Mindset Change

Mindset change.

Definitely in order if you automatically or constantly think you will fail with your career idea or you think you can't have, be or do something or, you are faced with other people, however well-meaning, who point this sort of thing out to you, and you believe them.

Your mindset is the single most important thing in the world to get right and keep right if you want to move forward with your new work life...

And here is my own quote about it...

You must treasure your mindset and nurture it like a child

Jacqueline Smith

The simple truth is if you think you can’t about something then you won’t.

Lack of confidence in your ability is an absolute killer and other people can be complicit in the murder of many a fledgling career change and small business idea without even realising it.

It is SO easy to be derailed by a single random thought or throwaway comment in the blink of an eye

So, if you are serious about beginning your perfect job and then actually doing something about it, then you need to get a handle on this dream destroyer straight away.

If you feel you are ready for a bit of a mindset change then...

Let’s start with a definition of mindset

Just so you can get a handle on understanding what you are dealing with.

And it is here I quote from one of the great dictionaries of the world.

Mindset is

Once you understand you have this fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines how you approach life then you can work towards change.

But what EXACTLY do you need to change you might ask?

Well, you need to move away from what is known as a fixed mindset, and this is where you find yourself saying

“Well, I can’t do this” or “I am too old/young/fat/thin/time poor/money poor”

or a host of other negatives such as

“Well, I blame my parents/partner/children/boss/friends” or whoever for whatever it is you think you can’t be, do or have

After you have fully clarified your understanding of this point, you then need to move into two very important and alternative mindset change patterns.

They are a career one and a growth one.

If you can’t move away from your fixed mindset and develop these two then, in all honesty it is game over before you even take the first step

To illustrate, think of it this way

It’s a bit like a battery in a torch,

You can’t make the light shine on the negative settings

You must have the positive side facing the right way to make the connection.

You can press the on button for as long and as often as you like but nothing will ever happen, and you will never see the light come on

So, let’s look at the first one of the two

Career Mindset Change

Several things come into play here, and all equally important so you need to know why your mindset change must include them.

You need to clearly understand

Firstly Yourself

• What sort of person are you?
• Hands on, a bit lazy, overzealous, interfering, too laid back? Be honest with yourself.

It’s essential to know your strengths and weaknesses and play to them or mitigate them in your new career using other people’s products or services.

You then must take charge of designing your business idea

You are not going to be a standard employee anymore with people above you who are paid to think for you and tell you what to do.

You make all the decisions now and you can’t blame anyone else for making them.

You are not working on your hobby you are working on your own employment and thinking in a more entrepreneurial way.

With a non-entrepreneurial mindset, a hobby doesn’t have to make money; you do it because you like doing it for fun or even a bit of spare extra cash.

This can’t be the case if you want to successfully design your own career and make money with it.

A much higher level of dedication is required, and a more serious commitment is needed.

You will need to consider what you want to do and is it prudent to do it?

By that I mean, you will need to learn discernment about where you spend your time and money.

For example: Do you really need to go that conference or buy that expensive piece of equipment

Does it line up with what you are trying to achieve or are you just doing it because it is makes you look good and make you feel like you are doing something?

You also need to understand the money side of things

Really important you get to grips with the finance side of things or at least pay someone to do it for you.

That said, it is prudent to understand the numbers even though you don’t want to necessarily organise them yourself.

You might be delegating finance but don’t absolve yourself completely from the responsibility of them.

You are wide open to someone taking advantage of you if you don’t keep an eye on the bigger picture.

And having a strategy is important where mindset is concerned

It is so easy to just start but then just continue focusing on the little stuff, like what font your business card will have or what colour your printer paper is.

Important for your administration perhaps, but it’s not about strategic thinking.

It won’t help you move your idea off the starting block

You need to have a good handle on where you are going and why you are going there?

Can you see the logic now of addressing a different career mindset?

Now you have got a handle on that it is time to turn your attention to your

Growth Mindset

Here is a quote I think offers examples of a growth mindset from Roger Clemens a famous American sportsman, and the message could not be simpler.

I think anything is possible if you have the mindset and the will and desire to do it and put the time in

To understand why growth mindset is so important, you need to understand no one ever accomplished something brilliant and amazing without time and dedication.

Everyone but everyone, started with a blank page at the beginning of the process and practice helped make progress and perfect

Even if they have financial advantages or better connections available to them in the early stages.

And examples of a fixed mindset are where you and/or other people moan about things in the manner of

“Well, it’s OK for him/her or them; they had this/that/other in their favour”.

They had to develop their growth mindset to get over obstacles.

So how did they achieve a growth mindset?

Very simply by understanding, their talents are not fixed, and they can be developed with persistence and effort?

Conversely, people who entertain the fixed version of mindset believe they can do what they do and crucially, no more.

They believe they have a certain amount of talent they were born with and that is their limit

They believe they can’t or won’t get better at things so there is no point in trying.

You can find examples of a growth mindset everywhere you see success in life, in any aspect, not just business or career.

Now, perhaps you are thinking, after all this talk where can I go to find some Mindset Training?

I want to introduce you to Professor Carol Dweck, the world’s leading light about mindset.

She is a world renowned academic; her work has appeared in worldwide in print and on TV and she has lectured on the topic extensively.

Her specialism is why people succeed and others don’t and discovered one of the secrets to even moderate success is due to having a growth mindset instead a fixed one.

Professor Dweck has written a ground breaking and much acclaimed book on the subject with a huge number of excellent reviews on Amazon called,

Growth Mindset by Carol Dweck

She offers her knowledge as master class about mindset change and no self-respecting business owner should be without a copy.

Consider it your number one book to read when you start thinking you want to have a business of your own, but you are struggling with a set of limiting beliefs or a bunch of people that are holding you back.

And if you want to see her in person live on stage, she created a super popular growth mindset TED Talk called

The power of believing you can improve

Now to round off this topic I would like to share some 1-minute wisdom from others on the subject.

Here are 4 great mindset change quotes for you to think about

I love a good quote because it makes me think differently, solve problems sometimes and often gives me a starting point for my next move.

It makes feel I have obtained some short, sharp wisdom in a couple of sentences.

Isn’t that the truth?