Why Mindset Matters.
Traits of an Entrepreneur.
Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he made the electric lightbulb work. He famously said - “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
The more I read and learn about great entrepreneurs through history, the more I realise that logic, the probability of success, and the prevailing view of the day, very rarely matter. Their mindset is what mattered the most. Their ability to ignore the doubters and belief that they can create something of consequence, is what ultimately leads them to success.
Before Amazon, Jeff Bezos had a good job in New York, working for a hedge fund. He saw that internet usage was growing 200% a year, he wanted to get involved but didn’t know how. He came up with the idea of an online book store - he pitched his Boss who told him to think it through before jumping. After all, he had a stable job, why risk it all on a startup?
Jeff Bezos used what he calls The Regret Minimisation Framework to figure out whether he should quit his job and try building his own thing.
“I knew that when I was 80 I was not going to regret having tried this. I was not going to regret trying to participate in this thing called the Internet that I thought was going to be a really big deal. I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not ever having tried.” - Jeff Bezos
When you boil your key life decisions down to the above question, the decision becomes infinitely easier, and often blindingly obvious.
So you’ve made the leap, now what?
Now, of course, most startups don’t become Amazon. Building a company is hard. It is probably the hardest thing you will ever do. Most entrepreneurs say in hind sight that if they had known how hard it would be, they would have never started in the first place.
Having the right mindset at the outset, is more important than we realise.
Your mindset dictates what you focus on:
When you have the correct mindset, you will focus on the important things that can help you achieve your goals. Conversely, when you have the wrong mindset, you will focus on the negative aspects of any situation, which can hold you back from achieving success.
Shutting out the noise:
People who let themselves get too worked up about situations that they cannot control, or people who allow their anger to overwhelm them may find it harder to progress through ideas and solutions because they are so distracted by the problem itself. There is a Stoic lesson that goes along with this, which is to not let things outside of your control affect you. Instead focus on the things that you can actually do something about, this is a very powerful business strategy that can yield powerful results.
Your mindset affects your decision making:
When in a negative mindset, it can be difficult to make rational business decisions. This is because our emotions tend to take over, and we are less likely to think logically or critically about the situation at hand.
Negative thoughts can also cause us to doubt our abilities and question our decisions. This can lead us to become indecisive and paralysed by fear of making the wrong choice. When we are consumed by negativity it becomes difficult to see potential business opportunities or possibilities that could help us move forward. In short, having a negative mindset can lead to poor decision making which can have a ripple effect in every area of your life.
Negative Thinking vs Positive Thinking
Here are some very simple and practical ways to identify how you can switch your negative attitude to a positive attitude:
Negative thoughts tend to put a lid on creativity; they downplay accomplishments and constantly stir up unpleasant emotions. It often starts with self-talk, the silent flow of thoughts within your mind. These inner dialogues can be either positive or negative. Some are based on logic and rationality, while misconceptions or biased expectations may influence others.
If your predominant self-talk leans towards negativity, it’s likely that your overall outlook on life veers towards pessimism. On the contrary, if your inner dialogue is mostly positive, it helps you embrace life with optimism, providing you with energy that can result in productivity.
Entrepreneurial Traits
So if we can approach our life, our business and our relationships with a positive mindset, we unlock a way of being that enables the characteristics and traits that are often associated with successful entrepreneurs.
Here are some (but not all) of the traits that we look for in founders:
Curiosity - “Curiosity is the engine of achievement.” - Ken Robinson
Curiosity leads to creativity and creativity is key to problem solving as a founder. Creative thinking allows you to be more solution orientated rather than problem orientated.
Focus - “Mute the world. Build your own.” - James Cameron
Only focusing on what is important rather than allowing yourself to get distracted by whatever is in front of you, brings a clarity to your focus that is paramount when building a company.
Tenacity - “Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas Edison
Company building is a marathon not a sprint, and it is often the number of times you get knocked back but keep going that defines your success rather than when things are going well.
Optimism - “A sunny disposition is worth more than a fortune. The mind like the body can be moved from the shade to the sunshine.” - Andrew Carnegie
More often than not, founders that have succeeded, are predisposed to being optimistic. If you aren’t an optimist then the odds of success are enough to discourage you from ever starting!
Ability to execute - “Execution is everything: Success is not defined by an idea. It is determined by your ability to execute on that idea.” — John Romero
Success is achieved by relentlessly moving your business forward - inch by inch, day after day, year after year. The temptation to get distracted is high, but the only thing that matters is building momentum and traction.
Storytelling - “The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.” - Steve Jobs
People react to stories. Numbers can be useful and can back up your story, but people are sold on stories. Without a compelling vision, that can be summarised in a short paragraph, you will struggle to bring your customers, investors and employees along on the journey.
Passion - “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focussing on the things that excite you.” - Oprah Winfrey
Just like storytelling, people respond to passion. If someone can tell that you are truly excited about what you are working on, they feed of that energy, that excitement. We are all human, and passion is a big part of what makes us unique as individuals.
What we’ve talked about above are the foundations of setting yourself up for success as a founder. If you get your mindset right and have some of the traits that are commonly associated with entrepreneurs, there is no reason why you can’t achieve what you are setting out to accomplish.
But most importantly, you have to love the journey not just yearn for the end result. Lean into the experience and enjoy the ride.
Until next time.
Saludos,
Archie, Bernardo and Victor
If you are interested in learning more about what we are building at Nascent, we would love to connect!
Archie@nascent.vc
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