So many entrepreneurs are confused about what they need to succeed. It’s a website. No, it’s a new package. No, it’s a book.

Actually, to succeed in business and in life, you need critical thinking skills – a powerful mindset!

“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

The way we think can either make us or break us.   I see it all the time. I hear it all the time. At a recent business event, the results of survey showed that the major of the audience were challenged by the thoughts and the mindset that they weren’t good enough. Wow. That’s dangerous thinking! The church I attend is in the middle of a special series called “I’m Not _______ Enough”.  I want to address some of the top 3 mindset challenges that I hear from my clients all the time.

The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed. Michelangelo

1) “I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH.”

What this statement causes me to think about right away is – compared to what? Compared to whom? Good enough to do what? For entrepreneurs to succeed, we need to shift our thinking so that we stop comparing the inside of us to the outside of so many other people. It’s an epidemic and it is destroying us as human beings. I’m not good enough is a cop out and we allow that thinking to hold us back from our own greatness. I have two words for that – STOP IT! You are getting in your own way.

Where you truly believe you are not good enough to (fill in the blanks), I believe that is simply due to a lack of information. The ‘Cure’: – Take a Class. Read a Book. Hire a Coach. Learn Something New.

2) “I’M NOT SMART ENOUGH.” Why do we always think that someone else is that much smarter than we are? What’s up with that? Smart enough to do what??? With the overwhelming amount of information available to us these days, there is no reason to get stuck on this level of thinking. I know our conditioning plays a strong role here – in my early career days, I often compared myself to those who graduated from university and felt that they knew more than me – that they could out-perform me – that they had more certificates hanging on the wall, so they would always get paid more than me, get the more interesting projects to do and so on and so on. Wow. It was exhausting. Once I shifted my thinking, recognized my own gifts and talents and moved on to excel and master those, everything shifted for me. It can for you, too. The ‘Cure’: get very clear on your own gifts as an entrepreneur and study to become a ‘master’. Keep it simple. Know your strengths. Work with a coach who can help you with this. The opportunities to learn and grow are there – seize them. And let go of the past.

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. Albert Einstein

3) “I’M NOT DISCIPLINED ENOUGH.”  In many cases, in working with my clients, I recognize this to be the truth. Succeeding in business does take discipline. A lot of discipline. That discipline comes with good habits practiced over and over again on a daily basis. It takes focus. It takes a plan. Many entrepreneurs simply do not have a plan – let alone work a plan. And for many, you don’t want it bad enough. Once you identify what you want – and how bad you want it – it’s easy to become disciplined. Study the good habits of those who have succeeded and know that, in a short amount of time, you too can succeed at a higher level. The ‘Cure’ – Study the ‘masters’ in your area of expertise. Find out and learn what success habits they had/have and implement those into your daily life. Discipline can take the form of a daily work habit/daily work hours; it can take the form of certain processes and procedures in the way you do business – systematize them. Choose one thing at a time and decide to make it a success habit – then discipline yourself each day to carry it out.

Improve by 1% a day, and in just 70 days, you’re twice as good. Alan Weiss

 Developing your mindset skills is the #1 step to success, in my opinion. While many entrepreneurs kick off the new year by focusing on improved health habits – I would highly recommend that you start the new year differently – explore ways you can learn to improve and increase your critical thinking skills. This will pay off in ways that bring about ideal clients, increased revenue and a very successful business.

 There isn’t a person anywhere who isn’t capable of doing more than he thinks he can. Henry Ford

Are you good enough? Let us know…….

Please share your thoughts!