3 Fundamental Mindset Shifts to Help You Become a Successful Entrepreneur
If you are looking for fundamental mindset shifts that will help you become a successful entrepreneur, grow your business to new heights, and ultimately maximize the impact that you have on this world, then we are sure at some point you have read or heard about the importance of your mindset and its relationship with becoming a successful entrepreneur.
Your mindset is simply the collection of thoughts and beliefs that you use to determine your actions and habits. And since your entrepreneurial success is heavily dependent upon those actions and habits, it makes total sense that positively shifting your mindset will translate into dramatic growth and transformation for you and your business.
As entrepreneurs, who deal with an excessive amount of stress, responsibility, and uncertainty, it can be challenging to stay motivated and focused on your goals. We are sharing three fundamental mindset shifts to help you determine how to become a successful entrepreneur and boost your ability to maintain the drive and clarity needed for continued growth and success.
We’re walking you through how to master each one of these fundamental mindset shifts so you can unlock new levels of passion, performance and entrepreneurial success.
3 Fundamental Mindset Shifts to Help You Become a Successful Entrepreneur:
1) Embrace Failure
Turn failure into a learning opportunity. As entrepreneurs, we’re going to experience failure, it’s a natural part of the entrepreneurial journey.
The misconception is that failure represents weakness and incompetence. As a result, many entrepreneurs (and people in general) try to stay away from situations and opportunities where failure may be lurking. Thinking about failure in a negative way can seriously impact your self-confidence and ability to take action or make decisions as an entrepreneur. When you’re constantly worried about getting it “wrong” or failing, it forces you to play it small and safe.
By shifting your mindset and challenging the way you think about failure, you understand that failure represents growth. Any new level you will rise to will require some level of failure which creates space for practice and improvements. Shifting your mindset and embracing failure allows you to execute the bold and powerful actions that will bring new achievements in your career and success as an entrepreneur. Winston Churchill phrased it in a unique way when he said:
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
So, begin to examine your failures. Have you failed at anything lately? Because if you haven’t, chances are you’re operating in your comfort zone.
And if you have failed, what have you learned? What can you do better next time?
When you start to question some of your thoughts and beliefs about failure, you liberate yourself from its paralyzing effects. And doing that allows you to move forward with passion and purpose as you build your vision as a successful entrepreneur.
Action Steps: To help you solidify this fundamental mindset shift, write down 1 thing you haven’t done/tried because of your fear of failure. Write down 3 worse case scenarios and 3 best-case scenarios. Use these as a guide for the lessons you can learn based on either outcome. Then begin to write down steps and take action on your goal releasing the fears attached to your worse case scenarios.
2) Think Abundance
People with a scarcity mindset focus on unfulfilled needs. They tend to focus on what they lack rather than what they have, think short-term, spend a lot of time comparing themselves to others and have a less fulfilling life in general. People with a scarcity mindset also believe they have to “compete” for resources or there isn’t “enough” for them or everyone.
This mindset can be crippling to an entrepreneur and it’s a fundamental mindset shift that will impact your rate of success.
Moving from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset will take effort and it’ll be worth it. An abundance mindset is a powerful tool to help you achieve success. It is the belief that there is an abundance of resources, opportunities, and possibilities in the world.
People with an abundance mindset focus on what they already have and stay in the present moment. When you have an abundance mindset, you will be more likely to look for solutions instead of focusing on problems. Your belief is rooted in the availability of resources for your needs and desires to be met.
Thinking abundance changes the lens in how you operate your business, invest in your personal development and even serve your customers. Your customers are attracted to people who believe in and value themselves.
Action Steps: To help you solidify this fundamental mindset shift:
1) Examine your existing beliefs: (Write down your 10 existing beliefs about your business.) Be honest with yourself. Are your beliefs focused on lack or scarcity?
Start shifting your mindset and replacing your existing scarcity mindset with an abundance mindset.
2) Adopt more empowering thoughts: (Write down 10 new, positive and empowering beliefs about your business.) Read these new beliefs daily, then practice flipping your limiting thoughts to thinking abundance.
3) Change Your Mind
Having the right mindset can make the difference between success and failure. Having a positive mindset allows entrepreneurs to stay motivated and resilient in the face of challenges and setbacks.
How you think is equally as important as what you do. It impacts how you treat the people you interact with, how you make decisions, how open you are to feedback and new ideas, and much, much more.
Mindset is an incredibly important component for any entrepreneur. Having an awareness of your mindset and being able to change your mind in areas where necessary is critical to your success.
When you’re not able to control or change your mind, you’re not able to change outcomes or results.
By mastering your ability to change your mind, you will learn to overcome challenges, think outside the box, be open to change, embrace differences, influence and inspire people and have a stronger sense of self.
Action Steps: To help you solidify this fundamental mindset shift, take responsibility for your thoughts: Recognize that you are in control of your own mindset and that you can choose what you think. Be accountable to yourself, question and reframe any beliefs or mindsets that are sabotaging or negative.
It’s always helpful to get professional support and to surround yourself with people advocating for your growth.
Bonus – Stay Rooted in Your Why
Staying rooted in your “why” as an entrepreneur is essential for success. In the craziness of starting your business, launching a product or service to market, remaining competitive and managing multiple things at a time, it’s easy to get caught up in “shiny object syndrome” or to forget your unique market positioning.
Losing sight of your “why” can lead to stagnation and frustration. It can also lead to inauthenticity and lack of credibility for your brand or business. When an entrepreneur loses alignment with their why, it’s important to take a step back and remember why you started in the first place.
This fundamental mindset shift back to your “why” helps you to reconnect with what drives you and what impact you’re passionate about. When you are rooted in your “why”, it will also help you connect with your audience and customers, building authentic relationships. Your “why” will allow you to communicate your unique mission and values to your customers, creating a bond and trust between you and them.
The “why” behind your business will also provide clarity in your vision and direction, decreasing or eliminating the desire to follow industry trends. Instead giving you the insight to create new trends.
Action Steps: To help you solidify this fundamental mindset shift, build a strong support system around you. Write down your WHY and keep it visible so that all stakeholders (support system) can regularly review and provide feedback, advice and encouragement to keep your action plans aligned with your “why”.
In the end
Having the right skills and knowledge is not enough to help you become a successful entrepreneur. Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their mindset – their willingness to constantly grow, face their fears and embrace failures – and the mastery of their mindset, to their ability to achieve their goals.
– Lovepreet S., EBS MCC
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