The chokehold on the growth of any business is the psychology of its leader. Period.
We're not saying that skills and mechanics aren't important. You still need to learn marketing, finance, branding and managing skills. But without the right psychology, those skills won't get you anywhere.
Have you ever learned a new, groundbreaking skill—from a mentor, a coach, or a class—only to fall short on the follow-through? If you answered yes, you aren't alone. That's not a skill problem. That’s a gap in your psychology.
Knowledge is not power—it's potential power. Execution trumps knowledge every day of the week.
Success is 80% psychology, and only 20% mechanics.
You could master every strategy, but you will never reach the top without a shift in your mindset. However, if you can master your psychology, you will unlock potential you didn't even know existed and see massive growth in your business.
We may not realize it, but we all tell ourselves stories—stories about who we are and what we are capable of. These stories often prevent us from taking action, protect us from failure and hold us back from greatness. They might feel like logical reasons for not achieving the success we want. However, these limiting beliefs are really just excuses and fear.
These beliefs might sound like
"I don't have enough time."
"I don't have enough money to get started."
"It's not the right time."
"I don't know enough," or "I don't have the skills."
"I tried before and it didn't work, so it won't work now."
These are powerful stories that sound convincing but are really just fueled by fear. The great news is they don't have to hold you back. You can let go of limiting beliefs, master your psychology and achieve success.
Here’s how you start:
- Shift your state—immediately.
- Identify your limiting beliefs
- Replace limiting beliefs with empowering ones
- Take massive, committed action
That's it. There's no magic secret to success. It just requires mental discipline and consistent action.
So, how do you alter your psychology? Start with your state. State is the way that you think, feel and act. Changing your state is like hacking your psychology. It's simple and powerful. You can change your state with what we refer to as the triad—physiology, focus and meaning.
"The difference between peak performance and poor performance is not intelligence or ability; most often it’s the state that your mind and body are in."
Physiology
This isn't fluff. This is neuroscience. When you shift your physical state, you shift your emotions.
Changing how you stand, sit or move will change how you feel. While we often do this subconsciously most of the time, we can notice and take advantage of physical cues to change our mental and emotional state. Slouched over? You'll feel small. Stand tall, breathe deep, move like a champion—and you'll feel the power kick in.
Your body language sends signals to your brain about how you are feeling. So instead of slouching in your office chair, sit up straight. Walk into a room like you own it. Before a job interview or a big meeting, utilize power poses to get in a confident state of mind.
Even when you aren't feeling it, especially when you aren’t feeling it, make a conscious effort to smile. Smile at yourself in the mirror, greet coworkers, turn on some energetic music or watch a funny video. Faking a smile will actually help you feel happier and more confident. Your brain doesn’t know the difference. Soon you’ll develop the habit and you won't have to fake it anymore.
Take every opportunity to move your body. Motion creates emotion. When you are dealing with stress, give yourself breaks to jump around, dance to a favorite song, or take a walk outside. Even better, make physical exercise a part of your daily routine—you will feel less stress and have more mental clarity.
Focus
Your emotions are not just something that happens to you. Like a muscle, your emotional state can be altered and trained. The key to training your emotions is focus.
Where focus goes, energy flows.
Whatever you choose to focus on, you will feel, even if it isn't real. Your emotions are not dictated by reality but by your perception of reality.
For example, if you focus on all the ways your business can fail and all the things that could go wrong, your heart will start to race, and your breath will quicken. Your business is not failing, but your mind doesn't know that, and it responds with anxiety to what you focus on.
Instead, focus on a vision of a thriving business. Paint a clear picture of success in your mind and act as if you have already achieved it. You'll feel inspired and driven. Even when you experience setbacks, focusing on what you can learn will allow you to see it as an opportunity for growth rather than evidence of failure.
To build a thriving team, share your vision and focus so that everyone knows the deeper why and purpose behind coming to work every day. Be the first to take ownership of your own mistakes and be quick to hand out recognition and praise for a job well done. Poor leaders focus on mistakes and shift blame. Extraordinary leaders lead by example, holding themselves to high standards, working hard and inspiring others to be the best version of themselves.
See your team not as they are, but as they could be, and help them get there. When you focus on what they are doing right, they will respond with innovation, ownership and productivity.
Meaning
The meaning you assign to things, based on your language and self-talk, will determine how you feel.
"Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning you give it."
Two leaders can face the same challenge and have dramatically different responses and outcomes to those events based on the meaning they assign to them.
In 1985, Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, the company he founded. Other leaders in the same situation would feel like washed-up failures. They might feel angry or betrayed and spiral downward into resentment and bitterness.
Instead, Steve Jobs saw this as an opportunity. He was reborn and replaced the need for success with the lightness of being a beginner again. Instead of an ending, he saw his firing as a new beginning. During this period, he founded NeXT and acquired Pixar. Later, he returned to Apple, prepared to lead its greatest innovations.
He said, "Getting fired was the best thing that ever happened to me. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."
When Sara Blakely first started seeking investors for Spanx, she had no experience in fashion, marketing, or business. She faced rejection repeatedly. Most people would think, "I'm not qualified to do this." They would see rejection as a sign that they were not ready or skilled enough and should quit.
Sara, however, gave this experience a different meaning. She decided that her lack of experience was an advantage that would allow her to approach things differently. She didn’t know the rules, so they didn't hold her back. She built a product based on what customers needed and made personal connections. Her resilience and determination led to her becoming the first self-made female billionaire in the United States.
Professional coaching to help you achieve results
If you're ready to master your psychology and take your business to the next level, executive coaching for new entrepreneurs can be invaluable. A coach can help you identify the mental blocks holding you back and replace your limiting beliefs with empowering ones. Professional coaching helps you achieve consistent results with clarity, targeted feedback and regular accountability.
It is possible to make progress and master your psychology without a coach, just like you can follow a fitness and diet plan to improve your health. However, you will close the gap between where you are now and where you want to be in a fraction of the time when you invest in professional coaching services. A coach accelerates your progress, meaning you will make more money in less time. Coaching is not a luxury; it is an investment in your growth and long-term success. Don’t wait another day to become the leader your business needs.
