Self-Made

9Mastering your mindsetOvercoming obstacles and unleashing your full potential

Henry Ford once said, ‘Whether you think you can, or you think you can't — you're right.’ To me, this is one of the greatest quotes ever about the importance of mindset. It reminds you that if you believe something is possible, you are far more likely to take action to make it happen or, at the very least, attempt to make it happen. If you don't believe something is possible, you are less likely to try or may give up. You may be thinking: how do you learn to think or believe you can achieve success? Is it something I can learn?

This book has been intentionally written to be equal parts business and equal parts personal development. Not only can you learn to have a growth mindset, but it is critical for success in any area of your life.

I don't know the exact percentage of mindset vs skills it takes to become successful or even if there is one. But I do know from my own personal experience and from the wisdom shared by many sports people, entrepreneurs, actors and so on, that in both business and life, mindset plays a huge role in achieving success.

Reflect back on a time in your life where things felt particularly challenging and you didn't know how you'd ever overcome them, but you did. This may have been a big challenge or a smaller challenge; it could have been leaving a job, losing a job, the end of a relationship, a financial situation or something else. It may have taken you several years to ...