So, you may be asking yourself “What exactly is an outstanding mindset?” Well, an outstanding mindset is a real, verifiable psychological phenomenon.
It turns out that many long-term successful individuals possess specific characteristics that they share with other long-term successful individuals. This set of characteristics has been termed an outstanding or growth mindset.
Now, some people, who tend to achieve less than their full potential, also possess a set of characteristics that they share with other under-achievers. This set of traits has been dubbed the “fixed mindset”.
An Outstanding Or A Fixed Mindset
Most people, more or less, fall in one camp or the other.
People with an outstanding mindset tend to have a desire to learn from life. This desire leads to the ability to embrace challenges, to overcome setbacks, to see effort as worth the results, to accept criticism and to admire and learn from the successes of others.
“The more efficient you are, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent in conjunction with your outstanding mindset to produce outstanding results.” – David Brett-Williams
These behaviours allow native intelligence to grow throughout a lifetime. People with an outstanding mindset are believers in free will. And this belief allows them to achieve their goals time and time again.
People with a fixed mindset tend to have a desire to appear smart, with a corresponding fear of looking foolish.
The Downsides Of A Fixed Mindset
Their desire leads them to avoid challenges, to give up easily, to see extra effort as wasted, to ignore or reject criticism and to envy and resent the success of others.
These behaviours tend to limit native intelligence to a fixed amount. People with a fixed mindset often plateau early in life and fail to have, let alone reach, fixed goals.
The good news is that an outstanding mindset can be cultivated relatively quickly by changing some critical behaviours. First of all, you have to decide to choose growth over stagnation.
You also have to be willing to take affirmative action and begin to accept challenges and criticism and learning from both. An excellent way to start is by developing the philosophy of “yet”.
This simple step simple attaches the word “yet” to the end of every negative thought. As in “That will never work, yet…” or “It’s probably not worth going, yet…”
This simple trick opens up the possibility for growth, and that possibility leads to changed behaviour that actually does cause the development of the outstanding mindset.
Success In Business Requires Flexibility
There is nothing more stifling to success than rigid thinking. Rigid thinking leads to rigid behaviours, and rigid behaviours lead to dead ends, blind alleys and creative cul de sacs.
In other words, while there is a certain amount of comfort to routine, too much routine can choke off all chances that you will be able to reach your business goals successfully. Why? The answer is simple.
“People of limited ability sometimes achieve outstanding success because they have an outstanding mindset and don’t know when to quit. Most men people because they are made up their mind to.” – David Brett-Williams
The world, including the business world, is constantly changing. Rigid thinking and rigid behaviour, by definition, are resistant to change.
Therefore, rigidity, in thought and action, spells obsolescence in the business world. Everyone else moves forward while you are left behind in the dust. So, what’s the answer to this problem? In a word, flexibility.
Information Is Power
In today’s world, information is power, money and control all rolled into one. The fast and free flow of information is what makes this possible.
Everything changes quickly. What is a successful formula or a popular product in one cycle can be, and usually is, old news in the next.
The only way to successfully stay on top of this bucking bronco of information and use it to your advantage is to be flexible enough to roll with the changes and that requires an outstanding mindset.
Flexibility is easy to achieve. But only as long as you are not too tied down to any single idea, product, service or manner of delivery.
If you keep up with changing market conditions through judicious use of the flow of information, you can easily spot new trends and adopt them successfully. And usually before your competitors have had time to act.
The only trick is not to fear change and, instead, embrace it. If change is the only reality in the business world, then, to be successful in that world, change as to be your reality as well.
Cultivate Your Creative Muscles
Creativity can be elusive. It’s not something that you can summon at will. When it happens, it strikes like lightning. Yet, like lightning, it can be maddeningly unpredictable.
However, because creativity is an essential element of a successful business mindset, it is necessary to understand the creative process and how you, the business owner, can cultivate your own creative juices.
“Outstanding leaders make it a focal point to boost the self-esteem of their team and help them develop and outstanding mindset. When people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.” – David Brett-Williams
The creative process is mainly internal and unconscious. No one ever wakes up and says “Hey! Today I’m going to be creative.”
Creativity is all about taking in a lot of influences. And letting those influences combine, ferment and morph in your subconscious. Together, they form a sort of mental potting soil. And this is where new and different ideas have a chance to germinate and grow.
Developing An Outstanding Mindset
The more things you learn, read, see and hear the more creative soil you can produce.
So, as a business owner who wants to be creative, the best thing you can do is get out there and in the world and open yourself up to new experiences.
Be curious about many different things. Develop hobbies. Challenge yourself. Do the unexpected.
The more you push your own personal envelope and develop your outstanding mindset, the more you are charging your own creative batteries.
When those batteries are charged, it is much more likely that inspiration will strike. Who knows where that new idea will take you?