leaders Inspire” mindset.
   1. It does not matter how big or small your business is, or is going to be, you can’t build it alone. You are going to have to sell and motivate vendors, partners, and employees to take actions you know are necessary. This is what leaders do—the most effective way to inspire action.
      1. Inspired action taken by your motivate vendors, partners, and employees look like them wanting to take action because they are excited, motivated, and want to participate in the future and vision you are creating.

Fear

Now, let’s look at the final mindset. It deals with fear. I saved this for last because this is perhaps the hardest internal obstacle and way of being to recognize and claim. 

None of us wants to own being stopped by fear. But, if you are going to be in business for yourself, you have to be able to address the fears that arise.

What is interesting is that in my study of neuroscience (the study of the brain), is that when someone faces losing money, the same portions of the brain activate as when someone encounters a life-threating situation, like a saber tooth tiger charging.

The same brain functions are activated.

Intellectually, we can “understand” that losing money or having an investment not work can happen. But, when dealing with it, or the real thought of it, on an emotional level, it can experience as if we are facing our physical death.

No wonder I get nervous, sweat, and get scared at closings when we are buying a project.

If you are in business for yourself, you have got to be able to address fear.

Period.

If you don’t, I doubt if you will be in business long.

Many I work with who experience fear are prevented from taking the next step. They sabotage the deal so there is no chance of experiencing any downside.

They need to talk to the banker one more time to make sure they can get the rate. 

They need to understand some aspects of the market, like why one of the competing properties is offering half off the first month to new customers.

On and on. Then the deal is gone. “Well, it was meant to be. I’ll get the next one.”

Ways to Address Fear

I don’t think we will ever “overcome” fear. Not even in a thousand years.

It is critical to know when we are stopped by fear or something else. Mostly we tell ourselves it is something else. The majority of the time, it is fear.

As a business owner, the fear we experience in business is a by-product of our species evolution.

But there are some practices I have learned that will allow us to manage the fear better, and begin to recognize when we are being stopped by fear, or something else. I have written about this before, but here it is again.

Practice One: Feed and Strengthen Your Mind Daily

It is your thinking and your thoughts that determine what is possible in your life.

Now, I know your first reaction to the above statement is probably much like mine…” Yeah Yeah, I know that.” (yawn).

But fear is just a thought (long with some chemical reactions in the body). It does not exist in reality unless we are facing physical danger. 

For most of us, the number of times we are in actual physical danger is minimal. That is what fear is there for—to help us physically survive when there is physical danger.

Some practice I have seen that works is to daily, constantly, always be feeding the mind positive, uplifting thoughts.

Again, this might sound silly, but it is critical. Your life experience is 100% determined in any given moment by the thoughts that are happening.

If we are always focused on the negative, the downside, what is wrong with us, them, this deal, the world, that produces one type of life experience. When fear arises, and it will, it has a rich environment to thrive in.

If the majority of thoughts we have daily are positive and uplifting, when fear shows up, and it does all the time, the mind has a muscle around not having to dwell on it and can go back to the more habitual positive thinking that has been established as a habit.

Just like fear, positive, uplifting thoughts produce their own experience in the body.

If you are religious or spiritual, read daily inspiring books. Listen to podcast more than news.

Always have some book, some practice, some time set aside every day to feed your mind in a way that is meaningful to you. Then guard what goes in your mind like a hawk. For me, sitting around and watching the news, especially local news stations, is dangerous.

The amount of negative, fearful, violent information that pours out from the radio and TV news broadcast is toxic to me. I have to leave the room to get away from it.

Now I know it is somewhat necessary to keep up with current events. Just control what and how it comes. That has never been easier. Every day in my inbox and on my phone, I get news delivered to me. I have pre-set up what’s important to know.

Try an experiment. Go five days, one workweek without listening to the news or reading a newspaper.

You will be amazed. And guess what, your life and the world will continue going.

So one way to develop a mental muscle around dealing with fear is to feed and strengthen your mind daily. Guard what goes in it. 

Your thinking is your most important asset.

Practice Two: Feed and Strengthen the Body.

This is where I can be the weakest in my consistency. By writing this, I see what needs to be done on my end to be better at this aspect.

I know the difference that regular exercise provides—Not just for the body, but the mind, and specifically the quality of thinking and thoughts.

I remember years ago, when I was working with one of my first mentors, I was explaining my cash flow problems for the real estate company I owned, one of my boring reoccurring Problems at that period of my life.

At the time, I was feeding the company so much cash that my personal finances were suffering. 

I felt trapped. If I let employees go, I was going to have to run it my self, and if I did that, I could not do the brokerage which was allowing me to feed to the company, and on on on. 

I went on for about five minutes. Then he looked at me and said, “Are you exercising?”

My mind went crazy. 

I felt like yelling, ‘DIDN’T YOU HEAR ME? I’M TALKING ABOUT MY FINANCIAL SURVIVAL!” but I just said, “No, not really.”

I now see the power in that question. 

I know my thinking is more focused, there is less drama and fear, and I feel better, too, when I have a regular yoga or exercise routine. I have observed that the people I want to model my life after are all ones who create the time to take care of and feed their bodies with the right foods and the right exercise.

We all know what to eat and to exercise. It is not a lack of time that prevents it. The people I admire have more going on that we do, but yet they prioritize it, so it happens. 

My suggestion (to myself here too) is that let’s make this a priority and put it in the schedule so that we can have optimum control over our thinking and create the best chance for success in our self storage business.

Our families, our employees, and even our customers are counting on it.

Practice Three: Create A Support System.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as a self-made person.

It’s a bold statement that many will disagree with, but I stand by it. 

We all stand on the shoulders of those that have gone before us and taught us. Yes, it was us that did the work and have achieved whatever we have achieved. But, without those who have gone before, we would have had a much harder time.

I learned early the value of a mentor, a role model in my personal, business, and professional life.

Everyone who I admire professionally, has, or has had a mentor. All talk about the difference they made for them.

As Jim Rohn said (who was Tony Robbins mentor/role model) (paraphrasing here), “Show me your five closest friends, and I can tell you your character and your net worth.”

Be selective of who you model after and with whom you spend time. And it has never been easier to find mentors, coaches, or “Master Mind” groups that support each other in personal and professional growth.

I can’t tell you the number of times I was stopped, and I either remember or have a conversation with someone that freed me up to take the next step. And those conversations were not just accidental or random. I sought them out because I know and value the role of a mentor/role model.

I remember early in my real estate career. I was involved in a high rise, high profile upscale condominium development in our market. 

I was in a partnership with many very high net worth people. There were the wealthy members of the project, and then there was me. 

I had been chosen by the group to be involved with the project because they thought I could bring a marketing background to the table and make a difference.

Mostly I was intimidated and just watched how rich people did business.

The deal got stalled out. We had invested and spent all our equity, and there was some hesitation by the very high net worth partners to guarantee the loan required because they felt (and rightly so) that they would have all the risk for only a portion of the upside.

The bank wasn’t allowing any money to be released until the guarantees were signed, and we were not going to put any more cash in the deal.

The deal was going nowhere.

My coach at the time ask me, “What are you going to do to solve the problem?”

I can remember thinking, “Me? How in the world can I solve their problems?”

Then I was reminded (in a not so pleasant and easy way, either) that I was acting like a total wimp.

 The group chose me because they felt I had something to offer. My instructions were to (1) apologize to the group for how weak (not the real word they used) I was being. I was to acknowledge I had not been acting as a partner and to let them know I was not going to be that person anymore. And (2) have a straight conversation about what could happen if we didn’t move past our positions, and make that conversation make the difference.

If I did not do that, my coaching relationship was at an end with my coach.

I called a partnership meeting, and to my surprise, everyone showed up like it was a very normal thing to do to come to a meeting that I called. I said what I came to say, and then shared my view of the issue, and what would happen if we did not get past where we were. 

In less than two weeks, we had the loan needed. Now, some of those partners at the time are still my partners/investors in the self storage business.

I am here to tell you that that was the conversation that never would have happened without support and direction from mentors/role models/coaches. I would not be where I am in self storage without that coach because those same people now have confidence in me as a partner and trusted me when I told them about self storage.

Coaches can often see what is stopping us. They can see how our fears and weakness get in our way, and they can make the difference.

It makes all the difference when fear stops us.

These are some practices I, and our company use to address ourselves in relation to the fear that inevitably arises for business owners.

Remember, our goal is not to overcome fear, just how not to have it stop us, because it will if we don’t stay on top of it by staying on top of who we are.

It is my sincere wish that these mindsets I have shared help you on your journey to get in and grow your self storage business. 

There is no better path to be on that the path of becoming better versions of ourselves as we create wealth in this fantastic self storage business.