As entrepreneurs we go through it all the time. How many times have you:
- Felt like if I just had an extra $xx,xxx things will be much better?
- Been told “Business is hard. Maybe you should just get a job instead?”
- Thought to yourself… “Am I making the right move? I could be sacrificing everything.”
On top of all this, we deal with internal pressures from our friends, family, and other loved ones. We make sacrifices to be better, do better, or to hit some other sort of personal goal.
People on every level feel this type of pressure all the time.
Start up founders always worrying about something or another (usually how to consistently generate revenue, cashflow, or handle execution).
Established business owners are always worrying about employee productivity, quality assurance, or how to sustain / increase their growth rate.
Even stock listed company CEO’s have serious stresses: How do they increase profits / maintain stock investor satisfaction?
Working with business owners, I’ve realized Mindset Is Everything.
If you pay attention owners / founders that have a consistent track record of winning – they protect their mind.
They don’t let others dictate how they should feel.
Most importantly, they don’t care what others think.
They just keep on DOING.
With consistent effort, Winning will come.
A positive mindset lets you work better, think creatively, and really focus on the goals that matter.
So, how do you protect your mindset?
Take a deep breath, we’re about to do an exercise.
Think about your last BIG win. It doesn’t need to be a professional win, it can be a personal win.
The moment you bought your first car.
The moment you got married.
The moment when you told your boss you’re leaving and walked out like a badass.
Now really think about it…. How did you feel? You probably felt invincible.
Now, remember that feeling.
It’s a human thing – we usually let our emotions flow like water. For some reason, we always gravitate towards negative feelings & thoughts that we feel. Right. This. Minute.
We never really think about the GOOD moments that we had and how we felt. On the off chance when do, it’s usually because something triggered (person / object) that triggered it.
So remember those good feelings. Tell yourself it’ll happen – it’s just a matter of time & consistency.
Collect the good things that Trigger positive emotions.
Most of us have things that trigger positivity whenever we look / touch them.
I have an iPhone album with pictures of every win I’ve had so far. From giant paychecks, to emails from clients going “Whoa”, to the first business class flight ticket that I bought.
I even have a photo of Zikria (my co-founder) and I signing our first office space lease.
I’ve been adding to it for years.
So when the walls feel like they are closing in, I can remind myself just how far I’ve come.
Don’t give a HOOT about what others think.
This one is the hardest thing to do.
We tell ourselves we don’t care. All things said and done, we do actually care.
We go on social media, look at other people’s feeds and think “I wish I could be like them.”
It’s hard as hell – But, can you imagine the type of person you would be if you really didn’t care?
That’s real, true freedom.
Be very careful with what you consume online.
We spend soo much of our time online these days, our digital selves are dictated by artificial intelligence and advanced algorithms.
When we click, read, or engage with negative content on the internet – our computer overlords are watching.
It shows you more content similar to what you consumed in the past.
Over time, this turns into a never-ending loop…
Yes, artificial intelligences are pre-programmed to “forget” with time, but that takes time and concerted effort your part.