What part does mindset play in your success?

For many people, in particular those of us who are left-brained and task driven,
not much. We want to know what to do. “What steps do I need to take to reach my
goals?” “Don’t talk to me about that ethereal stuff!”

In the past, I’ve said that “Nothing gets done by simply thinking about it”.
While I still attest to the fact that accomplishment requires action, my mind
has changed regarding the unstated meaning, the implied “and furthermore…”.
That is, that mindset should be the lowest priority or even disregard altogether.

This past month, I was challenged by a mentor in a mastermind group
to write down my business goals and email them to him. Which I did.
So, then I was committed, no excuses

Although, this public declaration of my intent played a significant part in
realizing my goal, I’m convinced, it was the changes I made to my mindset
that put me over the top.

What is ‘Mindset’ anyway?

There are books written on the subject and there are several definitions
but I like this simple answer:

“A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines
a persons responses to and interpretations of situations.”

In other words, the way I interpret and respond to situations is pre-programmed
based on what I think about. And it seems reasonable then to assume, that, for
the most part, my responses will be positive if my thoughts are positive and
vice-versa.

“What you think about, comes about”
“As you sow, so shall you reep”
“Out of the heart, the tongue speaks”

I began to change my negative thoughts by simply disagreeing with them. I would
catch myself pondering my ‘underwhelming’ sales or stressing out about upcoming
bills. I would contradict my thoughts by saying something like:

“No, that’s wrong. I am the leader people are looking for. There’s an
abundance of qualified people who will only get into business with me”

(I did this silently, if I was in public. It’s better to keep quiet and
let people think your weird, than to speak up and remove all doubt.)

These affirmations did change my attitude. But what I found most remarkable
was that I was focusing on the solution and taking action. Absent was the feeling
sorry for myself and navel gazing.

As a result, I not only achieved my goal, I exceeded it. It was the most
stress-free month I can remember.

Mindset can energize you or it can stifle you. But it’s not neutral. It’s our
responsibility to take charge of our own programming and to use mindset
to our advantage. If you’re interested learning more about how you can drive
your own success through the power of your mind, sign in to my newletter on
the form to the right of this post.

Does mindset determine outcome and, if so, how do
passive aggressive words like ‘try’ impact mindset?

I’ve come to the conclusion that ‘try” is a four letter word.

• Try = Do One’s Best

• Try = Take A Stab At It

• Try = Song & Dance

• Try = Off The Hook

• Try = FAIL

“Do, or do not. There is no try.”

This well know ‘Star Wars’ quote is no more true than it is in business.

On the surface, when someone says “I’ll Try”, it may sound positive or that
there’s an agreement to a course of action. But in actuality, it’s negative
and uncertain.

Of course, when someone ‘tries’, it doesn’t mean that they’re certain to
fail. But it does mean that they are uncertain of success. And to put it more
strongly, they’re not committed to success and, in fact, that they accept that
FAILURE IS AN OPTION.

To “Try” is to not fully commit
To “Try” is to excuse underwhelming performance
To “Try” is to give permission to fail.

Often, the thing we say in the face of a challenge is “I’ll try” because we
don’t know “how” to make it happen. We evaluate the probability of
success before we decide to commit to success. Why is that? Are we
stacking our average or are we afraid to fail? In all likelihood, it’s both.
Figuratively, it’s like crossing the fingers behind the back.

“I can’t be held responsible for my lack of success if I
wasn’t truly committed to success in the first place”.

The key is the decision. It’s not only important to have a clear picture of
what your success will look like, it’s also important to decide that you
will be successful.

I came across something in a book I was reading. It’s called The Game Of
Life and How To Play It by Florence Shinn. She was talking about
the affect thoughts have on outcomes. I had heard of this concept before,
however, this time I actually listened. There were three things that struck
me. One is the strictness of the discipline. That is, the smallest negative
thought has an impact. Two, that controlling my thoughts is a journey
not a destination. And three, imperfection is not grounds for self
condemnation.

Just as we consider our integrity on the big things, the white lies, the
exaggerations and the minor verbal inaccuracies should not be brushed
under the carpet. Especially when we’re proclaiming some limitation. They
should be confronted, in the moment, and contradicted. Repeating the positive
to counteract the negative. Being in a constant state of improvement so that
perfection is not the expectation.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a conference. However,
I didn’t have the money to buy a ticket. I really wanted to go, so
I decided to relax, think positively and do all that I could so that my
future sales would cover the cost of my ticket. As time went on and
my business volume was still less than the cost to the ticket, I decided
to take a closer look at how I was thinking and what I was believing.

It’s true, I was focusing on sales building activities but there was evidence
that I didn’t truly believe that I was going to be successful. If I was sure
I was attending the conference, I would have scheduled vacation time
at my job. I hadn’t done that. I would have booked my flight. I hadn’t
done that either.

As long as we consider failure as a possible outcome, failure becomes
much more likely.

The farther I go into my entrepreneurial career, the more I see
the impact thoughts and words have on results. And that mindset
can be guided by thoughts and words to produce desirable
outcomes.