Hello, you Boldly Unbounded Soul ✨
Here's some magic I witnessed during the last leg of travel to Austin. This week on BE BOLD, you'll learn how to shift from scarcity to abundance with 8 strategies.
Abundance.
What does it mean to you? Wealth? Time? Relationships? Freedom?
As I was sitting on the plane to Austin, watching the sunset, gratitude enveloped me. Gratitude for abundance in my life.
Wealth to afford this unplanned 3-week trip for life stuff. Time to watch the sunset for the 37-minute flight. Holding hands with the love of my life, Chinmay. No excruciating tailbone pain that used to accompany my everyday life—especially after sitting for hours. A sense of deep connection to myself and the world. And a love for my work.
And I knew this week’s BE BOLD had to be about abundance because it’s a tricky concept.
The first thought for many is abundance = financial wealth. I used to think that, but true abundance is so much more. Here’s a quick story.
In San Francisco, I 2x-ed my pay in two and a half years. In Barcelona, I got my right to work and 2x-ed my pay in three years. A driving priority in my life was financial wealth. And while financial wealth is amazing—it only goes so far. It didn’t prevent my burnout. If anything, the imbalanced chase for financial wealth provoked burnout. And I still felt like I didn’t have enough.
When I redesigned my life and financial wealth fell as a priority, wealth still followed with a job offer at my dream company and an unexpected 34,000€ pay increase.
On top of that, I had:
→ more free time to do things I love (surf skate, travel, and snorkel, to name a few)
→ a more loving relationship with Chinmay
→ better quality sleep and focus the next day
→ more courage and confidence as a leader
→ a more relaxed body and mind
→ more meaningful friendships and stronger community
→ a healthier diet with more physical, mental, and emotional energy
By creating abundance in other areas of my life, financial abundance followed.
So today is about shifting out of a scarcity mindset and into an abundance mindset.
INQUIRY OF THE WEEK |
When was the last time you told yourself something was impossible? |
What did you tell yourself? What experiences informed that belief? What would your life look like if you no longer had that belief? What opportunities would it open up? How would you feel?
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Unbounded Learning of the week —scarcity mindset vs. abundance mindset
First, a few definitions…
Scarcity mindset. It’s that troublesome fear of running out. Not enough resources, time, knowledge, ____. Yikes 😳
Abundance mindset. It’s seeing limitless possibilities. You believe there’s more than enough out there for everyone. 🥰
What’s the cost of a scarcity mindset?
Avoiding crucial risks that could lead to substantial growth in your career or innovation at your company.
Focusing on the short term and hindering sustainable success in the long term.
Seeing others as a threat—creating dysfunctional relationships and a lack of collaboration.
Resource guarding—from information to responsibilities or access—limiting others’ development.
Extreme frugality—preventing you from investing in your own growth like education, health, and other life-enriching experiences—contributing to chronic stress about money.
Experiencing issues like anxiety, depression, and physical health issues.
Lower quality of life and feelings of dissatisfaction and insecurity.
These costs ripple outward, affecting your team, friends, family, community, and company. Imagine the impact this can have.
What do notice in the body as you read through the cost list? Do any feel too close to home?
If the sinking feeling of yes came up, it’s okay. You’re not alone.
We all experience a scarcity mindset—it’s linked to our survival.
What’s important is to notice when scarcity starts to spotlight, so you can begin to shift to abundance.
But why shift to an abundance mindset? What are the benefits?
Stronger resilience to navigate challenges and setbacks with ease.
A more creative approach to problem-solving and better outcomes.
Stronger, healthier personal and professional relationships.
More open opportunities and taking calculated risks because you focus on potential gains rather than failures.
More strategic and effective decision-making. You consider more factors and potential outcomes and better align decisions with overall goals and values.
High levels of success—you embrace growth, collaboration, and opportunities. This can lead to higher financial wealth, too.
More calm—less anxiety and stress.
More motivational and inspiring leadership where teams feel valued and empowered.
Which benefits do you want to experience more of and in what parts of your life?
💭 Imagine what it would feel like to have abundance in those areas. Notice any sensations you have in the body.
Be Bold experiment of the week —cultivating an abundance mindset
Have your list of what you want to experience more of? Fabulous!
Now, it’s time to start shifting from scarcity to abundance. Here are 8 strategies to shift out of scarcity and into abundance:
Know the signs and recognize. 🎵 Begin to notice the scarcity-related beliefs and what triggers them. Common signs include:
being afraid to take a risk and fear of failure
believing that there’s a winner then there has to be a loser
hoarding (material objects, money, time, info, etc.)
struggling to share recognition
resentment toward others’ success
constant worry about loss (money, relationships, status, job, etc.)
focusing short-term—think instant gratification
avoiding investments in self-growth
believing opportunities are limited
Calm the nervous system. Scarcity can trigger the protection state of the nervous system. Bring the system back to a state of safety and connection. This gives you access to calmness, curiosity, and mindfulness to see opportunities. Consider trying out my free daily practices.
Practice gratitude. Humans tend to focus on what they don’t have—deepening scarcity mindset. Gratitude shifts our focus on what we do have. Create a list of 3-5 things you’re grateful for and why (connects to your needs). If it’s too easy, keep going. When you can’t think of one, you’ve found your abundance mindset edge. Then write down 3 more.
Reframe into opportunity. Instead of thinking, “I can’t afford this investment,” or “I don’t have enough time,” reframe. Consider, “What can I adjust to make this investment possible for my future growth?” or “What could I cut out of my day that isn’t giving me energy and is wasting time?”
Be generous. When you share with others, you prove there is enough for everyone. It amplifies a feeling of abundance, too. Share your time, attention, resources, knowledge, a smile, or money. Pick 1 act of generosity per day.
Curate your community. Our mindset is a reflection of those we surround ourselves with, according to intrapersonal neurobiology. Cultivate a community of inspiring, motivational, and supportive people. Reach out to connect and spend time with them. What about those who do the opposite? Consider if that relationship is really serving you or just draining you.
Craft an inspiring, powerful vision. This becomes your compass for where you want to go. Here’s a free guide to help you start crafting it.
Partner with a coach. Sometimes, working with a coach can help shift deep-seated beliefs about scarcity and abundance. This works best if you’ve been at it for a while and are getting stuck. If you’re considering coaching, I’d love to invite you to a complimentary 45-minute powerful conversation. You can request it here.
Steps to take:
Pick one strategy to start experimenting with. If don’t know your #1 scarcity-related belief, start with know the signs and recognize. Awareness is foundational.
Write down your #1 scarcity-related belief and how you feel in the body when you think about them (what sensations you notice and where). Tuck it away to revisit after the experiment.
Practice this strategy daily for 1 week. Use the strategy to transform the #1 scarcity-related belief. Add it to your calendar, set a reminder, or put a post-it somewhere you’ll see it.
After one week, reflect. What related thoughts have you noticed over the week? What sensations do you notice in the body?
Revisit the note you wrote at the beginning of the experiment. Any changes yet—big or small? What worked? What didn’t? What tweaks do you want to make to your experiment?
Iterate based on what you learn and start your next 1-week experiment. It can be an improved version of the prior week or a new strategy from the list. If the scarcity-related belief is strong, I recommend focusing on that belief over multiple weeks. If the strategy isn’t working well, try out different ones.
The goal is to transform the scarcity belief into an abundance belief, using these strategies and turning them into habits over time.
Slow, steady progress is what to aim for. You’re rewiring your brain’s neural pathways. It takes consistent practice and time.
Enjoy the journey—the benefits will come if you keep showing up.
I don’t just coach, I’m a fractional People Leader, too!
(I love remote workplace design to inspire a new way to work for people and profit.)
Hi, I'm Rachel Marie Korb. I'm a curious, sea-loving human based in Barcelona, Spain. After being a senior leader and scaling remote workplaces for a decade, I founded Boldly Unbounded to help ambitious female leaders shift from fear, self-doubt, and stress to clarity, courage, and connection to deliver impact—without the burnout—and design a life they LOVE 💗
Create a life overflowing with abundance to elevate your leadership.