Growth Mindset, is there anything else?

I did a talk on Tuesday night about the impact of your mindset. It was for a group of leaders in training focused in Network Marketing and it was awesome! I love sharing new thought with new people and helping them have their aha moments on where they are stuck! So, I thought I would share some of the content with you to see if it helps you move through your obstacles and get into action.

The talk I conducted was themed: Employee vs. Entrepreneur Mindset. The reason for this labeling is because they are titles that are easy to relate to. Most people fall into the Employee category, and those who are adventurous a have a higher threshold for risk, tend to identify themselves as Entrepreneurs. When it comes to entering the Network Marketing arena, if you have not entered it before or mastered it  yet, you are generally in an Employee Mindset trying to do Entrepreneurial activities. So, I broke it down a little for the group.

As a leadership coach in this arena, I get questions like: "How can I take what I have learned, studied, and even maybe mastered in my specialized field, and apply it to this one without feeling like I have abandoned my investment to date to be where I am today. How can I get over my fears and stretch myself into owning my own business, when until now, that was never a thought that crossed my mind."

Let’s get visual for a second 

What does an employee's situation look like - the best way to describe it is a box drawn with lines that you have to stay within.

Depending on the level of management you are as an employee of a firm, the size of  your box may be huge, but you still have to work within those boundaries, and can only grow as large as the box is drawn for you.

Now let’s visualize the Entrepreneurs situation - the best way to describe an entrepreneur's world is a roller coaster without the track or the cart to ride around in built just yet. And once the investment is made to build both, the ride can go up and down for awhile, and that adrenaline rush where the highs outweigh the lows it what keeps you riding it over and over and over again.

Both worlds have limitations/constraints, the main difference is the risk and reward that occurs with each.

If we dig into these two types of roles and the underlying mindset for each, the best definition comes from Dr. Carol Dweck's book Mindset where she breaks down - The Fixed Mindset and the Growth Mindset come to mind here.

What’s a Fixed Mindset? 

“Believing that your qualities are carved in stone—the fixed mindset—creates an urgency to prove yourself over and over.”

“When you enter a mindset, you enter a new world. In one world—the world of fixed traits—success is about proving you’re smart or talented.

Validating yourself. In the other, the world of changing qualities (growth mindset), it’s about stretching yourself to learn something new. Developing yourself.”

What is the Growth Mindset?

“This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way—in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments—everyone can change and grow through application and experience.”

If you want to boost your chances of achieving your goals, reaching success, and being your best self, develop a growth mindset.

Now let's relate them:

• Fixed Mindset - Employee

• Growth Mindset - Entrepreneur

Most of us have had jobs in our lives. We know what it’s like to live in a box and be successful. Some of us know what it is like to even expand the lines of the box and make it huge square footage and have lived a great life in our large box. But ultimately it is not enough. Ultimately we either realize that the box walls can collapse on us because of a lay off, or tragedy, or the walls are so close that we are stressed which results in unhealthy living.

Every person reading this has their own life’s vision.

Mine is completely different than yours. But what if I said our foundation is the same. What if I said that anything I am capable of, you are too? But most stop before even trying, why?

We are all conditioned to think a certain way based on the principles by which we were raised. We conformed to a thought about what is safe, and what is risky and dangerous.

Where we shine, and where we suck.  Whether it was true or not, it was created early on in life and may still be leading the majority of your choices today.

Are some of you stuck in a Fixed Mindset that your life only has 1 choice? To do what you were educated to do, or told you were good at, and created a self inflicted box that does not serve you?  How do you push past these limited thoughts?

Exposure is key.

In my 20’s I was fortunate to read Rich Dad/Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, and once exposed to his train of thought and possibilities, I mapped out a plan that removed me from working for THE MAN, and set off on my own to maximize my cash flow.

He has a book called The Cash Flow Quadrant if you are looking to get a better understanding of how he breaks down income earning and the potential in each. I share this with you, because if you are setting goals on your financial story, it is good to understand truly what it means to be.

If you are focused on a growth mindset, and looking to grow  your income in new ways so you can achieve your dreams, having a financial path and understanding your return on investment is key to achieving that success. If you master the mindset that you can grow, you will in all areas of your life.

So, how do you move into the Business Owner/Investor Quadrants - Majority of us have the Employee experience down.

Prepping for the call with a group of Network Marketers, I thought about where Network Marketing fits. I believe it is between the Self Employed and Business Quadrants. Then eventually moves into the Investor Quadrant. In the beginning you can’t rely 100% on your network marketing income because you are still learning and growing and identifying who on your team is willing to grow with you.

An employee mindset is conditioned to live within the boundaries of direction from others. Even if you are the CEO of a company, yes you have leadership power, but the Board of Directors that oversees your company can push to change a direction that you as the CEO must comply with or you are out.

Jumping into Network Marketing can be scary for an Employee Mindset because new skills are required that may not have been prevalent in your daily employee life. Plus as an Employee, there is room to coast and still get paid.

Minimal effort is sometimes rewarded the same as maximum effort when you have a steady paycheck and no one is watching.

Jumping into an Entrepreneurial or Business Ownership from the ground up, requires a high tolerance of risk focused on building a product and/or service from the ground up. It generally can not happen alone and requires trusted partnerships. It takes a huge investment upfront before you are paid. But if it is successful.

Lately in large corporations getting laid off or layoff rounds are a common occurrence. There is no such thing as job security. Opportunities like Network Marketing allow ANYONE willing to jump into the company feet first and explore building an income based on an established brand and suite of products, with a lower risk level than true Entrepreneurial investments. If you join the right Network Marketing company that allows you to personally grow, take care of yourself, and help others do the same, there are no boundaries to what you can accomplish. Regardless, in any arena in life the growth mindset helps you push forward into new versions of yourself.

...Obviously you want more, otherwise you would not still be reading this.

How do you get there??

I am going to give you an exercise to do. This will help you assess where you stand today, and how to put a growth mindset in action towards your vision in life.

First and foremost, remove the labels of what you have been told and really dig deep on  where you are most comfortable.  Second, I want you to draw your own version of the image below.

Your goal is to live in the STRETCH ZONE, it equals GROWTH!

You have a vision of the life you want. What are small actions you can do each day that you have not done before that would stretch you to learn what works best for you. When something is brand new, you get excited! It's new. So it is exciting to try it out!! That is stretching beyond your comfort zone. The growth mindset lives in the stretch zone. 

JUST DO NOT GO INTO THE PANIC ZONE. Panic doesn’t serve you, you know you hit it if what you are attempting to do shuts you down from trying and recoils you back into the comfort zone of eating ice cream on the couch watching movies instead of focusing on your financial needs and how getting into action helps you build your income.

If you are unsure how to stretch yourself towards your goals, get a coach. That is what we are trained to do. Support you in your stretch so you can build a larger comfort zone in transformation towards what you want in life. New business ventures, health goals, relationship goals, whatever it is, if you keep doing the same thing you are doing today, you will get the same results (comfort zone - fixed mindset).

If you want it to be what you dream of, get into action and stretch yourself - that's the Growth Mindset. Regardless of title: Employee, Entrepreneur, Network Marketer, CEO of Household, Consultant - the growth mindset is key to push past any box you have placed yourself in and get what you want out of life.

Well, I hope you found this post helpful. Would love to hear how you are stretching in life! If you are looking for inspiration and a good laugh, follow me on Instagram @revampologist. Would love to hear how you are progressing and of course, if you need help, reach out.