10 Shifts in Perspective Necessary to Succeed as an Entrepreneur The boundaries of your success are drawn by how you view the value of what you offer and the importance of making it available.
By Dixie Gillaspie Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
If you aren't as successful, as wealthy, or as happy as you want to be then maybe you need to change your mind about some things. There are 10 belief systems cultivated by highly effective people that run counter to the way most entrepreneurs are conditioned to think about their life and business. Switch up your mindset and you'll see a change in your results.
1. You're paid for what you do and what happens when you do it.
Impact equals income. But you don't create impact only through the products you sell or the services you offer. How did you change someone's life for the better? Did you make them smile, make them healthier, make them wealthier, make them happier? What changed for someone else because they hired you?
2. An investment in yourself is an investment in your business.
Whether you personally serve your clients or your time is spent only with your internal team, your emotional, physical and mental well-being affects how well you serve them. That doesn't mean you can write off that visit to the spa -- but if you're better equipped to give your business the energy and effort it deserves because you took a little R&R, then it wasn't time or money wasted. And of course, an investment in developing your character, mindset, skills and education is even recognized as a legitimate tax deduction.
3. You don't balance your work with your life, you balance your work in your life.
An attempt at "work-life balance" is simply trying to live a compartmentalized life and not the path to health, wealth or happiness. Balance is never a matter of finding the perfect formula for how you spend your time and energy and sticking to it, you are a living organism and your business also has a life of its own. As you and your business change you'll have to find balance in that momentum.
Related: The 3 Tools You Need to Get Your Work Done So You Have Time For a Life
4. If you do what you love the money won't automatically follow.
But, if you let people see how much you love what you do, most people will be willing to pay you more for doing it. Truth or myth, most people assume that a person who is passionate about what they do will do it with more care and attention than the person who invests no emotion in their work.
5. The customer is not always right.
But if you can make them feel good even when they're wrong, they are likely to be a customer for life. Not that you want every customer to be with you for life, some are so wrong you need to fire them. But if you want to keep them, kindness rules even when they break the rules.
6. Massive action isn't the only way to "get 'er done."
In fact, it isn't always the best way. Quite often consistent baby steps in the same direction will take you there as fast or faster. And taking time to create a plan and check your premises leaves you time to course correct instead of backtracking. On the other hand, successful entrepreneurs don't delay taking action once they've decided on a direction – whether it's massive or miniscule, they're always making their dreams actionable.
Related: Forget Big Goals. Take Baby Steps for Small, Daily Wins.
7. Skip blame and fault, just learn your lesson and move on.
So far as I know there are no recorded cases of entrepreneurs who became successful by berating themselves or beating themselves up over their past mistakes and failures. So examine your past choices, make a plan to avoid making those same mistakes again, and get back to work.
8. Only dwelling on it makes the competition important.
Focus on besting your last best performance, and no one will notice the competition -- including you. There are a lot of positives to having competition. You probably couldn't serve everyone who wants what you offer, nor would you want to. And your competition may be doing a great job of creating desire for the type of service or product you sell, which means more people are willing to pay someone for it, and some of them will pay you.
9. Winning does not require anyone to lose.
Unless of course, you define your win by what happens to someone else. But if you define a win by what you receive, what you accomplish, what you attain – then remember that there is plenty of everything.
10. You won't get what you want until you know what it is.
Opportunities are only your opportunities when you're clear about what you want. Oh, and you don't really know what you want if you're scared to admit it even to yourself! Successful entrepreneurs are clear about their desires, but not attached to how those opportunities come their way.
If any of these 10 shifts feel uncomfortable for you, take it as a good sign that you've just uncovered a belief system that's limiting your success. Then you can start working to change your mindset in order to change your results.
Related: Why You Should Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
