Becoming a successful entrepreneur is first and foremost a mental battle. By Ryan Robinson Updated December 28, 2015 Countl...
Becoming a successful entrepreneur is first and foremost a mental battle.
Updated
December 28, 2015
Countless
factors go into determining how successful you'll be in the world of
business.
Having
an unwavering determination, strong willingness to sacrifice, a high
level of commitment, and of course the quality
of your business ideas.
All of these are going to have a very real effect on if (and how)
you'll achieve greatness as an entrepreneur.
For
instance, Tim Ferriss shared with me over on CreativeLive, that even
something as seemingly insignificant as choosing
the right friends has
made a huge impact on his trajectory as an entrepreneur, investor,
and bestselling author.
However,
all of these aspects pale in comparison to the most basic
requirement that so many would-be entrepreneurs fail to excel
at: having
the right mindset.
From
my interviews with accomplished entrepreneurs and through my own
personal experience, here are the 5 most influential mindset changes
that successful entrepreneurs make early on.
1.
Every Failure is an Opportunity.
Setbacks
are inevitable along your journey to the top. You need to decide
very early on that any failures you encounter, no matter how large
or painful, won't be crippling to your mental fortitude - they're
merely learning opportunities. Nearly all successful
entrepreneurs have
had tremendous failures.
It's their determination to learn from those experiences and
continue progressing in their fields, that truly set them apart.
2.
Complaining Gets You Nowhere.
When
you do (you will) experience difficulties, hardships, and failures,
you need to make a very conscious decision to never waste time
complaining.
Collect
yourself, take adequate time to fully understand why you failed, and
pick apart how you're going to avoid the same mistakes in the
future. After that, it's time to move on and tackle your next set of
goals, otherwise you'll allow
your mistakes to define you.
3.
Discomfort is Essential to Success.
If
you're not regularly pushing yourself outside
of your comfort zone,
you're not growing as an entrepreneur. You're not learning. You're
not discovering new and exciting tactics that could help you
significantly grow your business.
Even
when times are good, it can feel like the smart decision is to keep
moving forward with what's been working in the past. However, that's
not how you're going to achieve exponential growth. What's
more, is that whether you know it or not, you have competitors out
there who are willing to push themselves to their limits and they'll
uncover faster growth levers than you will, by playing it safe.
4.
Take Risks Often.
It
almost goes without saying that entrepreneurial success is defined
by taking risks--calculated risks, that is. Choose to be curious.
Investigate why things are the way they are. Hypothesize how you can
make them better. If you're afraid to challenge the status quo, or
you're not interested in questioning why inefficiencies exist in
your industry, you're not going to forge a path toward meaningful
innovations that'll shape our future.
5.
Believe in Yourself.
In
the end, your success as an entrepreneur will be defined--more than
anything else--by how
much you believe in yourself and
your ability to prevail over all obstacles you'll inevitably face.
Don't allow the excuses of lacking an Ivy League education, having
inadequate financial resources, and repeated initial failures go on
to define who you are. Know deep down that you're going to be
successful, commit yourself to making it happen, and nothing can
stop you.
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