UIP- Episode 13: Reverse the Gap
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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 have been taught to measure their businesses by the gap. The gap between this quarter's revenue and next quarter's goals. The gap between where their business is today and where it should be by now, the gap between who they are as leaders. And who they think they need to become to deserve their success.
And here's the truth, the gap will always exist. And if you are only ever creating from the gap, you'll always feel like you're behind. What actually creates momentum isn't measuring from the gap. It's learning how to reverse it. I not asking what's missing from my business, but instead if my future self is already [00:02:00] running the business I want, how did she build it?
That's reverse gap planning and that's what we're unpacking today.
After my mom passed, I found myself staring at two businesses that felt completely misaligned with who I was becoming. I kept thinking I'm so far from where I wanna be, too far to pivot, too far to reinvent, too far behind, to catch up to the vision forming in my head. The old me would have made a list, fix the messaging that wasn't working, patch the systems that were broken.
Work harder to close the revenue gap. Hustle my way back to successful. But then I realized I was asking the wrong question. Instead of measuring from today's exhaustion and confusion, what if I stepped into the woman I [00:03:00] wanted to be five years out running the business? I actually wanted and asked her how she got there.
So I did. I imagined her clearly confident. Purposeful, profitable, running a business that felt like an extension of her soul, not a daily grind. And when I asked her, how did you get here? She said, I stopped trying to fix what wasn't working and started building what was calling me.
I stopped managing my way out of the gap and started creating from my vision. That shifted everything. It stopped being about fixing my current business model. It became about borrowing clarity and [00:04:00] strategy from the future.
Traditional goal setting is built on deficit thinking. Here's where I am, here's where I should be. Now let me hustle to close the gap. But research and positive psychology shows this create what psychologists call chronic dissatisfaction syndrome, because every time you move forward, the ideal moves as well.
So you're always behind. Here's the science that changes everything. Dr. Dan Sullivan's gap in gain research with Over 10,000 entrepreneurs found that 82% of high achievers who measure from the GAP report chronic stress and burnout. 94% of those who measure from the gain report higher life satisfaction
and sustained [00:05:00] motivation. Stanford neuroscientist, Dr. Antonio DiMaggio's Brain imaging studies reveal that your brain responds 3.2 times more powerfully to specific visualizations of future success. To reminders of current shortcomings, deficit focused thinking. Activates the brain's threat detection system.
Limiting creative problem solving. Future success Visualization activates the brain's reward system, increasing motivation by 67%. Dr. Gabriel Otten. Research at NYU on mental contrasting shows that people who imagine their future success and then work backward are [00:06:00] 2.1 times more likely to take bold action towards their goals.
78% more likely to persist through obstacles. 43% more successful at achieving long term objectives. So the business application, instead of asking what's missing from my revenue strategy, how do I fix my confidence issues? How do I close the gap between where I am and where I should be? You need to start asking if I'm already running a thriving, profitable.
Business five years from now. What did I stop doing? What did I double down on? What boundaries did I put in place? Who did I become in the process?
So some examples [00:07:00] from what creating from the gap looks like. I am not making enough revenue, so I need to work more hours and take on more clients. I don't have enough followers, so I should post more content and discount my prices. I don't feel confident enough, so I need more certifications before I can charge premium rates.
My business isn't growing fast enough, so I must be doing something wrong. Creating from the reverse gap though looks like this.
My future self earns two times more revenue with half the clients. That means I raise my prices and narrow my focus. Now, the woman I'm becoming is known for quality, not quantity. That means I create less content, but I make it more valuable. My future self is respected for her unique [00:08:00] perspective, not her credentials.
That means I start sharing my voice boldly. Today, the business I'm building grows sustainably because it's aligned with my values. That means I say no to opportunities that don't fit. Do you see the difference? One keeps you chasing external validation. The other lets you lead from internal wisdom. So let's work on a little practical exercise.
Here's your reverse gap blueprint for today. Step one, future business visualization. So we're going to close your eyes. Unless you're driving, don't close your eyes. Picture your business exactly as you want it. Five years from now, what does your revenue look like? How does financial [00:09:00] freedom feel?
Who are your ideal clients? How do they find you? What's your reputation in the industry? What are you known for? How do you spend your time? What does your team handle?
Now we get to do a reverse interview, so you get to ask your future self. What are the three biggest business shifts you made to get here? What did you stop tolerating that was draining your energy? What bold move did you make that everyone else thought was risky?
Then you get to write your reverse gap plan. This is step three. In this process, you get to write down all her answers in the past tense as if they've already happened. [00:10:00] So example, I stopped underpricing my expertise and started charging what I'm worth. Or I hired a team to handle operations so I could focus on strategy and vision, or I gave myself permission to be polarizing online because I attracted my ideal clients.
Step four is the implementation. So you get to pick one shift from your list. Ask what's the smallest step I can take this week to start becoming her? Then take it. And this is exactly why in rise module one, reclaim. We don't just stop at future self activation, we go deeper into reverse gap planning because once you've met your future self, you need a concrete roadmap to actually embody her in your business.
[00:11:00] Inside module one, I guide you through the reverse gap business map. It's a comprehensive method to pull your future business vision into a present day strategy. Boundary blueprints. Identifying what you need to stop tolerating in your business now. Gain tracking system. It's training your brain to see how far you've already come instead of how far you have to go.
Future self decision matrix, it's a tool for making every business choice from her perspective. And implementation rituals. It's little daily practices that keep you aligned with your vision instead of your circumstances, because here's what I've learned, awareness alone doesn't change your business alignment the women in Rise don't just imagine their future businesses?
They reverse engineer them. They build from the vision, not the gap. [00:12:00] So let me ask you. What gap have you been obsessing over in your business? The revenue gap, the confidence gap, the where I should be by now. Gap. And what would shift if you stopped trying to fix yourself and started building from the woman who's already beyond it?
How much time and energy are you losing by creating from deficit instead of abundance? How many opportunities are you missing because you're focused on what's wrong instead of what's possible? How much longer will you let the gap drive your business instead of your vision? Your future self isn't waiting for you to catch up.
She's asking you to catch on. And if you're ready to stop measuring from the gap and start building from the vision. If you're ready for the structured [00:13:00] process that makes reverse gap planning your daily practice rise. Enrollment is open now. This is unapologetically Empower.
I'm Jennifer Damaskos, and your chapter begins when you reverse the gap.
