The Secret to Unlocking Your Potential: Developing a Growth Mindset

Do you feel bored or unsatisfied in your career? Do you crave a life of happiness, purpose, and passion? Do you dream of success, but feel ill-equipped to achieve your goals? Do you just feel stuck?

We’ve been there before too. But we have good news: you have the power to change your life. Mindset of a Hustler was created with a simple philosophy in mind: anyone can achieve a fulfilling and purpose-driven life with a growth mindset.

Tell us if this sounds familiar: you don't feel like you’ve reached the level of success that is expected of you or a form of success that feels authentic to your personal goals and values. You assume this is because you don’t have the adequate experience or skills to pursue your vision. So, you turn to self-proclaimed self-help or success ‘gurus’ to find the secret to success. You read hundreds of books, attend every seminar, go back to school, and spend copious amounts of time googling ‘how to be successful’.

The truth is no book, webinar, degree or article will magically help you find success. You feel stuck because you’re searching for an external solution to an internal problem: your mindset.

Your mindset is the single most important factor in determining success. A mindset is the established set of attitudes that shape your world-view, self-image, and overall life philosophy.

So you wanna know the secret to success? The secret to unlocking your potential is completely dependent on you and your perspective on your ability to achieve your goals.

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset

In her 2013 commencement speech delivered to the graduating class at San Jose State University, Debbie Millan perfectly sums up the difference between a growth mindset and a fixed mindset. She says, “If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve.”

Your mindset determines what you believe you’re capable of achieving. There are two types of mindsets that we usually see in people: fixed mindset and growth mindset.

Fixed Mindset

A fixed mindset is the belief that personal qualities & traits are innate, fixed, and unchangeable.

Those with a fixed mindset typically:

• Give up if they’re not immediately good at something

• View feedback as a personal attack

• Feel threatened by the success of others

• Believe their intelligence and ability determine success

• Avoid failure at all cost

Growth Mindset

In contrast, a growth mindset is the belief that personal qualities & traits can be developed and strengthened through hard work and determination.

Those with a growth mindset:

• Practice and develop their skills to get better at things

• Find value in feedback and use it to improve their work

• Are inspired by the success of others

• Believe perseverance and effort determine success

• View failure as an opportunity to learn and grow

How Do You View Failure?

Which of these mindsets sounds most like you? If you’re still not quite sure, your view of failure is usually the determining factor of your mindset. Do you tend to view failure as a rejection of your personal abilities or an opportunity for growth?

In the words of Michael Jordan, NBA legend and one of the greatest proponents of failure, “I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” If you cannot get comfortable with failure, you will never be able to succeed. Developing a growth mindset is all about cultivating the belief that you can achieve anything with determination and perseverance. The failure you will regret most at the end of your life will be the failure to give everything you had to your dreams.

Jump, dive, leap into failure. Leap into your goals. Believe that you are capable of achieving anything you want to in this life. This is what developing a growth mindset and being a Hustler is all about.

Benefits of Developing a Growth Mindset

Dr. Carol Dweck, professor of Psychology at Stanford University and mindset expert sums up the importance and benefits of a growth mindset best:

“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better? Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them? Why look for friends or partners who will just shore up your self-esteem instead of ones who will also challenge you to grow? And why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you? The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives.” – Carol Dweck

Along with allowing you to find success in the face of hardship, developing a growth mindset will help you:

• Embrace your imperfections

• Stop seeking the validation of others

• Turn criticism & failure into learning opportunities

• Cultivate grit

• Take risks

• Show up as your full self in all areas of your life

• Find success through growth, passion and purpose

• Overcome limiting beliefs

• Establish healthy habits

• Set actionable goals

• Find your unique “why”

• Foster a support-system of like-minded people

• Make sustainable changes in your life

Unlock Your Potential as a Hustler

Our mission at Mindset of a Hustler is to help young and hungry millennials like ourselves transform their mindset from fixed to growth. If you struggle with feeling discouraged, stagnant or unmotivated, it’s likely because you have a fixed mindset. This is why we created the Inner Circle. The Inner Circle is an online, personal growth mastermind and community where you can evolve into your best self and live your best life. This community supplies you with everything you need to successfully do so including free books, coaching calls with world-class professionals, weekly uploaded content and resources, challenges, and a worldwide network.

If you’re ready to develop a growth mindset and unlock your full potential, join the Inner Circle or subscribe to our daily motivational texts and The Mindset of a Hustler Podcast.

Stay hungry, Hustlers!