5 Steps to a Sky's-the-Limit Mindset

In life and in entrepreneurship, attitude determines everything. You ask the entrepreneurs at the top of their game how they got to where they are and they will undoubtedly tell you they mastered their mind before they mastered the game of success. So what do you need to do to get to the next level?

Here are five things you need to realize in order to have and maintain a sky’s-the-limit mindset.

1. Want what you have now.

The best place to start is exactly where you are. Yes, you need goals and aspirations to be truly successful, but a sky’s-the-limit mindset starts by acknowledging where you are and taking some time to truly feel appreciation for it.

2. Own it.

As you learn to appreciate where you are and to give thanks for all the assets you already have, you start to embrace another very important part of the big success mindset -- responsibility. Own where you are right now. Know that this moment, this place is 100 percent the results of your choices. A lot of excuses will come up immediately after reading that, but if you want to bust loose into a whole other level of thinking, own where you are because of the choices you’ve made.

3. Use it.

Okay so what if you don’t love every aspect of where you are right now? Ownership doesn’t mean you beat yourself up over it. No, ownership is far more powerful. Own where you are, then use that to fuel your inner fire for bigger thinking. When you want to quit that jog early, sleep in or skip a phone call, no one is going to berate you for it -- but you know now that you have to own that choice, and you’ll start to say no to the voices in your head that say you can’t do something. You’ll start to argue with those doubts and fears and use them to fuel you onward, instead of hold you back.

4. Forget ABC -- you need ABH.

There’s a saying in business -- ABC, or always be closing. Sure, that’s important, but that’s a kind of old-school mentality. If you really want big success, change that mantra to ABH -- always be helping. As Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” Creating value changes the way you think and that changes the way you live your life. Life gets better and better when you put value first.

5. Replace the word problem.

When you stop using the word problem -- just totally eliminate it from your vocabulary -- something amazing happens. Every obstacle becomes an opportunity. If you want to read a great book on this concept, which is the basis of stoicism and the teachings of many great leaders, check out Ryan Holliday’s best-selling The Obstacle is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph. You really can find the good in every situation presented to you. They may be better answers in disguise, or they may just be another opportunity for you to transform problems into fuel for your motivation, but every experience has value.

Find the value, and you’ll be embracing sky’s-the-limit thinking.