'If you change the way you think and the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.' Sounds great, but many of us think it’s too late to start a new career or don’t have enough time to learn new skills. Such beliefs create great limitations because if we believe we can’t then we certainly won’t be able to either.
It is true that our thoughts have incredible power over our daily lives, and that our mood and behavior are a reflection of how we think. Brian Scuatamore, founder and CEO of O2E Brands, is a successful entrepreneur who has developed 7 methods to keep himself happy and successful at all times - and it all starts with imagining opportunities instead of focusing on obstacles.
Everyone can transform their way of thinking. The following are 7 proven methods of successful (and happy) people.
1. Give up the negative mindset and strive for growth
Imagine a situation where your business is not progressing. A negative mindset would make you think: that’s the way it is, that you can’t do anything about it and that nothing will change no matter what. An open and positive mindset would look at things much differently; such a mindset would be willing to create change with work and effort. We don't need to explain what type of people will advance in their careers.
It all comes down to the difference between limiting and empowering thoughts. If you believe your mindset is fixed then you will most likely not be able to progress. But if you believe in your capacity to achieve bigger and better things, you will notice that everything will work out in that direction and that things will get better.
2. Adopt a mentality of abundance, not a mentality of scarcity
Brian Scuadamore, founder and CEO of O2E Brands, recalls a situation when one of his best employees resigned a few years ago. "This would not be the end of the world if the reason for his departure was not that he wanted to start a competing company. At first, I was horrified and desperate, and then I wanted revenge. I became obsessed with closing his company, even at the expense of my own."
Brian realized after this situation that he was ‘stuck’ in the so-called 'mentality of scarcity' that made him think that there was only enough success for one of them. "Since then, I've come to realize that this way of thinking makes a person paranoid, unhappy and scared," says Brian, and now his company has a different business policy; they believe that everyone can benefit from exchanging opinions, even if it involves competition. "Once we recognized that there was more than enough success for all of us, we got rid of the limitations," says Brian.
3. Stop being afraid of failure, rather be prepared for failure
One of the main reasons why entrepreneurs fail is because of the fear of failure - because of this fear, some of them never start their own business.
The fact is that success is not achieved overnight and that it cannot be achieved without the first step. A philosophy called WTF (Willing to Fail) is a philosophy of successful people because the only way to grow is to make mistakes. The risk is terrible, but the stagnation is worse - and the more you believe that you will not succeed, the better your chances are, so it is better to at least try.
4. Create a long-term vision instead of short-term goals
You can’t get somewhere if you don’t know where you’re headed. Before we make a strategy and set short-term goals, you must first have a long-term vision of success.
It is more important to be focused on which direction your goal or project is going than how you will get there. The bottom line is that you need to have a clear vision of the movement; a proven method is to visualize the goal to make it easier to achieve.
5. Don’t be afraid to break the rules
According to Brian Scuadamore, his affinity for rebellion and troublemaking made him a good entrepreneur. According to him, people who are afraid of taking risks and who prefer to stay in their comfort zone will rarely become team leaders. Leadership requires courage; and therefore, if you want a progressive career, you must be ready to constantly expand the boundaries of your comfort zone.
6. Listen to your intuition
We all get involved in our thoughts and thinking sometimes and that’s okay from time to time- but if you doubt just about every decision you make, you’ll never achieve anything. It is important to make quick decisions and avoid unproductive indecision. Don’t let your lizard brain take control of your decisions but take matters into your own hands and start instinctively making decisions. In most cases, intuition will lead you in the right direction.
7. Allow positivity to permeate everything you do
If you’re just going to change one thing about the way you think, that should be it. It has been scientifically proven that optimists are happier and more successful than pessimists.
The fact is that positivity feeds on positivity; when you start applying an attitude called ‘half full glass’ it will become a modus operandi for everything you do. Indeed, success does not automatically bring happiness - but a positive mindset will bring success in some form.
Source: Forbes magazine, Brian Scuadamore, 2017
