It’s All in the Mind
The importance of mental preparation is probably the most under-emphasized element of entrepreneurship. By definition, as an entrepreneur you must become more motivated than the typical employee. This is purely a mind game. Master the mind game and you have taken the first step to being successful.
Motivation is key, and your vision will determine how hard you are prepared to work. In a way, it’s a self fulfilling prophecy. By getting yourself into a positive and productive mental state, by using your vision as a motivating factor, you will work harder and therefore are more likely to succeed.
Unfortunately, pessimism is infectious. It’s hard for non-entrepreneurs to understand an entrepreneur’s mindset. In too many cases entrepreneurs get infected by the pessimism of friends and family. This is not a good thing. However, the opposite can happen. An entrepreneur can infect employees with their vision. If this happens, then the business will be on the fast road to success.
I have read countless books where successful entrepreneurs put their success down to attitude. To use a controversial example. I recently watched a YouTube video of Jordan Belfort who headed up the infamous New York brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont in the 1980s/1990s. Although the guy did some illegal things and served hard time for it. He was genius at motivation. Initially he achieved great things legitimately. He talks about how he got himself and his workers into the right mental state to achieve incredible results. It’s worth a look.
