5 Steps To A Bulletproof Business Mindset Even If Things SUCK!

“The person who can freely acknowledge that life is full of difficulties can be free, because they are acknowledging the nature of life - that it can't be much else. .” ― Shunryu Suzuki. Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.

Superchargers, I have a confession...

October was my WORST month of business in 2023, yet I feel GREAT!

Let me explain...

I had booked speaking engagements (which took days to prepare for) that were projected to bring in at least $100,000.00 in new sales BOMBED!

Zero Sales! NONE! Nada! Zip-Zero!

Then refunds took $9000.00 out of my bank account with another $63,000 of future revenue CANCELLED!

And it's not just me who's had challenges...

I caught up with a friend of mine who's business is down 50% compared to last year and now he's considering getting a job to get by. Ouch!

Last night, I went on a beach walk with another good friend who told me he closed his promising tech start-up after investing MILLIONS of his own money and 3 years of blood, sweat and tears!

The project has drained him emotionally, spiritually and financially.

Worst still, now he has to sell his home in Utah to get back on his feet. (Don't feel too bad for him. He doesn't need to sell his private plane just yet.)

Point being, entrepreneurship is HARD!

And if you're not psychologically ready for it, it can take a heavy toll on your mental health.

Not only do you need balls of steel, a Zen mind, grit and fool-hardy optimism to deal with ups and downs, you also need a good sense of humor.

So why do I feel so great?

Because, after being an entrepreneur for over 17 years (and coaching entrepreneurs for 15 of those years) I've seen a lot.

I've had businesses fail, been on the verge of bankruptcy (more than once), had over $500,000.00 of business debts and have even (almost) faced jail time for my efforts.

(In my youth I started a black market pharmacy, followed by a male escort company. Not my finest years in business).

There used to be a time when if my bank balance was lower than I would like, I would feel emotions of guilt, shame and suffer with self-worth issues.

Gratefully, I don't feel like that anymore.

Over the years I've developed 5 Mindset Shifts that can help you not only overcome rough times, but bounce back more profitably and joyfully than ever!

1. Think Seasonally

My mentor Tai Lopez often spoke about seasons of life. Working on a farm, with his mentor Joel Salitin taught him about the seasonal aspect of nature. Business, like nature has seasons. There will be seasons of toil, seasons of strain, seasons of and seasons of abundance.

Whenever you're going through a tough time, know that it's just a season and like the famous quote, 'This too Shall Pass'. You'll get through it.

2. Define & Fix The Problems NOW!

Going back to the refunds I experienced this month...

The only logical thing to do was to:

a) Found out why the refunds occurred.

b) Fix the problem.

In my case, the refunds occurred because for that particular product the onboarding process is poor and the product isn't as organized as it could be.

Because of this, the value of the product isn't immediately realized by the customers which led to refunds!

I know how to fix that problem.

When you define the problem and FIX IT NOW it's easy to handle mentally because you know that this issue has improved your business. The same problem is less likely to bother you again.

3. Long-Term Thinking

A mentor and friend of mine, Lawrence Ripsher, sold his tech company to Microsoft, worked for Microsoft for a decade or so and then got hired by Pinterest as Head of Product (he retired in his mid-40s).

Whenever a problem arises, he asks me,

"Will this bother you 10 years from now?"

Most of the time the answer is NO.

1 month of low revenue will not matter 10 years from now.

What will matter is your coping mechanisms (heavy drinking or snapping at your kids is a BAD idea), what you learned, how you plan your next and following quarters.

Knowing what your focus is for each year and quarter makes short-term set backs more manageable.

4. Focus on GRATITUDE!

It's IMPOSSIBLE to feel bad if you focus on what you can be grateful for!

Try it!

Think about all you can be grateful for in life and see if you can make yourself feel bad.

You can't.

For me, I just have to think how grateful i am for my wife, children, the abundance of great food and fresh water, my health and for living in a peaceful country.

Some people are living in war zones. I'm not. I have much to be grateful for. A tough business situation isn't life or death, even when bankruptcy is involved.

Train yourself to focus on gratitude to be free of business stress.

5. Meditate EVERY Day

EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS MUCH HARDER IF YOU DON'T MEDITATE!

There, I said it.

If you're not regularly meditating it's much more difficult to do steps 1-4.

Your mind without meditation is kind of like a broken controller for a computer game console. It won't do what you want it to do. You don't have full control.

When you meditate you have WAY more control of your thoughts and can choose to focus on the things that matter, like FIXING THE PROBLEM and focusing on GRATITUDE.

If you're not meditating you're more likely to be taken on an emotional rollercoaster.

Want help meditating?

Join the FREE daily, guided LIVE meditations every day! Date and time in the calendar above!

Be smart, Meditate.

3 comments