Archive for category: Personal

Frank Mir says that the difference between a good fighter and a great fighter is mindset.

Now, obviously I believe mindset is one of the single most important things in the life of an entrepreneur and a business professional; otherwise, I would not have built Mindset Engine for you.

But the important thing with mindset is to realize that it is not only just a key ingredient. It is a foundation ingredient for those who are successful.

The most successful, the greatest fighters in this quote, are those who have the ability to focus, to really hone in on what it is they want, how they can drive, and most importantly how they can strip away distractions that cause them to procrastinate.

I have found in my own life that the closer that I get to success, the marker that showed me so was that my mindset became much, much more focused.

Take Action:

I invite you today to stop and look back at your calendar over the last month. Have you been deeply focused on what you’re trying to build? Or has it been a zigzag—off to the left, off to the right—where you’re just swinging at whatever’s in front of you hoping you might get lucky?

We need to remember that the best fighters have a very focused goal.

That’s what makes them winners and champions. So use that concept today.

What do you need to win this round. Do so. And think about the next round.

Taking risk is something that entrepreneurs have a love/hate relationship with.

We love it because of the energy and the adventure that can come with it. With that risk also comes a great opportunity for failure, for ridicule, for suffering, or for the struggle. But we know that our struggles and challenges are the sources of our battle scars.

But over time, our battle scars become medals of honor mentally for us as we go forward.

So in thinking about the risk that you take, obviously you want to make wise choices and take a calculated risk, educated risk, and not just blind faith jumps. However, it takes a while to learn that when you do take a risk, which if you win you end up happy, and if you lose you end up wise.

The true ingredient of success is wisdom. Learning, even through the midst of failures, allows us to steer clear of those pitfalls later.

Winning is an awesome thing. Losing is a wisdom thing.

Often we allow ourselves to get beat up because we may not have reached the level we wanted. But I encourage you to flip the script and look at setbacks for the value and wisdom they have given you.

We all have setbacks. Real wisdom comes from what we gained from those setbacks.

Think about that.

For many of us as entrepreneurs, patience is not an ingredient we have a lot of.  We like to go, move, and get things done…now.

At the same time, this gift of drive and focus can become a judge that allows a voice of discouragement to run rampant in our head.

There have been many seasons where I beat myself up about where I am and why I have not gotten farther.

But I learned a serious life lesson to keep everything perspective.

Focus on how far you have come, not on the distance remaining to your goal.

By learning to celebrate the progress what than focus on things un-done, you give your body, mind, and soul the ability to create and go faster in the future.

The freedom is liberating, and your work will be far better.

Take Action:

As soon as you finish this Mindset for Today, take 5-10 minutes and focus on all you have accomplished. Celebrate where you are.

In one of my Group Calls, I have people who are just making the jump from the corporate world into their first entrepreneurial venture.

At times it feels like that they’re moving so slow, it is like a turtle’s pace. They are often frustrated because they see other people moving super-fast. Other people appear to be doing things quicker or easier than they are.

The truth is strength and success come from constant movement forward and upward.

Confucius says, “It’s not a matter of how fast or how slowly you go, it’s that you don’t stop, that you keep moving.”

You may be in a situation where you’re unable at the moment to give your full attention to your dream venture.

I can relate. I know when I first started coaching, I was managing an agency and was in a full-time job that was challenging. It took a lot of after-hours and then coaching clients late in the evenings.

There were times that I wanted to give up because I was tired or I was frustrated. I didn’t feel like I was moving as quick as I wanted to.

It took discipline and constantly chipping at the project as a way to move forward. It’s hard work that requires a commitment to action.

Take Action:

I caution you to stay away from the trap of saying you do not have enough time.  Even that mindset can limit your thinking significantly. I started saying, “I have all the time in the world.  It is just that my priority of projects is in need of being adjusted.”  Boom!  I started finding blocks of time where I could build my dream.

One other tool is to use mental sprints.  Instead of trying to tackle a huge piece of you project all at once, try to break down just the first thing that you need to do.  Then, give yourself only 33 minutes (or some other odd number) to take action.  Whether it is to brainstorm, or write, or record a video, by setting a deadline in your mind along with a timer on your phone, your brain will see this as something you have to deliver immediately. 

This mental sprint certainly worked for me.

Think about that.

Recently I had a conversation with a group of entrepreneurs about the idea and the concept of courage.

Many often misunderstand—believing that courage is the ability to throw the facts out the window and storm the gates anyway.

The truth is courage is being able to take wisdom, understanding, and fortitude to keep driving forward even when something is difficult.

Courage is persistence to get past something that may be holding you back, and for many, the willingness to start in the first place.

We all know that mindset, courage, energy, and discipline all require a workout.

These actions have to be exercised much like our muscles do. The more we practice courage, the more we have peace amid conflict. The more we exercise our mindset, the less likely we become trapped in self-doubt and other busy-ness.

Take Action:

I challenge you to look at what is holding you back and frustrating you. Do you know what you need to do or is your uncertainty feeding your procrastination?  It is time to do the hard work by first being brutally honest with yourself. 

Easy comes to those who do the hard work.

Think about that.