Do you ever get frustrated seeing other businesses in your field of work that are more successful than you, and yet don’t seem to work as hard as you? You immediately think they are better salespeople or have better skills. The real reason you are being outperformed has nothing to do with the skills 

or sales ability you have. It’s probably more to do with your mindset. You have convinced yourself that your success is being affected by circumstances. The more you let yourself believe this, the more you will fall behind If you can change this mindset of thinking you will find more opportunities will 

come your way and you will see more growth in your business. 

CHANGING THE WAY YOU THINK 

Having a growth mindset means you will see opportunities coming your way and create a significantly higher income. People with a growth mindset are constantly learning and developing new 

skills. Examine the skills you have and skills you need to learn and develop. When you do this’, you will see more success in business.  

In Dr Stephen Covey’s book ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’. Stephen Covey outlines the four quadrants we work and operate in, and the importance of working in quadrant 2.  Quadrant 2 covers activities that fit under the title “Important but not Urgent” – these are activities like Planning and goal setting, Relationship building, Exercise and Spending time on your business. He also recommends avoiding both “Not Important” quadrants. 

Effective people stay out of Quadrants III and IV because, urgent or not, they aren’t important. They also shrink Quadrant I down to size by spending more time in Quadrant II. Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal management. It deals with things that are not urgent, but are important. 

THE ABILITY TO CHANGE YOUR MINDSET 

You are not born with a growth mindset; you need to develop it. Our mindset and our thinking have often been conditioned by our upbringing, our parents, our teachers and lecturers. Some of that conditioning has been good and some has been negative and is impacting on our performance. For example, Teachers who have said ‘you will never amount to anything’ have a negative impact on our mindset. It is important to start removing these negative thoughts from our mindset. 

Setting Goals  

One of the best ways to initiate changes in your mindset is to set goals for yourself. Goals for the next 12 months or even less, and goals for 3 years and 5 years. When you write down your goals down, keep them where you can see them each day. 

Your goals need to be specific and achievable. Set a definite time by which they need to be achieved. 

Challenge yourself 

Sometimes we need to stretch our thinking and challenge ourselves to change the way we think. When we see a shift in the way we think, the change inevitably makes us want to learn and study more. Before long we start to see the challenges and problems we face in business as opportunities. 

Seeing obstacles 

People in business with a growth mindset meet challenges and obstacles as opportunities. The world of business changes every day and you are going to be met with obstacles and challenges constantly. Having a growth mindset when these challenges come will result in achieving success in your business. 

You will also experience stress less because now you are seeing obstacles and challenges as opportunities. 

Numbers game 

Do you see business as a numbers-game? The more leads you follow up the more quotes you send out and the more quotes you follow up the more sales you will make. Customers will come in, look around and not buy. Prospects who were about to sign change their mind or their circumstances change. If you have a numbers-game view, this won’t get you down. If you’re playing a numbers game you’ll see these moments as just an opportunity to get the next sale. Remember it’s a numbers game. 

Be able to say no 

In business, you will have challenges with cashflow and profits from time to time. A growth mindset will enable you to see this as an opportunity to check your margins and whether you are pricing your goods and services correctly.  

Some jobs clients you may not want. Accepting jobs or deals with no profit or margin on the sale will only create more stress. 

START DEVELPOPING A GROWTH MINDSET AND CHANGE THE WAY YOU THINK. 

There are many advantages in training yourself to think differently and develop a growth mindset. It will open up opportunities in your business, in your life and relationships with colleagues in business.  

Focus on time management 

You will find if you practice time management, as outlined in Dr Stephen Covey’s book ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’, you will; enjoy more free time, be more effective with your time, see success in your business, grow your income and at the same time enjoy business more with less stress.  

Limit negative beliefs 

Learn to limit negative beliefs that have been conditioned into your mindset from the past. The following is a quick exercise to begin your mindset journey. On a piece of paper, write down your answers to the following questions. 

1. What impact have your past belief systems had on your thinking and mindset today? 

2. What were some of the negative and positive belief systems you’ve had in the past that could have impacted your performance to date? 

3. How can you change your mindset to achieve positive outcomes in your business? 

Just the writing down of your answers will start your journey of changing your mindset to one of Growth. Reading Dr Stephen Covey’s book ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People’ will continue your journey. 

John Osborne (Chairman) has been coaching business people for over 40 years and prepared this series of articles to help those in business start their journey in personal and business growth. If you would like a complimentary 45 minute session with John and his team of business experts to see where you may perhaps start your journey just call 1300 727 082 or fill in this form and a team member will be in touch to arrange a time that works for you. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *