UIP- Episode 12: Future Self Is Calling
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[00:00:00] This is unapologetically in Power, the podcast for ambitious women who are done performing and ready to lead from their unapologetic truth. I am Jennifer Damaskos and here. We don't play small in this space. We dismantle burnout, reclaim your energy and activate the unapologetic leader you are always meant to be, so you can lead, earn, and live from your unapologetic self.
[00:01:00] Most successful women I know are running their businesses in reaction,
reacting to client demands, reacting to market shifts, reacting to everyone else's timelines. And the truth is, you cannot build an extraordinary business by reacting to your current reality. If you want something radically different, breakthrough revenue industry recognition, the freedom to design life on your own terms, you have to stop creating from your circumstances and start creating from your future self.
That's what we're diving into today, how to reclaim your business and your life by stepping into the version of you who already exists [00:02:00] five years from now. When my mom passed, people expected me to get back to normal, back to the same business routines, the same leadership style, the same version of success I'd been building.
But there was no normal left. I had two choices. Option one, patch myself up and try to squeeze back into the old business model, the old patterns, the old box or option two, create something entirely new from the version of me I hadn't fully met yet the woman who had walked through loss and come out clear about what mattered most.
That was the moment I realized the only way forward wasn't through my grief or my exhaustion. It was through my [00:03:00] future psychologists call this future self continuity, how connected you feel to who you are becoming, not just who you are today.
And the research is undeniable. Stanford's Dr. Hirschfield found that people who connect with their future selves are 73% more likely to make long-term financial decisions that build wealth, 65% more likely to stick with health and wellness habits. 2.4 times more likely to take bold career moves and 87% more likely to delay gratification for bigger rewards.
And here's the entrepreneurial edge, Dr. Shane Frederick at Yale found that. Entrepreneurs who make decisions from their future self perspective instead of [00:04:00] reacting to their current circumstances, generate 34% higher revenue in their first five years. Scale 2.1 times faster and report 56% higher life satisfaction.
So here's the why. Your brain defaults to solving for what's urgent. Current circumstances scream the loudest, your future self. She's quieter, but when you train yourself to listen to her and let her lead your business decisions, everything changes.
So let's give you some examples, business examples, creating from circumstances sounds like I can't raise my prices because clients might leave. I can't [00:05:00] hire support because revenue isn't consistent yet. I can't turn down this project because I need the money. I can't launch my idea. Because what if it fails?
Creating from your future self? Sounds like my future self runs a premium business, so I'm pricing accordingly. Now, the woman I'm becoming leads a team, so I'm hiring support today. This project isn't align with where I'm going, so it's a no. My future self took bold moves, so I'm launching even if I'm scared.
One keeps you stuck. The other builds the business you actually want.
So let's try a practical exercise. Let's do this together. Step one, the vision. I [00:06:00] need you to close your eyes and picture yourself five years from now in your business. Where are you working? What kind of clients are you serving? How do people introduce you? What are you known for? What does financial freedom actually feel like in your body?
Now let's have a conversation with your future self. I want you to ask her directly, what do you want me to know right now? What's the most important decision I need to make this month? What would you do differently than what I'm planning?
The next step, we [00:07:00] integrate this, so you need to write down the first three things that come up. Don't filter these. Don't overthink. Just write down the first three things that come up. And then we need to commit. So pick one decision you're facing this week. Ask what would my future self choose? Then make that choice.
That's how you start becoming her today. And that is exactly why. Module one of RISE is called Reclaim Create from the Future. Because we don't build extraordinary businesses from burnout. We don't build them from exhaustion. We don't even build them from grief. We build them from the future. So in module one, I walk you through a daily future self [00:08:00] activation process, reverse gap planning.
So you build strategy from where you want to be. Not where you are. The mirror walk a visualization that makes your future self seem real and accessible and possibility writing. So you stop asking what if it doesn't work? And start asking What if it works beyond what I imagined. Because imagining your future self once is powerful, but learning how to run your entire business from her perspective, that's where transformation happens.
So let me ask you, what decisions are you making today that your future self would change? How much longer are you willing [00:09:00] to react your way through building something that could be extraordinary? Your future self is already waiting. She's already successful. She's already solved the problems you're wrestling with today.
All you have to do is listen and choose her. This is unapologetically in power. I'm Jennifer Damascus, and your future begins the moment you decide to create from it.
