Why Ignoring Your Mindset Will Crush Your Business Having your business strategy laid out is important, but you also need to know and be comfortable with who you are as a person when success comes.
By Daniel Mangena •
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Sixty percent of all businesses go bust within three years. The circumstances may be unique, but one factor lies at the heart of them all; the people who start those businesses haven't put the time in to become successful in developing the mindset needed to succeed. They refuse to grow with their business. They're stuck, falling back on patterns of behavior that keep them where they are, and therefore, their companies don't stand a chance.
We've all seen ads for online courses, workshops and e-books, talking about how you just need to picture yourself as a millionaire to become one. The sleight of hand that most of these coaching tools commit is misrepresenting causation with alignment.
A stark statistic that bears this out is that 70 percent of lottery winners go broke, and a third go on to declare bankruptcy. Why so high? Because it's probably the most acute scenario of unplanned overnight "rags to riches." The people playing the lottery were never wealthy when it came to their inner game or mindset. The odds are that simply by playing the lottery in the first place - they were reinforcing the belief that they were not worthy of financial abundance.
Related: 3 CEO-Level Mindsets That Create Freedom and Financial Independence
Mindset is the key to removing barriers
Most self-proclaimed guides to mindset miss the fact that your mindset about business is more about removing barriers than creating or manifesting anything. That is not to say that you can't do the latter, but in the context of creating a business, it's the former that is key. The reason that you should spend time mentally rehearsing being a millionaire is not because it's like casting a magic spell; it's because you need to begin the process of changing who you are.
The real reason for focussing on your mindset and inner game ahead of becoming successful is so that you are clear about who you will be when you've attained high-wealth status. It's about getting your subconscious mind used to the idea ahead of time so that you don't experience the panic that precipitates self-destructive behavior.
We can find numerous examples of people who have won millions, only to indulge in penury-precipitating spending sprees and find themselves in highly toxic environments. Having your business strategy laid out is important, but you also need to know and be comfortable with who you are as a person when success comes. It is vital to ask yourself: Who are you going to be with money? How will you manage it? Will you even be comfortable having an abundance of money and clients coming to you?
Related: 8 Mindsets That Will Set You on the Path to Success
Use mindset to manage the subconscious
Unless you lay out a clear path for yourself and your business, you will be tethered to the status quo, constantly being dragged back to a space of scarcity because the subconscious mind does not lose. If we do not address the programming of our subconscious, we doom ourselves to repeating the patterns that have gotten us to where we are now. This is why everything starts with not only mindset but who we are at our very heart. Being successful in any area of life is about more than just the acquisition of money. The choices that you make and your day-to-day concerns will be completely different. It will not solve all your problems. It will solve some while presenting others.
Everyone who embarks upon a new business venture should be encouraged to identify first; who they want this venture to support them in becoming. Take the time to sit with that, imagine an average day in the life of that person, and interrogate, in-depth, the question of whether they truly want it or not.
Know who you want to be
So, whether you are embarking upon a new venture, already a business owner, or you're already wealthy but worried about remaining so: work on your mindset. Get clear on who you want to be with wealth. Deeply connect with that person on an emotional level. Keep checking in with those emotions daily. Witness the changes as they happen.
Knowing who you want to be will answer many questions for you and enable you to make choices without hesitation. Armed with this awareness, you can't lose.
