Mark Ewell

People can fail in business for lots of apparent reasons. However, when you really boil things down the failure is not a result of having difficulty getting financing, not being able to find good employees, too much government regulation, changes in the tax code, the new health care system, bad luck, and the like. Such failure is almost always directly caused by the person’s mindset – their “stinkin’ thinkin’”.

Successful people think differently from those that are not. Successful people expect to be successful and don’t let external factors derail them. Where there is a will there is a way. Those that are not successful on the other hand . . .

As the saying goes, “Some people think they can and some people think they can’t and, you know what, they’re both right.”

So, what are some warning signs that your thinking is heading you for a fall?
How about these to start?

• You blame everybody and everything but yourself when things don’t go as you want,
• You whine and complain incessantly about the economy, taxes, people, the price of groceries, and so on,
• You continually find the reasons why you can’t do something or something won’t work,
• You expect things to go wrong,
• You expect the worst out of people . . .

Sound familiar?

If these do sound familiar, you can be certain that no matter how favorable your business circumstances, you will manage to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. You may have all the resources, skills, contacts, etc. but if you have any of these thought patterns you are guaranteed to fail in business – sooner or later.

The bad news is that, such thought patterns are pervasive. There are few people don’t fall into this thinking pattern trap. That is why success seems so elusive to most.

The good news is that, once you recognize these patterns of thinking in yourself, or others, for that matter,  you can do something about them. They are simple to stop doing. They are simple to replace once identified.You simply replace your disempowering thoughts with the patterns of thinking that successful people have.

How about these?

• I don’t know the meaning of “It can’t be done.”
• There must be a way,
• I am responsible for my outcomes,
• Complaining is a foreign concept to me,
• I expect things to go well,
• I expect the best out of people,
• Hmmm . . . the prices have gone up – guess I’d better make some more money,

and so on.

Be honest with yourself. If you find yourself having those disempowering thoughts just stop them. Replace them with empowering ones. You can make these changes in an instant. And, pretty soon you will have established a new habit and you will be well on your way to success.