A $34M gap is not a strategy problem

Twelve months from now, he wanted $35MM raised.
Currently, he had a portfolio worth 1.3 million dollars.
He knew the deals he wanted.
He had a list of 207 potential investors with 50 million dollars in soft commits.

But here is what made my eyebrows move….

When I asked him to explain the gap between where he was and where he needed to be, he talked about tactics:

More LinkedIn outreach.
Different email sequences.
Changing his CRM.

All good things.
But none of them were going to close a $34 million gap.

Because the canyon wasn’t between his current strategy and his future strategy.
It was between his current identity and his future identity.

Research shows something surprising about big goals.

When you think about your future self, the version of you who has easily raises $35,000,000, your brain treats that person like a stranger.

Neuroscience studies show that when people imagine their future self, the brain responds the same way it does around an entirely different person.

So when you set massive goals - you are essentially asking a stranger to do the work.

That is why new strategies never close the gap.
You can have the perfect playbook, but if your brain does not recognize the person executing it as you, nothing moves.

Research on motivation shows that 3 things must align before you take action:

1) Your future identity must feel connected to who you are now.
2) The actions required must feel congruent with your identity.
3) When things get hard, you must interpret difficulty as proof of importance, not proof of impossibility.

That syndicator saw himself as a systems engineer turned residential investor.
Not as someone who raises tens of millions in commercial capital.

Most people try to “cross the canyon” with more effort.

They think if they hustle more, make more calls, send more emails, attend more conferences - eventually they’ll reach their dreams.

Prep yourself for bad news ☹
Research shows this approach actually widens the gap.

When the actions don’t match your inner identity, your brain interprets every challenge as proof you are on the wrong path.

That is why you procrastinate on investor calls.
Why you overthink your pitch.
Why you buy another course instead of picking up the phone.

That’s why shiny object syndrome is so powerful.

It’s not laziness.
Your brain is protecting you from doing things that don’t match who you believe you are.

These ideas have been tested in randomized trials. Students who created connection between their current and future selves achieved significantly better outcomes than those who did not.

Here is how to apply this directly to capital raising.

Reverse engineer your future self.
Write down who you are today, who you need to become in twelve months, and the connection points between them.

Do’nt focus on the tactics.
Focus on the identity shift.

Ask yourself -
What beliefs does Future Me have that I don’t today?
What does Future Me assume is true that I currently question?

When capital raising activities feel like “things those guys do but not me,” you will never do them consistently.

So find the version of capital raising that fits your strengths.

If you’re a systems engineer - build investor relationship systems.
If you’re analytical - create data driven investor reports.
And if you’re a golden retriever like me - go to as many networking rooms as possible.

The goal is not to become someone else.
The goal is to raise capital as yourself.

Research shows that when you’re doing something you believe you were meant to do, a challenge means “this matters.”
But when you’re doing things out of alignment, difficulty means “this is not for me.”

So when you get rejected, when a deal falls through, when your pitch bombs - that is not a sign you’re on the wrong path.

It’s a sign you’re closing the gap.

That $34M gap is not waiting on the other side of better tactics.
It’s waiting on the other side of becoming the person who has already raised it.

-Chris

The MoneyMental Mastermind helps syndicators close that gap every day.
We grow the inner world that grows your wealth.
More to come shortly.

Ersner Hershfield, H., Wimmer, G. E., and Knutson, B. (2009). Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience.
Oyserman, D. (2007). Social identity and self regulation.
Oyserman, D. (2015). Pathways to success through identity based motivation.
Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., and Terry, K. (2006). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Oyserman, D., and Destin, M. (2010). The Counseling Psychologist.