From a very young age, I was taught that what we believe affects what we achieve. If you believe that you don’t have the capacity to run a company, you’ll never own a business. Our attitude and our adamant perspective are part conscious and part unconscious. Our attitude is only a short-term reaction that is oriented by our mindset. It is easier to correct our attitude than our mindset. The mindset takes longer to change. But, it can learn, unlearn, program, and reprogram both consciously and unconsciously. Even in the middle of a thought, one can learn to stop and correct their line of thinking. But this comes with self-training. A little nurturing of an entrepreneurial mindset will indeed affect one’s overall performance in business.
Nurturing an entrepreneurial mindset can begin at a very young age. My twelve-year-old nephew started learning the importance of saving resources from as young as three years old. You would find him curiously staring at the paper money notes being pulled out from his father’s wallet. He was keen to understand which paper notes had more value. Each time his father pulled out a bill from his wallet he would shout, ‘Dad, how much is this? - Ok, one dollar! Dad, what about this one? - Ok, five dollars! Dad, can I buy gummy bears with one dollar?’. The little boy would go on and on with this until he felt like he had understood his dad. You could not trick the young lad with money. At some point, his siblings would try and trick him to exchange his five-dollar note with a dollar note. He wasted no time but quickly rush to his dad to ask which money note was more valuable. He became very attentive and knowledgeable about money beyond his age. Knowing how many dollar bills he needed to buy some chips, an apple juice box, and some gummy bears to share with everyone. He would observe each money transaction, learning to count change, and even negotiating for some pocket money. Everyone around him started calling him a little boss baby because of his behavior. He was developing a mindset showing curiosity, persuasiveness, tenacity, and skill for cash management. These are all building characteristics of an entrepreneur.
Carol Dweck an American psychologist in her book Mindset described two types of mindsets. She spoke of the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. In her words, people who hold the fixed mindset believe that they are either good or bad at something based on their inherent nature. They believe there’s no room for change. They say that talent and intelligence are fixed. Dweck observed that they are people who believe their success is based on innate ability. These people dread failure because they say it reflects on their basic capability. She called it a fixed theory of intelligence. On the other hand, the growth or incremental theory of intelligence describes the contrary. As Carol Dweck said, ‘Why waste time proving over and over how great you are when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem, instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives’.
Successful entrepreneurs are individuals who believe their success is based on hard work, learning, and expanding. They don’t mind failures because they know their ability or performance can be improved. A growth mindset allows one’s intelligence and performance to grow with time and experience. It encourages a business-minded person to put in extra time and effort to achieve better. The entrepreneurial growth mindset believes that anyone can nurture their potential, skill, and passion in anything. They believe knowledge and skill can be developed. It is a mindset to constantly evolve.
As a business person, It is not enough to just have the skills. You need to adapt and reinvent yourself constantly. Entrepreneurial thinking is expansive. A person can learn, develop, and foster some new characteristics of an achiever. This entrepreneurial character is nurtured by training your thought habits. An entrepreneur’s creativity increases if he or she is a flexible thinker. To be a business person who is open-minded enough to create and acquire new talent.
Intentionally trying something new. He or she is innovative and prepared to take risks and implement new ideas. You can learn to nurture that innovative mindset by learning from a mentor, reading books of various skillsets, and networking with other entrepreneurs. The more often you’ll explore your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations, the faster you’ll grow.
Everything has the potential to mature as long as you’re passionate and committed to it. It takes a strong mindset to accept your failure and know when and how to improve your innovations. Self-awareness, self-motivation, and strong self-regard build that strong mindset.
Peace, Love & Prosperity!
Mario Sousa
Heart-Centered Leadership
My team and I are on a mission to lead other like-minded, heart-centered leaders that are ready to make a bigger impact in their personal lives, their communities and around the world. Please review the information below and reach out to me personally with any questions you might have. The future looks extremely bright, if you see what I see, let's work together.