What If Safety, Not Worth, Is Blocking Your Next Level?

Upper limits are the perceived inner limit based on your lived experience, which is really important with trauma work, what is your relationship with peace and can you stabilize at the new level? Of course, I want more money. Like what could be safer than having more money? Not if you identify with the person that has been chasing it. Now we gotta neutralize. We gotta normalize this in the body, this new level. Otherwise, it's gonna feel like, oh my gosh, too good to be true. And what do we do with too good to be true? We sabotage it. 'cause on some level we feel unsafe with it. People mistake and conflate that with worthiness. It's not necessarily a worthiness thing, it's a safety thing.

What if you could build a business in the modern world as big or as small as you want without having to compromise the things that were the most important to you in the very beginning? This is the wealthy. Sultan Talks podcast with Taylor Welch and Mike Walker as they share with you today, their learning lessons from stories in their experiences over the past 10 to 15 years. And share with you right here, right now. Let's get into it.

All right. What is going on? My friends Mike Walker here. Welcome to another episode of the Wealthy Consultant Podcast. I am excited because I have a very special guest to bring to the table today. Um. Somebody that I have known for a little while now, but who has been unbeknownst to me way deep on the inside. Like she's got all kinds of connections inside of the wealth consultant that I wasn't even aware of until we started talking. So it was kind of a cool thing. But I'd like to introduce Keri Ford. Uh, she's the CEO of Elevate with Keri. She a three-time award-winning advisor to high-profile, high-net-worth women. She blends nervous system science with advanced leadership strategy. Keri, thank you so much for joining me today. I am super excited to dive into everything that is your world, because I know people need it in particular right now. So why don't you kind of, uh, expand on that little bio. I know it goes way beyond that, so take, take us a little bit further into your world. I'm excited. 

Yeah, so I, uh, I knew that there was something to, you know, the inner world and the belief systems that we get to step into the identity shift of who we be before our external changes. But, you know, first it started with embodiment and sort of the practices around that. And then as I dove deeper into personal development, I discovered somatic work and I was like. What the heck is this? I mean, it's hard to really find what you're looking for when you don't know the name of it. Mm-hmm. And so I'm trauma trained as a practitioner because this to me was the key that I think so many people in high levels of leadership need. And quite honestly, like nobody was doing this kind of work in that space. They weren't applying somatic work and the nervous system, the felt sense, experience and all of that into that world. And so, um. 

Three years ago, trademark Somatic Success Method as a way to blend both the external success on paper, right? The money, the influence, the visionary, everything, uh, in with the trauma train modalities. And I think that's a huge missing piece, um, where people that are at the top have invisible stresses and weight and, you know, need to prioritize mental health. Otherwise, they're, they're taking like. Long sabbaticals with an unknown period of, you know, time that they end it. And, uh, to me, this was just such a huge, huge part of that. So, anyway, it's a little bit of a, I kind of stumbled into it, but it's such a huge part of leadership. I was like, I. This has to be talked about, like why is this not part of it yet?

Amazing. Yeah. And you said something, a key word there, like the this, um, unseen, um, element. So would this be that proverbial glass ceiling that people seem to hit on their way up the ladder of success where they just keep feeling like, man, I just can't seem to break through to the next level. I just get stuck here. Are these the types of unseen even. Potentially unfelt things, uh, that are keeping people back or where, where are you seeing this, your work make the biggest impact? What that really unlocks for people?

I see it in two ways. Um, one is as they approach that new upper limit, the inner thermostat, um, I love the book by Gay Hendricks, the Big Leap, except I add in the somatic component, like what's happening in the body. As we claim a new level, as we get closer to breaking through those beliefs and barriers that are invisible, you know, upper limits are the perceived inner limit, right? Based on your lived experience, which is really important with trauma work. Because trauma, that's unresolved. Old business trauma, old belief systems that accompany those things, those are all acquired through your experience. But then how do you change that? You have to change the inner thermostat, what it perceives as safe or unsafe. So it's, that comes up as we approach a new level. So yes, some people might experience that as stuck. Can't seem my way around this wall. Can't figure it out. Can't seem to outperform my limiting beliefs. Yes, very real. Then there's the other side of that. What happens as you just go past that new upper limit? Right? What feels safe to keep, and we see this a lot with people that have new money. Meaning they're the first person in their generation and their family to ha come into money to make money. And, and first the conversation starts as, can I do this? And then it turns into I've done it, now I'm in a new tax bracket and I've got all these other problems. Right? Right. All these other leadership challenges that come with new evolved issues into higher leadership, more overhead and keeping it is really a whole other thing.

I don't know if you've read the Psychology of Money I. Yeah. Have you read that book? Mm-hmm. Talks about keeping it right. Totally. And so a lot of that has to do with, again, the identity shift and being the person now that feels safe with stability. If you knew chaos growing up, for example, talking about past experiences and trauma, you're gonna unconsciously create chaos. Even when you have the thing that you have set out to achieve can only override the nervous system for so long.

I totally see that a lot, you know, um, members coming into Chamber in particular, uh, you know, our highest tier consultancy people come in and obviously at that point they're already, uh, by most general standards considered successful. You know, they're doing well, they're trending well at the very least. And, um, they almost, without fail, will have these elements of, um. Things from their past holding them back, and yet they seem to just keep looping on 'em. Like they, they basically get stuck in that mode of survival where that's, they've normalized it, they've normalized that feeling of urgency, of scarcity. Uh, so when we start to get them out of it. Like you said, it's, it's one thing to get it, it's another thing to keep it. Yeah. And that's one of the first conversations we typically have as people generate, you know, um, new levels within the training and curriculum and support that we provide here is that I. We're like, Hey, just so you know, when you get to the top of the mountain, you're gonna have to get used to a different level of oxygen or lack thereof. Mm-hmm. Depending on how you wanna look at it. And, uh, you gotta normalize that. And it's okay to, to realize that, wow, this feels very foreign to not be freaking out, not to be going. You know, the peripheral paycheck to paycheck scenario or whatever, and so, mm-hmm. Uh, that's a, that's a big piece. And I know you must spend, I would imagine, you tell me if I'm wrong, but I would imagine you probably spend quite a bit of time with that on that particular topic with people, right. Is like figuring out how to get away from. What they've normalized in the past so that they can actually truly keep the new levels that they're achieving as they go.

Yeah. It's really about rewiring their nervous system for new patterns of stability. Um, because yeah, if they know chaos, if they know the dopamine drive as I call it, trauma drive, which is like constantly putting themselves, let's say in positions where their back is against the wall that they need to outperform or override their way out of that is. It has a payoff, right? There's adrenaline, there's a dopamine hit to that. Mm-hmm. It's a survival mechanism though, when you really look under the hood. And so yeah. How do we rewire that so that you don't constantly do that just at higher levels with more money? It's a lot riskier and there's a lot more money on the line and there's a lot more people affected at higher levels of, of wealth. You know, if you're even up to, you know, 10 million, I would consider like a small business, but still you could, that could be a very costly mistake.

Yeah, you could blow some stuff up with that for sure. Yep. And I see it every time they hit a new level of stability or achievement because it's not a matter of like if they'll hit their goals, they will, they'll figure it out. That's their doers, their achievers, their fast integrators and implementers. But can you, what is your relationship with peace and can you stabilize at the new level right before you like open another loop And that's what you are referring to, the psychosomatic loop that their body knows. Even though we might say like. Well, that's so stupid. Like of course I want more money. Like what could be safer than having more money? Not if you identify with the person that has been chasing it. Not, not if you identify with the struggle or the dopamine drive of that. Mm-hmm. Um, and so yeah, stabilizing is a huge part of the mental game that a lot of people, I think discount.

The first thing I say to clients when they achieve a new goal, neutralize, now we gotta neutralize, we gotta normalize this in the body. This new level. Otherwise it's gonna feel like, oh my gosh, too good to be true. And what do we do with too good to be true? We sabotage it. 'cause on some level we feel unsafe with it. People mistake and conflate that with worthiness. It's not necessarily a worthiness thing, it's a safety thing.

Amazing. I think we should go there. Like with all these, um, you know, episodes. I always try to make sure that within a 15 to 20 minute period of time that um, our listeners and viewers have a takeaway, you know, something that they can immediately apply into their life or business. And I feel like what you were just highlighting there is, is neutralizing stabilizing? Is there a small, I mean, granted, your work goes really, really deep, so I know we're confined by time, but. Um, is there anything that we could maybe dig into there that would help our audience here, like immediately apply into their life and business?

Yeah. So if you can think of a time where looking back in hindsight, you're like, oh my gosh, I a hundred percent sabotaged. Just, it could be a relationship, could be a monetary gain, could have been a new goal, a, a visibility, whatever. Just think about it. Everyone has one. They're like, oh man, I totally sabotaged that. Mm. Now take it a step deeper. What indicates inside your body that that was sabotaged? How does that feel like, Ooh, I feel this pit in my stomach. It's heavy. Where do you feel it? Okay. In my chest. In my stomach, I feel like my throat is clenching up. Those are often, usually it's like contraction or heaviness that people often say. So feel that. And now that you have a little somatic information, you'll know the next time it starts to creep in. Like, and you'll save yourself some time. 'cause you're like, oh, there's that feeling. I know that feeling. This is what it feels like when I sabotage. Okay, it's contracting, it's heavy. It's in my gut. So that's information for sabotage on the other side. Now think of a goal that you have achieved, that you have normalized, that you have kept, or something that you're, you know, that you've accomplished. Could be a new level of money and income. Could be that one. Healthy love and relationship, you know, new levels of intimacy that you've been craving. Think about that and think about how that feels to just have as a constant right in your life. It's there. It's here. It's right now. How does that feel? Probably feels warm or open, or expansive. Or peaceful. Or maybe it feels like nothing at all, which is kind of cool because it's neutral.

Yes. I was just going there. It feels neutral, like, well, I just expect it now. Like that's what it is. Exactly. It's truth. It's like saying, you know, the sky is blue. It's fact. So feel that neutrality, feel that inside. Feel the location of it. With somatic work, it's always about the felt sense experience. And if there's any Neville Goddard fans who I'm a huge fan of, and I listen to him all the time, he talks about don't just say robotic affirmations. Truly feel them. Like, feel that that's the truth. So feel the neutrality of that and feel what that feels like. So that's how you know, um, you know that you've really shifted an identity. And you get to like keep this new level. Not to say that things won't happen, but the number one thing that most successful people trust themself with the most is I can always make money. And like, that's like even guys that are like, ah, you know, I've lost $30 million, or I've, you know, whatever. You see it on the, uh, what does that show? The ABC's, uh, secret millionaire or people that get interviewed on the streets? Oh, it's like, if you lost everything tomorrow, do you think you can make it back? They never skip a beat. They always say, without a doubt, I can make it back.

Yes. Yep. In fact, I, I even, um, often talk to clients about that, that are going through financial things or. In the extreme situations where they have just, you know, things blew up on 'em. Mm-hmm. Um, I just share the story of in over, you know, two and a half decades of business development experience on my, you know, through my own journey. I've ridden that rollercoaster, the ups and downs and, and all the things and, and having things, you know, go sideways on me and financially and, and, uh, I often look back at those things and actually anchor to them as like, Hey, this is proof positive that. I'm not scared to not have money. Again. I know without a question of a doubt that I can go get that again. Mm-hmm. Just rebuild, you know? And that confidence makes you feel pretty much bulletproof to make really bold decisions when other people are just, you know, white knuckled to the what ifs and the ah, we can't risk too much type attitude. It's like, nah, we'll just go build it if we have to. I mean, don't be reckless, but it also gives you that. That bravado that I think is sometimes required to make big moves in the market or in, in your, uh, in your space.

Yeah. There's also a question that's coming to mind kind of ringing between my ears as we talk about this that I think could be important for more, more of my cognitive thinkers on the show. And that is what part of me doesn't want this to work, and that will reveal a lot about your current beliefs because we don't get what we want. We get who we are. Right. And if we wanna know what we believe, we just look at our results, it'll re reveal all of your beliefs. So what part of you doesn't want this to work? And I'll ask myself that question. When I feel stuck, if I'm hitting a wall over and over again, I feel like I can't figure it out, quote unquote. Um, and that will always reveal kind of a deeper level of lack of feeling, a lack of safety within myself. Oh, there's a gem to rewire, you know?

Right, right. So I feel like with your level of expertise in this area, do you kind of. Look at people and every interaction that you have. Clients specifically, I would say, but pretty much anybody you run into, I'd imagine. Uh, do you kind of feel like you're looking through the matrix a little bit? 'cause you can pick up on all kinds of little nuances and stuff. Whenever I meet people that, you know, subject matter experts that are either like body language experts or, you know, they're super deep into NLP or whatever, I just feel like. They're like seeing code in front of their, their eyes, you know what I mean? Is, is there anything like that for you where it's like reading between the lines so much that most people just don't see or hear?

Yeah. Taylor and I were talking about this at the mixer at one of the last events, and he was like, you just like see things differently. Like I, you can, you, I can feel that from you. Um, and it freaks some people out and I have to be mindful, like, they're like, I feel like you look through my soul when you make eye contact. Yeah. Are listening and seeing and hearing me and I. I am naturally very intuitive, but I'm also trained to listen. But I have to be, also be mindful, um, where there isn't permission, right from somebody that it's kind of like people that tap into energetic fields. I don't have permission to track their nervous system. We haven't gone into that agreement, so I'm not gonna like slide into that necessarily. Can I feel things? And is my nervous system very, very attuned and trained at this point to just trust my intuition without proof with my eyes? Absolutely. Can I hear the breath between lines? Yes. Um, but do I have permission to track somebody's nervous system and, and really like, basically process them? No. Like not unless I have a contract with them and that is the dynamic we're stepping into because it feels invasive otherwise.

Yeah. Right. It's not really fair for me to. Use that training, I think. But, um, yeah,