Month: March 2019

The Road To Success

/ Pascal Orelus

When we decide to step outside of our apartment or house to drive somewhere, there will be stop signs, red lights and potholes on the road. It’s the same thing when we are striving to accomplish a goal or a dream. When we hit a stop sign or red light, we don’t turn around and change our mind about where we planned on going because of a red light or stop sign. However, we do plan for traffic. If we know there’s going to be traffic, we might plan to leave early, or wait for traffic to die down before we leave. It depends on the importance of the place we’re trying to get to.

When we’re going to work, it doesn’t matter if there’s traffic, we have to go. We just have to plan to leave early to make it there on time. We are also mentally ready to hit traffic. We have to use the same willpower we tapped into to wake up and go to a job for our personal goals. Be positive of the outcomes but be mentally prepared to maintain a positive attitude in the event of failures. Be ready to keep going forward. Never allow failure to discourage you or to quit. We may take a different route to get there if there are roadblocks, closures, traffic, but nevertheless, we should still aim to get to that final destination.

As long as we have a very good reason why to do something, we will be motivated to keep going. That’s why once you have your goals written down, you also have to write down your reasons why as well. Your reasons why will keep you going when things get tough. It will be a reminder. It will be your fuel. It’s easy to give up when something is not important. You have to constantly remind yourself of the reason why you started in the first place.

Real success is not achieved overnight. Never compare your journey to someone else’s. You have no idea what a person had to do or go through to get to where they’re at unless they’ve told you. It may seem that it should have been you in the position but that kind of thinking is not going to get you far. Jealousy is a trait of unsuccessful people and God wonderfully made you to serve a unique purpose. People with a success mindset are inspired by the accomplishments of others and energized to pursue their own goals.

Enjoy your journey to success no matter what obstacles you have to go through. Once you’re there, average people will look at you and say, you’re lucky and you’re an overnight success. The truth is, you just had the guts to work relentlessly harder than them over a long period of time despite setbacks and failures. Be one of those people who don’t give up and it will be rewarding in the end.

Fixed vs Growth Mindset

/ Pascal Orelus

There are two important mindsets that you need to be able to identify. They are fixed mindset and growth mindset.

A fixed mindset individual is one who does not like to try new things. They like to stick to what they know. They are not open to new ideas. As a result, they have limiting beliefs. They are not optimistic. They claim to be realistic. Fixed mindset individuals are “know-it-all.” They claim to know everything just to shut down new ideas and other people’s opinion. They are not willing to be open minded in order to learn. Fixed mindset individuals, don’t like receiving advice because they think they already have it all figured out. They don’t like to reveal their weaknesses or seek help to improve.

On the other hand, a growth mindset individual is willing to try, reveal their weaknesses, learn and get better. They are willing to expand their experiences. Growth mindsets believe that talents and abilities can be improve upon. Growth mindsets believe that if you’re not good at first you can get better through dedicated effort and consistency. People with a growth mindset don’t quit easily. They are usually relentless in their pursuit of excellence. They are optimistic thinkers. They believe that they can overcome setbacks and that pain is temporary. Growth mindsets look at past failures as a badge of honor. They believe they will overcome them.

Take a step back and ask yourself what type of mindset do you have. Also, identify the people in your life that have a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset. By doing so, you’ll identify who you can share your goals and dreams with. Fixed mindset individuals will ridicule and point out all the reasons you should not pursue something while the growth mindset individual will support and encourage you.

If you’re not growing, you’re dying. The application of what you’ve learned is the key to success. Be willing to fail in order to learn and grow. In life, you will fail, you will lose money, you will have setbacks but that shouldn’t stop you from trying and keep moving forward. Have control over your attitudes and adapt a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. As the saying goes, “no guts, no glory.” Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and have authentic confidence in yourself. Be willing to be ridiculed and mocked. That’s when you’ll know you’re growing and on the right path.

Mindset

/ Pascal Orelus

A closed mind can be detrimental to your life, happiness and success.

There’s a saying that goes like this, the mind is like a parachute, it only works when it’s open. Shutting down new ideas without giving it a fair chance to sync in to analyze how it could be a benefit to you can be very costly.

Piece of advice, if you’re entrepreneurial, when an opportunity present itself to you, just remember to open your mind before you open your mouth. Do your due diligence and see if the opportunity falls in line with your long term goals. Don’t be too quick to say no because in this entrepreneurial world, we may start with plan A and then finish with plan W for the win.

At the same time, one should not be too open. Just as a parachute needs to open to work, if it is too open, or open all the way, it won’t work and you will fall. Find the right balance of wisdom to know when to be open and when it’s time to just focus on what you’re already doing and just persevere.