As a business owner since 2017, I can tell you that I’ve watched a lot of other entrepreneurs grow their businesses around me. Even as I’ve grown my printables business. And what I noticed about them was more of a mindset hack than it was an actual strategy that they were doing. So let’s talk about Why Entrepreneurs Fail or Succeed.
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We Notice the Bad Over The Good
Have you noticed that in life and in business, you seem to focus on the bad over the good? For example, recently my husband had a setback at work. Something went wrong with a contract he had done with a client and he was super bummed about it. The funny thing was, even though that ONE thing had gone wrong, there had been a ton of other things in his job that WERE going right. But those seemed to quickly become overshadowed by this one setback.
Similarly, I do this in my business all the time. I have ONE bad day selling on Etsy. Or one of my digital products isn’t selling well, and I get SO down in the dumps. I started to question if this business was even for me. I start to doubt the success I have and wonder if I should just give it all up. Even though I have to remind myself that I have sold over 150 thousand dollars in digital products, why is it that I doubt myself so much?
Isn’t it just SO human of us to have ONE setback or one bad day and so we discount every other GOOD thing that’s going on in our lives or our business? Well, guess what? As it turns out, it’s not our fault this happens!
It’s our brain’s fault!
According to a study, our brains store bad memories more easily and readily than good ones! Why? Because it’s an evolutionary tactic to protect us from future life-threatening or negative events.
For example, it’s easier for us to remember a sad and tragic event like 9-11, but we forget our family’s birthdays! Similarly, we are more likely to remember when our manager gives us negative feedback. But we completely forget about the time they praised us for being super skilled and talented.
So what is the resolution to this? Well, we need to RE-train our brains!
And how do we do that? By reminding ourselves over and over…and over again, that we have PLENTY to celebrate in our lives despite some of the setbacks we might incur.
Which is exactly what successful entrepreneurs are so good at doing. Successful entrepreneurs make it a habit of recounting all the amazing things they’ve accomplished, as opposed to the things there’s still yet to do.
This is so well defined in a book I recently read called “The Gap and The Gain.” To some up, it’s all about focusing on the GAIN – ie. how far you’ve come. Versus the gap. I.e. Where you want to go.
Because our brains are SO good at pointing out failures, we are almost ALWAYS focused on the gap. For example, why haven’t I receded my goals yet? How much longer will it be until the thing that I want happens? Why is that person so much further ahead than me? Why am I not making progress as fast as I’d like?
All of these statements are focused on the gap. We forget about all the successes that we’ve accomplished already.
The Resonance of Appreciation: Why Entrepreneurs Fail or Succeed
Did you know that approximately 82% of people don’t even go after their goals? So, if you’re trying to get somewhere in your business, and you’re not there yet, just remember that you’ve already beaten out 82% of the population. That is absolutely worth celebrating my friend.
One of the ways that I always recommend my students, is writing in their gratitude journal to notice the gain over the gap when it comes to business. We rewire those inner workings of our brain and notice the gain over the gap. When you start to tune in to what you’re grateful for and the progress you’ve already made, you start to notice more things to be grateful for.
Now sure, it doesn’t fix the fact that you are not exactly where you want to be in business. Instead, you’re putting yourself in the vibration of gratitude. Gratitude is the vibration of receiving. So when we step into this gain or gratitude mentality, we not only start to feel happier because we’re noticing all the good things that have gotten us to this point. We also put ourselves on a level where we can receive more intuitive hits about the kinds of things we can do and the person that we can be in order to get the things we want.
So instantly you are motivated to keep going, keep trying, and get to the place that you want to be.
Embrace lessons from your mistakes: Why Entrepreneurs Fail or Succeed
If you’ll notice, there’s not an entrepreneur out there giving a speech about how they got to where they’re at now super quickly and without any failures.
That’s exactly why they say, “Our mess is our message.” Because it’s not the successes where we learn and grow the most to get to where we want to be. No, it’s the waiting, the failures, and the bad days that are not only interesting in our story, but it’s literally the launching pad for our successes.
So what is the number one thing that entrepreneurs do that makes them more successful? They are in the habit of celebrating themselves no matter what. They take the time to celebrate all their wins, no matter how small. And then they also find a way to make a positive meaning out of their failures. They’re able to reflect back on how their failures have propelled them to success. Whereas unsuccessful people are always living in lack. They live in the gap and never focus on the gain.
I think it’s so important to look at our habits because people want to be successful overnight, but that’s just not people’s typical path to success. The truth is that successful entrepreneurs have created habits that they do all the time, without fail, that get them step by step to where they want to be. So if you want to make sure you have the right habits to be successful selling on Etsy, make sure to check out my free guide that’s going to teach you what habits you need to be successful on Etsy and how to get them.
Thanks so much for reading What makes entrepreneurs succeed or fail. I love to help you celebrate life through printables and personal development! But above all, I’d love to connect with you. Reach out to me on Instagram and let’s chat.
xoxo, Lindsay
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