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Your Mindset Is Key To Your Online Business Success
Who has the most control over your reality?
Spoiler alert: It’s you!
It’s not luck, it’s not fate, it’s not how you were raised or where you live, it’s not the Universe, it’s you.
Sure, where you live and how you were raised will have some foundational impact, and the Universe may give you a hand, may show you a shorter path to your destination, but it all starts with you.
If you don’t go into whatever you want to do with the right mindset, you’re not going to find the success you want. Fortunately, if you have that right mindset, nothing else really matters.
And yes, it may take time.
Remember, every overnight success is 10 years in the making.
Your Mindset Informs Your Motivation
Your mindset is the key to your motivation, because you need to know that you’re doing what you’re doing for the right reasons. It means you need to be all-in. You need to commit. If you go into a project or a side hustle or an anything with the steadfast determination that you will be successful, then you will be. It may take time, it WILL take effort, but ultimately, you’ll be successful if you decide to be successful.
How do you do that?
You start by finding your why.
And just so you know, money is NOT your why.
In fact, money is NEVER your why.
Not if you’re in this, whatever “this” is, for the right reasons.
Very few successful entrepreneurs, online or otherwise, side hustlers or full-time hustlers, go into their projects with the goal of making money. Rather, their motivation is to share something with others, be it a revolutionary product, a story that provides a transformation, or the lesson that teaches people something new.
It’s all about what you can share, and what value you can provide to a community, your community.
Your motivation should lie in the realm of finding your community, sharing your story, and teaching the most people possible.
So, what’s your why?
Your Mindset Helps You Past Self-Doubt
You know that voice in the back of your mind, that pesky one that says things like, “What if you CAN’T do it?” Or, “What if you FAIL?” Or, “What if it SUCKS?” Or, “What if, what if, what if?”
They’re all lies.
Every last one of them.
That voice in the back of your mind, which fills you with self-doubt, especially about the unknown, is known as your ego. And what your ego is doing is this:
It’s trying to protect you.
Sounds counterintuitive, right?
But here’s the thing, your ego is trying to keep you in your comfort zone.
There’s a part of you, deep in the back of your mind, that knows exactly what the borders of your comfort zone are, and it works REALLY hard to keep you there. Because that part of you thinks the unknown is some big and scary thing, even if it’s not. It wants to keep you safe.
Until you push past that doubt, until you decide not to care that you might fail or stumble, you’re going to stay within those limits of that comfort zone.
Unfortunately, you can’t grow if you stay in your comfort zone.
What you do have to do is push past that self doubt, and remember that there are very FEW negative consequences of whatever you’re trying to do, especially when it comes to launching a side hustle. Want to start doing videos on Instagram? Well, they’ll probably be awkward to start off, but it’s not going to be the end of the world if you have a glitch or two. Want to create an online course? Sure, there are a ton of unknowns to navigate, from picking out your course platform to designing the course to testing and launching, but it’s not impossible.
Everything you do that’s outside of your comfort zone has a hand in expanding it. And there is no drawback to expanding your comfort zone.
Your Mindset Leads You The Lessons You Need To Grow
As I write this post, I have a rerun of Crikey! It’s the Irwins from Animal Planet playing on TV. And other than crying whenever they cut to old footage of Steve Irwin from some of his old shows, Terri Irwin said something in a voiceover that caught my attention.
“And I remember when Robert was just tiny, and Steve would say to him, “If you’re with a venomous snake, you are really careful, but if you’re around a little, non-venomous snake, like a python, it’s no big deal if you get bitten.” And that’s kind of always been his mindset.”
At this point in the show, I just watched Robert Irwin grab a carpet python by the tail and get bitten by said carpet python, and he didn’t even flinch.
He didn’t flinch, because his mindset is always that a bite from a snake like a carpet python isn’t going to hurt him. And that is a lesson that has helped him to grow to be a better zoologist and snake-handler.
And then, two seconds later, I got to watch one of the Australia Zoo vets shove her hand up a giraffe’s backside to do an ultrasound. But that’s completely unrelated.
The point is that your mindset, especially a growth mindset, means that you are constantly learning in everything you do. Don’t know how to start a Facebook group? Well, if you need one, you’re going to have to learn. Just made the jump from Android to iPhone? You’re going to have to get use to iOS and learn the ins and outs. Everything you’re doing is about learning and growing, so having a mindset open to learning leads you to that growth you need.
Your Mindset Informs Your Reality
Very recently, I learned an extremely important lesson about my mindset, and how it informs my reality.
Things have been stressful at the good ole 8-5 these last few weeks. That happens, especially this time of year with all the things we have going on.
One morning, I walked in and was getting things together to start off my day when my coworker, who worked out of the office across the hall from mine, came in. We were talking about how stressful things have been as a whole, and agreed that that day was NOT going to be a good day.
And guess what?
It wasn’t a good day.
Not at all.
We went into the day with the mindset that the day was going to suck, and lo and behold, it did.
Because that was the vibe we were giving off, and the universe responded in kind.
I didn’t realize that’s what happened until after work and I was on my way home, but it really made sense when I thought about it.
So, the next day, I decided to hedge my bets a little. I told that same coworker that while the day wasn’t going to be amazing, it was going to be fine. A neutral day.
And it worked. It wasn’t the worst day ever, it wasn’t the best day ever, it was right in the middle.
Just remember that your reality really goes as well or as badly as you make of it. Try it once if you’re not already convinced. I wouldn’t say that you should ask for a bad day to start, but you can always try to go for a neutral or even a good day and see what happens.
You have a ton of control over what happens in your reality, so you might as well take advantage.
Ready To Start Your Own Side Hustle?
Download the FREE Blog Startup Checklist, which features the 5 things you need to do before you launch your blog. Not only that, but it comes with 50 ideas to inspire your way to your first batch of blog posts. The rule of thumb is to have between 15-20 pieces of content up before you launch, so get writing!
Don’t forget to get hosting (plus a free domain) for as little as $3.95/month through Siteground. You can read why I choose Siteground to host my websites in my post, 6 Reasons I Host My Side Hustle On Siteground (And You Should Too).
And if you need guidance on how to write the perfect blog post? Well check out my FREE Idea To Awesome Workbook, which will take you from idea to an awesome blog post that everyone will want to devour!
Pin It For Later!
I heard something about mindset when I was younger, and it made such a profound impact on my life, and I quote it whenever someone I know is being negative. Life is 80% mental, 20% physical, and I firmly believe that.
I like that you spoke about mindset. It does mean a lot. I love this. All true! $3.95 for hosting is not that bad actually.
As someone who has severe anxiety, I can completely agree. Changing your mindset if a must to accomplish your dreams and goals. Learning to channel negative thoughts into positive ones has to be a conscious constant to actually start living it naturally.
I totally agree with all your points. Mindset and perception can make or break your dreams.
This is such a good read! I enjoyed reading this and love the examples you shared. I just pinned it!
People would be amazed at how much a website can accomplish. Best start for aside hustle of any kind.
I always tell people that mindsets are everything. If you think it, you can achieve it.
Being aware of your mindset is so helpful when starting a biz or working on a current one. If you aren’t aware of your headspace you can easily fall into negative self-talk traps that could derail your success.
In my own experience, my mindset is what has always held me back. Waiting for everything to be just so before doing something I really wanted to accomplish. It just kept me stuck. Finally, I decided to go for it, and changed my mindset to Why NOT me? Why NOT now?
I love this! Having a positive mindset is a key to happy living!
I do love your thoughts how to set a positive mindset and about the lessons we need to grow. Thanks for sharing those messages.
Having a positive mindset is something that we should have. This will give us motivation to achieve our goal!
Great insights and tips! I love the lesson learned and taught by Robert Irwin and the snakes. I’ll keep that in mind!
Great post. Mindset is definitely effects us.
I agree. Mindset is so important. I am really trying to be conscious of it.
Great post!! Inspiring others is what blogging is all about! Congratulations on you successes! With your mindset you will go far! Thank youfor inspiring!
Mindset is everything! It makes a huge impact on your ability to succeed!
I’m so excited to read about your experiment of living your side hustle! I know you’ll have the best week of your life and be so energized to hustle even harder once you get a taste of it!
These are really key points. Whenever I find myself getting down it is usually because I am thinking negatively which feeds on itself.
I agree! Your mindset is everything. It can either set you up for success or failure. Depending on what your mindset is!
Mind over matter! Attitude is everything. This was a great motivating post for me in my own blogging journey. Thanks!
Awesome post! I wish I could be more disciplined with my attitude.
Our attitude and frame of mind has more power than we sometimes know. Thanks for the info!
As a college instructor, I constantly teach my students that mindset is key to success. Thank you for this post – it reinforces what I’ve been saying this entire time~
Great and helpful information! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Mindset is key to any endeavor!
This is so very true, and our mindset does guide our steps. I often try to explain this to my children. We make our day based on our thought patterns.
I loved this article! It is so true that our mindset is key. I’ve seen so many times how difficult is for people to get out of their comfort zones. And not only for businesses or work-related things, but also for parenting and life changes. Amazing article
Great read! I loved your points!
This is such a great article, I have never thought of it like this before. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the inspiration! Now I’m off to hustle hard!
Great post on mindset! It’s a much needed reminder.
Mindset is important for acheiving your goals. Thanks for sharing!
Great post! You are so spot on, our mindset is truly what will lead to our success. Good luck to you in your Dream Experiment!
I was taught this when I was young, if you don’t have the right mindset you will struggle.
I love that you are spending your days living like your side hustle already makes a good income. That’s a great perspective and really levels you up and paves the path to success.
I couldn’t agree more! I am currently trying to change my mindset so I can get a little more work done! 🙂
Mindset is so important! Great read! You’re right, the “why” is so important and if money is your only why, then trouble lies ahead.
This is so spot on and super important especially for our kids. The earlier they get this right, the better for them.
Love this! As I approach 2019, I’m working on my mindset this entire week ~ prepping to launch into the year with determination and gusto. Thanks for the reminders ~ love the manner in which you laid this out.
Mindset is everything!!