There are two basic attitudes which determine what someone can or cannot achieve. The first attitude is that our talents are fixed. With this attitude if math, for instance, does not at first seem to come naturally one decides that he is not good at math hence will tend to avoid activities which entail calculation. Like the obese child who sits on the bench at recess while his classmates run and play at their sports the behavior (and calories) tend to amplify over time. In Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Stanford University Professor Carol Dweck called this mindset a “Self Limiting Behavior”.
The second attitude is the one which leads to success; it is simply the mindset that if something does not come easily it simply means that one must focus more effort on the task. “Repetition is the mother of learning” and attitudes as Eric Erikson (developmental psychologist) taught us are learned behaviors. You see, once a person sets his mind to achieving a task that individual will overcome the difficulty and ultimately prevail. For Dr.Victor Frankl (Auschwitz survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning), overcoming hardship meant holding onto the dignity and goodness in men even as he witnesses the horrific actions of evil and prospect of his imminent death at the hands of Nazi Germany. This is the growth mindset and the key to unlock limitless success in our lives. But to accomplish such a feat it is also necessary that we let go. As Dr.Frankl had to unclench his grasp of the last worldly possessions, his academic papers smuggled in Auschwitz, so must we learn to let go of our self-limiting beliefs. We must learn to reinterpret our circumstances to include the possibilities which we wish to aspire. We must believe it to achieve it.
It pays to take the time to think about the habitual attitudes that shape our lives. The start of personal development is shaped in childhood within the environment we are raised. A negative environment can be difficult to overcome. Once the child who has an eating disorder (a negative coping mechanism) for example has grown into an eight hundred pound adult, the path back to health and physical freedom is certainly long and arduous. And having the positive attitude that one can grow does not mean that one must take the desired journey alone. In fact it is essential that we ask for help and keep asking for help (in spite of whatever resistance we might encounter) until we get what we need. The most successful people are the ones who continually engage others for help to achieve their goals. There is no shame is asking for help so long as we are striving to help ourselves.
This is exactly what an entrepreneur does. He designs (or adopts) a model that will create and deliver value to others. But to actually implement his action plan, which is to create and deliver that value, oftentimes requires more work than the entrepreneur can possibly do himself. So what he does is he convinces other people (usually people who have installed limitations in their own lives, but not always) to share his vision and come to work for him. What is most advantageous about this winning psychology is that it is socially beneficial for those of us who live in the free world in that we are permitted to pursue our big goals while compensating our employees with the smaller portion of the value which we all capture together. All of this occurs essentially from the substance and power of the entrepreneur’s growth mindset. Those who defy limitations tend through the law of attraction to realize their dreams, while those who fix their attitudes within a given boundary at least in the sense of earning potential remain relatively static.
This is not to say that entrepreneurship is the only path to success and that continuous growth is not possible taking a career path. There are many professionals who possess the growth mindset and forge within their organization ever increasing and handsome compensation for their remarkable contributions. Growth mindset is not about titles, stock in a company or tax brackets; it is really about owning responsibility for your own life.
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