How to Grow Your Business: A Step-by-Step Guide to Identify and Cleanse Your Inner Blocking Story

Introduction

I still remember sitting in my expensive office, looking at the beautiful website and marketing materials I had created, and feeling like a complete fraud. My business was doing okay, but nothing like what I saw other entrepreneurs achieving. I worked 60-hour weeks, said yes to every client, and constantly tweaked my offers. Yet, the breakthrough success I wanted always stayed just out of reach.

The turning point came during a simple meeting with a potential client. As they asked about my business, I heard myself saying all the right words, but inside, a familiar voice whispered: "They're going to find out you don't really know what you're doing." My confidence crumbled during the presentation. I undercharged for my services yet again and left feeling exhausted and defeated.

That night, I experienced my first panic attack. Lying awake at 3 AM, I realized I couldn't continue this way. The problem wasn't my business strategy, my website, or my offers. The problem was the story I kept telling myself—that I wasn't good enough, didn't know enough, and would eventually be exposed as a fraud. This inner story was silently strangling my business growth .

Perhaps you've felt this too—that sneaking suspicion that despite your hard work, something invisible holds you back. You try new marketing strategies, create new offers, and work longer hours, but results remain stubbornly limited. What if I told you that the most significant growth block isn't out there in the market? It's the inner story running in the background of your mind .

The good news? You can change this story. This article will guide you through understanding your inner story, cleansing it, and aligning it with the successful business you want to create. The journey from blockage to flow begins not with another business tactic, but with looking inward.

Understanding Your Inner Story and How It Limits Your Business

What Exactly Is This "Inner Story"?

Your inner story is the collection of beliefs, thoughts, and assumptions you carry about yourself, your capabilities, and how the world works. These aren't just passing thoughts—they're deeply held narratives that form the lens through which you view everything in your business and life .

Most of these stories formed early in life, often in childhood, and solidified over years of repetition. Like my client who realized he kept repeating his childhood story of "I do all the hard work, but no one gives me what I deserve" in every job and business venture . His belief began when he watched his younger brother receive more attention from their father, despite his own better academic performance.

How Your Inner Story Shapes Your Business Reality

Your inner story acts as an invisible filter on your business decisions, actions, and especially your results. Neuroscience reveals that negative self-talk activates the same threat responses designed to protect us from predators—it's a primal, instinctive experience that literally rewires your brain over time .

Consider these common inner stories and their business consequences:

• "I'm not a real expert" → You undercharge, avoid visibility, and struggle with imposter syndrome

• "Money is hard to get" → You unconsciously sabotage pricing, collections, or profitable opportunities

• "I have to do everything myself" → You resist delegation, become the bottleneck, and limit growth

• "I don't deserve success" → You hesitate to launch, avoid risks, and settle for mediocre results

These stories become self-fulfilling prophecies. As much as you may want the opposite to be true, you'll find evidence to back up what you think, feel, and believe . Your inner story doesn't just live in your mind—it manifests in your business results, your client relationships, and your revenue.

The Mirror of Your Business

Think of your business as a mirror. It shows the world what is inside you. If you have fears, doubts, or old pains inside, your business will reflect these energies back to you . This happens even if you have a beautiful website and perfect prices.

Many business owners focus entirely on external fixes—new marketing tactics, website redesigns, different pricing models. While these can help, they're like rearranging furniture in a house with a weak foundation. Without addressing the inner story, the external changes rarely create lasting transformation.

How to Identify Your Limiting Inner Story

Recognizing the Patterns

The first step in transforming your inner story is recognizing it exists. Often, these narratives feel so familiar they seem like universal truths rather than subjective interpretations.

Start by looking for patterns in your business struggles. Do you notice the same type of problem appearing repeatedly? Perhaps you consistently attract clients who don't value your work, or you regularly sabotage yourself when nearing a big goal .

One business owner I worked with noticed she consistently struggled with pricing. Every time she raised her rates, she'd experience intense anxiety and often backtracked or offered excessive discounts. During our work together, she uncovered her inner story: "Asking for money is greedy and will make people reject me." This belief formed when her parents shamed her for wanting expensive toys as a child.

Practical Exercise: Your Business Story Inventory

Set aside 30 minutes of quiet time with a journal. Answer these questions honestly:

1. What do I believe about money? (Complete sentences like "Money is...", "Rich people are...", "Having money makes me...")

2. What did my family teach me about success? (Recall specific statements, behaviors, or attitudes)

3. What am I truly capable of achieving? (Notice where you limit your vision)

4. What scares me most about greater success? (Beyond surface answers—dig deeper)

5. Where do I feel stuck in my business? Then ask: "What would have to be true for this stuckness to exist?"

Be gentle with yourself during this process. The goal isn't to judge yourself for having these stories, but to bring them into the light where you can work with them.

The Mirror Moment Practice

A powerful tool I developed during my recovery is called the Mirror Moment . Here's how it works:

When that critical inner voice starts up, stop and imagine holding up a mirror. Ask yourself: What's the empowering opposite of that story? For example, 'I'm a failure' could become 'I'm successful' or 'I'm constantly learning.'

Then take one more step. What's a real story from your life where you know without doubt you were successful? How did you learn from your mistakes? It's simple, and enormously powerful. Step-by-step you start rewiring your brain to instinctively recall more of your wins rather than your failures.

The Cleansing Process: Ho'oponopono for Business Growth

Introduction to an Ancient Hawaiian Practice

Once you've identified your limiting inner stories, the next step is to cleanse them. One of the most powerful methods I've found is Ho'oponopono (pronounced ho-oh-pono-pono), an ancient Hawaiian practice of reconciliation and forgiveness .

In traditional Hawaiian culture, families would gather with an elder to solve problems. They believed that illness and trouble came from broken relationships, mistakes, and bad feelings that were not cleaned up. Through talking, confession, forgiveness, and release, they would "make right" their relationships with each other and with their gods .

The modern version was adapted by Morrnah Simeona, a Hawaiian healing priest, and made famous by Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len, who used it to heal an entire ward of mentally ill criminals without seeing them individually .

How Ho'oponopono Works for Business

You might wonder what an ancient forgiveness practice has to do with modern business challenges. The core idea is this: You are 100% responsible for everything in your reality—including your business results .

This doesn't mean blaming yourself for business problems. It means recognizing you have the power to change your business by changing what's inside you. Your subconscious mind contains many memories, programs, and patterns that shape how you see the world and what you attract. If you have hidden memories of "I'm not good enough" or "Money is hard to get," these memories filter your experience .

Ho'oponopono helps you clean these memories using four simple phrases:

1. I'm sorry: For my part in creating this situation, consciously or unconsciously

2. Please forgive me: For carrying these limiting memories and patterns

3. Thank you: For the cleansing and healing

4. I love you: To fill the space with love after the cleaning

When you say these phrases with feeling, you're asking the Divine (God, Universe, Higher Power—whatever you believe in) to erase the negative memories causing your business problems. As these memories are cleaned, your inner world changes. Then your outer world—including your business—must change to match your new inner state .

Practical Application: Using Ho'oponopono in Your Business

You can apply Ho'oponopono to any business challenge:

• When feeling stuck: Clean on the feeling of stagnation

• Before client meetings: Clean on any anxiety or need to prove yourself

• When reviewing finances: Clean on any money stories that arise

• After mistakes: Clean on the error and your response to it

The practice can be done silently in meditation, spoken aloud, or even written repeatedly in a journal. The key is to connect with the feeling behind the words, not just repeat them mechanically.

Table: Ho'oponopono Applications for Common Business Challenges

Aligning Your Inner Story with Your Entrepreneurial Archetype

Discovering Your Natural Business Energy

Once you've begun cleansing your limiting inner stories, the next step is aligning with your authentic business energy. I've found the concept of entrepreneurial archetypes incredibly helpful for this alignment .

An archetype is a universal energy pattern that lives in you. It shapes how you create, how you lead, and how you share your gifts with the world. When you know your archetype, you move from confusion to clarity. You stop copying others and start creating from your core truth .

Through my research and work with creative entrepreneurs, I've identified seven main entrepreneurial archetypes. Each has unique gifts, challenges, and natural ways of doing business.

The Seven Entrepreneurial Archetypes

1. The Visionary

   • Core Gift: Big-picture thinking, future-building, innovation

   • Shadow/Challenge: Can get scattered, resist details, feel overwhelmed

   • Business Style: Creates scalable programs, masterminds, thought leadership

   • Example: Elon Musk with his vision for space travel and electric cars

2. The Healer

   • Core Gift: Deep empathy, transformation, energetic work

   • Shadow/Challenge: Over-giving, burnout, lack of boundaries

   • Business Style: Offers 1:1 coaching, retreats, healing containers

   • Example: A trauma-informed coach who helps clients heal money wounds

3. The Artist

   • Core Gift: Beauty, originality, aesthetic expression

   • Shadow/Challenge: Perfectionism, self-criticism, inconsistency

   • Business Style: Creates limited editions, experiential offers, beautiful brands

   • Example: A designer who creates visually stunning websites for clients

4. The Sage

   • Core Gift: Wisdom, teaching, structured systems

   • Shadow/Challenge: Over-intellectualizing, resisting flow, rigidity

   • Business Style: Offers courses, mentorships, clear frameworks

   • Example: A business coach who creates step-by-step programs

5. The Rebel

   • Core Gift: Disruption, boldness, unconventional expression

   • Shadow/Challenge: Alienation, pushing too hard, polarizing

   • Business Style: Creates edgy offers, provocative messaging, paradigm shifts

   • Example: A marketing consultant who teaches "anti-methods" that work

6. The Lover

   • Core Gift: Connection, authenticity, emotional resonance

   • Shadow/Challenge: Codependency, pleasing, boundary blur

   • Business Style: Focuses on community, intimate offers, relational marketing

   • Example: A relationship coach who builds strong client bonds

7. The Alchemist

   • Core Gift: Transformation, blending strategy + soul, spiritual business

   • Shadow/Challenge: Confusion, scattering, overwhelm in integration

   • Business Style: Creates hybrid offers, transformational programs

   • Example: A consultant who combines practical business advice with energy work

How to Discover Your Dominant Archetype

Finding your archetype is more about remembering than inventing. Here's a simple way to discover yours :

1. Observe your energy: What tasks energize you? What drains you? Where do you procrastinate?

2. Reflect on patterns: What roles (teacher, healer, disruptor) keep showing up in your life?

3. Try archetype language: Sit with names like Visionary, Healer, Artist. See which feel like home.

4. Use Ho'oponopono meditation: Before reflecting, do a short Ho'oponopono practice. Then ask: "Which part of me am I resisting?"

5. Test in action: Try creating content or offers from one archetype's voice. See what feels aligned.

Most people have one dominant archetype and one or two supporting ones. This is normal and healthy. Use your dominant archetype as your core, and let the others add flavor to your business expression.

Aligning Your Business with Your Archetype

Once you identify your archetype, examine where your business might be misaligned. Are you trying to build a Sage-style business with detailed courses when you're really a Visionary who hates implementation? Or perhaps you're a Healer trying to adopt Rebel marketing tactics that feel inauthentic?

I worked with a client who identified as an Artist but was trying to build a high-volume, low-touch business. She constantly felt frustrated and uninspired. When she shifted to creating limited-edition offers with beautiful custom elements, not only did her joy return, but she actually made more money with less effort.

Table: Archetype-Aligned Business Strategies

Practical Steps to Maintain Clear Energy in Your Business

Establishing Daily Practices

Clearing your inner story isn't a one-time event—it's an ongoing practice. Just as you clean your physical office space regularly, your inner world needs consistent maintenance to stay clear and aligned .

Establishing a daily meditation practice is one of the most powerful ways to maintain energetic clarity. You can start with just a few minutes each day and gradually build from there. Sit erect, focus on your breath and how your body feels. Visualize your energy rising as you sit, and if you sense any blockages—tension or tightness—release them with each exhale .

Using Breath to Clear Negative Energy

Your breath is always available to you as a cleansing tool. When you feel negative energy building up—perhaps after a difficult client call or when reviewing stressful financial numbers—use this simple breathing practice:

1. Imagine breathing in light from the universe

2. As you exhale, release any negative energy back into the earth

3. Continue this cycle, breathing in light and creating space for new opportunities

4. Exhale anything holding you or your business back

5. Continue until you feel a shift in your energy

This practice can be done in just a few minutes, even during a busy workday. I often use it between client sessions to reset my energy and show up fully present for each person.

The Power of Gratitude in Business

Gratitude is perhaps the most overlooked tool for maintaining clear business energy. Keeping gratitude in our hearts for what our business already provides creates a positive energetic foundation that prevents distortion from negative energies .

Maintain a gratitude journal specifically for your business. Before finishing work each day, write down three things you're grateful for about your business. These don't need to be major achievements—appreciation for a supportive client, a lesson learned from a mistake, or simply the freedom your business provides all count.

This regular gratitude practice accomplishes two important things: it shifts your focus from what's lacking to what's abundant, and it reinforces positive neural pathways about your business success.

Energy Clearing for Your Physical Workspace

Your physical workspace holds energy too. Just as we clean our inner world, it's helpful to periodically clear the energy of your office or workspace .

Simple methods include:

• Using salt water: Salt is believed to have purifying properties. Lightly spray salt water around your office or at entryways to clear stagnant energy

• Burning bay leaves: Write limiting beliefs on bay leaves and safely burn them to release these patterns

• Decluttering regularly: A cluttered space is believed to draw negative energy. Clear out unnecessary items to create space for positivity and new opportunities

From Blockage to Flow: Implementing Your New Story

Taking Aligned Action

Inner work becomes meaningful when it translates to outer results. Once you've identified and begun cleansing your limiting inner stories, the next step is taking aligned action from your new perspective.

Start small but be consistent. If your old story was "I'm not a real expert," your aligned action might be:

1. Raising your prices by 10% for new clients

2. Speaking up in a mastermind group instead of staying silent

3. Publishing content on a topic you previously avoided for fear of being "exposed"

Each small action reinforces your new story. The brain learns through repetition and experience, so consistent aligned actions—no matter how small—literally rewire your neural pathways to support your new narrative.

Measuring What Matters

As you implement these changes, pay attention to different metrics than you might normally track. Beyond revenue and client numbers, notice:

• Energy levels: Do you feel more energized at the end of your workday?

• Synchronicities: Are you noticing more "lucky coincidences" and perfect timing?

• Client quality: Are you attracting more aligned, enjoyable clients?

• Ease factor: Is business flowing with less struggle and effort?

• Joy quotient: How much pleasure are you deriving from your work?

These subtle indicators often shift long before the financial metrics catch up. Celebrating these small wins reinforces the positive cycle of growth.

Creating a Support System

Transforming your inner story isn't a solo journey. The entrepreneurs who create lasting change build support systems that reinforce their new narratives.

This might include:

• A like-minded mastermind who understands the importance of inner work

• A coach or mentor who's done this work themselves

• Conscious content consumption—reading books and listening to podcasts that support your new story

• Regular check-ins with an accountability partner who knows your growth goals

Remember, you're not just building a business—you're rebuilding your relationship with yourself as a business owner. This deserves the same level of investment and support as any other business function.

Conclusion: Your Journey from Blockage to Business Flow

The most significant growth block in your business isn't your strategy, your marketing, or your offers—it's the inner story running beneath the surface of your awareness. This story, formed through years of repetition, shapes everything from your daily decisions to your ultimate results .

The journey from blockage to flow begins with courage—the courage to look inward, to identify the limiting narratives, and to consciously rewrite them. This isn't about positive thinking or manifesting through willpower. It's about fundamental cleansing of the mental and emotional patterns that filter your experience of what's possible .

When you do this deep work, something remarkable happens. Your business begins to transform from the inside out. Clients feel more drawn to you. Money flows more easily. Work feels joyful rather than effortful. This isn't magic—it's the natural result of aligning your inner world with your outer ambitions .

Your business is your creation, your child, and your manifestation. The more you work on your relationship with your business, the more joy you will derive from it . There is harmony in partnership if we can establish it. Clearing the energy of your business will help you do just that.

 

🌸 About Neeti Keswani

Neeti Keswani is the founder of Plush Ink and host of the Luxury Unplugged Podcast, where luxury meets spirituality. As an author, storyteller, and self-improvement coach, she helps conscious creators and professionals align with purpose, identity, and abundance through mindset transformation and emotional healing.
Her mission is to empower people to live with intention, authenticity, and joy — blending inner work with outer success.
Connect with Neeti:
🎙️ Luxury Unplugged Podcast — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/luxury-unplugged-podcast-where-luxury-meets-spirituality/id1551277118
📖 Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/keswanineeti/
💼 LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/neetikeswani/
🌐 Plush Ink — https://www.plush-ink.com