How to "Think Success"

By Derek Gehl

If you have been subscribed to my newsletter for any length of time, you should be familiar with my hands-on, "how to" approach to Internet marketing and building a business online.

You may have also noticed that I rarely venture into the intangible, "emotional" side of being an entrepreneur.....

....But today I am going to venture into the uncharted territory known as the "Entrepreneurial Mind," in order to help solve a challenge that some of you have described on my blog as the #1 problem currently holding you back.

I think Jeff said it best:

"My biggest problem right now rests squarely between my ears. It's learning to accept the fact that it's OK to succeed."

Now this may seem like a paradox... But I did a little research on the subject and discovered this is a serious problem that psychologists have been studying since 1915, when Sigmund Freud wrote an essay called, "Those Wrecked by Success".

Freud noted the "surprising and even bewildering" tendency of some people to fall apart "precisely when a deeply rooted and long-cherished wish has come to fulfillment... as though they were not able to tolerate happiness.

"Turns out this is a serious problem that afflicts many entrepreneurs, destroying their chances of success before they've even started!

During my research, I came across story after story of entrepreneurs on the brink of success... employees on track for a huge promotion... and even businesspeople who had already achieved massive success -- subconsciously destroying everything they had worked so hard to accomplish.

Now, Jeff, I'm not going to get into the nitty-gritty "psycho babble" that could be used to explain what drives otherwise brilliant, hardworking people to self-destruct... I'll leave that to the professionals. But I will say this (and please note this is only my opinion)...

Awareness is probably your best medicine. If you are aware that you may be cursed with a self-defeating tendency to limit your own success, you need to consciously remind yourself that this tendency exists and develop a system to recognize it, avoid it, and extinguish its power over you.

So what would such a system look like? Simple... here are three steps you can take to 'let yourself succeed'...

1. Envision what success means to you -- then get it down on paper!

You don't have to write an essay. It can be an outline or a list of bullet points that describe what you want YOUR success to be like. Remember, success isn't just about money! It goes far beyond that. Your picture of success could include time with family, time enjoying your hobbies, time on vacation, etc.

2. Post your picture of success all over your home!

Place it in obvious places around your home, in your office, in your car, etc. Everyday you want to remind yourself of what you want your success to be like. It needs to be ingrained in your mind. Only then will it start to seem real -- and achievable -- to you.

3. Believe you can achieve it -- and live that belief every single day!

Ever since I was a teenager I knew what success looked like to me and since then I have never looked back. That doesn't mean I had the highest grades in high school (far from it, to tell you the truth)... nor did I skip any college parties to study (even when I probably should have!)

Instead, I knew what my success looked like, and I jumped on every opportunity that came my way in order to achieve that success. I took risks, constantly stepping out of my comfort zone, and I never once let myself fall into the trap of believing that I might not achieve it.

Now, Jeff, I am not a psychologist, but I can tell you that chronic self-defeatism is a real problem. If you are going to be successful, you need to train your mind to allow yourself to envision your success, believe in it, and act on any opportunities that come your way -- so you can achieve it!

You can have the best strategies in the world but if you don't believe in yourself, then you'll never apply them. And you'll never let yourself succeed.

Jeff, please don't fall into that trap!

For more information on this subject, here's a great article I found on the CNN Money website:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1996/07/08/214330/index.htm

This article definitely goes into more detail than I am qualified to give. Hopefully it will help you overcome yet another obstacle in your quest for online success!