Why Smart People Often Struggle in Business - The Importance of Mindset

Being an entrepreneur requires a different mindset than working in a job or career. So what exactly do I mean by "mindset?" Well, let's start with a dictionary definition: Mindset is a noun that means "an attitude, disposition, or mood" or "an intention or inclination."

Your mindset is how you THINK about things and what you BELIEVE.

I believe there are three crucial areas around mindset that can make, or break, your business success.

(1) Managing Your Mindset: Believing in yourself and what you have to offer - Self Confidence is Key

In my opinion, self-confidence is THE most important marketing tool you have as a service-based business provider. If you don't believe in what you do 150%, and in it's ability to make a huge difference in your clients' lives, you're going to have a really hard time convincing anyone else. You must believe it first.

(2) Acting in Spite of Fear

Let me let you in on a little secret: all those "successful" people you are admiring, they get scared, too! The only difference between them and the people who are still playing small or struggling to find success, is that those people who are successful are willing to act in spite of the fear...they are willing to move THROUGH it and they don't let it stop them.

Being willing to keep taking consistent action, move through fear, and practicing what I refer to as "Ready, Fire, Aim" (a concept I learned from one of my first mentors, T. Harv Eker) is what has enabled me to be successful in multiple businesses.

Have I made a few mis-steps or "mistakes" along the way? Of course I have. So much so, that I don't even like to use the word "mistake" because it's not really accurate. When things don't work out as you expect, plan, or want, that's all it is: something not working out as you expected. It's not necessarily wrong or a mistake. Very often, it's those "mistakes" that we learn the most from, and that propel us forward the fastest.

When you can learn to look at everything as perfect just the way it is, and instead of labeling things as mistakes, simply ask "What can I learn from this?" you and your business will grow much faster, and you will find success. Just know there may be a few speed bumps along the way!

Learning to embrace this mindset will literally transform your business and your life.

(3) Overcoming Challenges

If you're expecting the path from where you are now, to the success you're envisioning to be a straight, uneventful line, I hate to burst your bubble, but that's just not how things work. A few years ago, someone pointed out to me that a rocket ship on its way to the moon is actually off-course more than 90% of the time. However, by consistently making small corrections, it does eventually get to the moon.

Can you imagine if that rocket ship thought like most of us? And every time it got a little off course, it threw up its hands and said "Why is this happening to me? Why can't I just get to the moon easily and without any challenges or obstacles?" Sounds silly I know, but in effect that's what we're expecting. We're expecting to step into something we've never done before, and very likely something we are not totally equipped to do on our own, and be able to do it quickly and perfectly and without incident.

I know a lot of this is easier said than done

Starting your own business is probably the greatest personal development journey you will ever embark on. ALL of your "stuff" comes up in the process. So it's important to address it. Because you can take all the right steps to make your business a success, but if your mindset isn't right, you still won't achieve what you want. Because YOU can actually be the biggest obstacle to your own success.

Debbie LaChusa, The Business Stylist, is a business and branding expert whose focus is on making over businesses that aren't living up to their full potential, and helping business owners design a business, brand, and marketing that "fit" them perfectly. You can register for her free business and branding training videos, along with her free report, "Are You and Your Business Brandtabulous?" at www.TheBizStylist.com. Or, you can learn more about Debbie and read her latest blog posts at www.DebbieLaChusa.com