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- Go to $0: Extreme Mindset Hack
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Today we’ll be discussing Going to $0...
An extreme money mindset protocol that can help you develop unshakeable confidence in yourself as an entrepreneur.
But be warned ahead of time: This is not for the weak.
Let’s dive in.
Learn about a platform focused on payment processing, financing clients, deal closing, financial management, and affiliate management that enables coaches and digital entrepreneurs who sell courses and services online, to scale their business.
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I, the founder of Passionate Income, filmed a video sharing my experience…
Watch it here.
Back in 2020 I was exposed to a wild but (supposedly) highly effective money mindset training known as Go To $0.
The premise of the protocol is simple, but extreme enough to induce anxiety in all but the most confident entrepreneurs.
In short, the strategy works like this:
No matter how much money you make any given month, you must spend 100% of it by the last day of the month. Which effectively leaves you starting from $0 on the 1st of the following month.
Keep in mind you're not allowed to maintain any nest egg, emergency fund or other type of savings during this challenge.
In fact, doing so violates the entire goal of the challenge.
So what is that goal?
To prove to yourself that no matter what, you will always be able to earn an income as an entrepreneur.
When I first heard this, I thought the idea was insane.
"What if it doesn't work? What if you can't pay your bills? What if..."
But then I realized every single one of those thoughts was coming from a place of scarcity. A place of limitations and fears.
Further, I also realized going to $0 isn't that much different from being broke or living paycheck to paycheck. In fact, many of you reading this - and many people in this world - live in a perpetual state of Going to $0.
Not because they're doing it on purpose, but because that's the current state of their personal finances. Except for one big difference:
The guy who taught me about this strategy was making serious money.
To the point there were times he had to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on the last day of the month to arrive at $0.
From luxury clothes to gifts for others, no matter how much he made, he took his savings to $0 every single month for 18 months straight.
At which point he said he stopped as the challenge had served its purpose:
Develop an internal and unshakeable confidence that no matter how bad things get in this world, he would always find a way to "make it happen."
Since first learning about this, I've heard of multiple entrepreneurs who do the same or something similar.
From Internet Marketing legend Frank Kern to YouTuber Kevin Paffrath (of the Meet Kevin YouTube channel), you might be surprised how many entrepreneurs keep little to no money in their checking accounts.
In fact, Frank says one of the key motivators that's pushed him to such a high level of success is having an eye watering nine people who depend on him to pay their bills.
Taking this even further, Frank says taking on big expenses - including his Rolls Royce and luxury home in Florida - ensure he has "no choice" but to produce each month.
Admittedly, both Kevin and Frank have multi-million dollar net worths.
So while they might not "go to $0" in a literal sense, they force themselves into a perpetual state of needing to generate an income to pay their bills each month (by investing any spare cash into non-liquid assets that would be hard to sell off to pay day-to-day bills).
Sure, there's a gargantuan difference between doing this as a broke beginner and an experienced entrepreneur who has an illiquid but massive safety net.
And if you have serious medical expenses, or kids / aging parents to take care of, doing something so dramatic could be dangerous.
However, if you're barely scraping by each month, forcing yourself to Go To $0 is unlikely to change your finances one way or another.
So why does this strategy work so well?
As many authors and podcasters have uncovered, the 'Big Fear' most entrepreneurs suffer from is the fear of going broke.
In fact, even when an entrepreneur achieves a 9-figure or billion dollar net worth, you'd be shocked how many of them are terrified they'll end up losing it all (listen to enough podcasts or read enough books and you'll find plenty of evidence reinforcing this idea).
But if we dig a little deeper, this fear is both an exaggeration and highly unlikely for the majority of people. Why?
Because most people have multiple layers of safety nets that would prevent them from literally ending up at $0 with nowhere to turn for help.
Examples include:
Being able to get a reasonably high paying 9-5 job if their business venture doesn't work out
Having savings, credit cards, home equity, etc. they can tap into the case of an emergency
Having a partner/spouse whose income contributes to the bills
Having parents or siblings they could stay with if they actually lost their house / couldn't pay rent (extreme and unlikely scenario)
Being able to slash unnecessary expenses (from Netflix to car leases)
Being able to freelance or generate side income
Having family members / friends / church peers they could lean on to take care of their kids if they have to cut child care for a month or three
In short, most people have multiple safety nets they can fall back on if their entrepreneurial ventures don't work out.*
*And for the people who don't have these types of financial and/or social back up plans, there are both government and social programs that can help them get off the ground.
But because the human mind is programmed for survival, we live in a constant state of fear regardless of how "safe" our situation actually is.
Which is why Go To $0 is so powerful:
It's a form of Exposure Therapy.
As you may or may not know, exposure therapy involves taking someone who has an irrational phobia (snakes, social anxiety, etc.) and intentionally exposing them to the thing their afraid of in small doses. Why?
To prove to them (and their underlying subconscious) that their fear is irrational. In particular, that the thing they're afraid of is not in fact dangerous.
Meaning, by forcing yourself to $0 each month, you are essentially "exposing" yourself to one of most entrepreneurs biggest fears: The fear of going broke.
And by doing this repeatedly (which is what professionals do with Exposure Therapy), you eventually retrain your subconscious to stop fearing whatever it is you keep exposing yourself to.
And if going to $0 sounds like too much for you to handle right off the bat, you can start with $1,000 (or whatever amount) and work your way down to $0 after X number of months.
Is this type of mindset training extreme?
Yes.
But if you do it - and take it seriously - you can build a rock solid, unshakeable confidence that no matter what, you will rise to the occasion.
💡Takeaway:Taking your finances to $0 on the final day of each month forces you into a situation where failure is not an option and you must produce to survive. Doing this can be risky depending on your current financial obligations, but the outcome is an unshakeable confidence in your ability to produce as an entrepreneur.
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