“What if they say ‘no’?”
“What if I mess up?”
“What if …”
I tortured myself like this for over a year.
Then I heard Nick Usborne, an online copywriting expert, talk about how personal growth and business growth must rise at the same rate if you want to be successful.
I realized I had focused completely on business growth — pretty much ignoring personal growth.
I started working on improving my mindset, and, just like Nick promised, soon I was confidently working with paying clients.
But, I didn’t realize how much my outlook had changed until a recent Wealthy Web Writer teleconference.
We were talking about our big goals for the year. Mine is to double my hourly rate — so I dropped some low-paying clients to make room for higher-paying work.
Heather Robson, freelance copywriter and Managing Editor of Wealthy Web Writer, pointed out how much my mindset had grown. I would never have let a paying client go in the past — no matter how little they paid.
That inspired me to share with you how I did it.
Whether you’re just getting started — or want to take your business to the next level — improving your mindset is crucial.
Step 1 is having a “growth mindset.”
The book, Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. (a leading researcher in the field of motivation and a professor at Stanford University), explains the difference between a “fixed mindset” and a “growth mindset.”
A fixed mindset means:
- Your self-worth is directly related to everything you do and whether you succeed or not.
- You do everything you can to avoid failure.
- You believe you have a certain amount of talent and you can’t increase it.
- You’re fearful of messing up or looking dumb.
- If you do fail, you see it as a sign that you’re not “cut out for this” and just the thought of possibly failing makes you never take action.
A growth mindset, on the other hand, means:
- You embrace challenging opportunities because you know it’s the only way to improve and reach your highest potential.
- You believe the only way to fail is to not try.
- You know the intelligence and talent you’re born with is just a starting point. You can always improve and you put in persistent effort to do so.
- [tweetability]You see failure as an opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.[/tweetability]
Using the descriptions above, which mindset do you identify with most? This is the first step to jump-starting your personal — and career — growth. If you’re not sure, have a trusted friend or family member look at the list with you and give their honest opinion. Then, comment below to join the discussion.
Don’t worry if you think you have a fixed mindset right now. I was in that place not long ago.
Stick with me and you’ll be well on your way to developing the growth mindset. In fact, in my next post we’ll talk about four ways to do exactly that.
