‘Of course it’s impossible’, said the Queen, ‘but you have to believe it!’
Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’
I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!”
(From “Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There” by Lewis Carroll)

How Your Focus Shapes Your Reality

Following last time’s more technical article, today I’d like to offer you a few general points to reflect on:

1. What we feel in a given situation has nothing to do with the situation itself, but rather depends on the specific elements we choose to focus on, more or less consciously.
2. If we’re in a bad mood, we tend to see only the negative aspects of a situation; if we’re in a good mood, everything seems good and positive to us.
3. The important thing is that, while reality doesn’t change, our interpretation of it does. In this regard, at the risk of sounding obvious and trite, I’d like to remind you that what I’ve said works both ways: if I focus on the negative aspects of a situation, my mood will inevitably worsen, and vice versa.

But what is negative or positive remains so, regardless of my interpretation. The real problem is that, if I remain focused on the negative aspects, I actually prevent my brain from seeing the possible solutions to a given situation.
In this case, let’s say that, in order to find solutions, it is much more helpful for us to focus on the positive aspects.
All of the above leads us to the concept of BELIEF or PRINCIPLE.

By analyzing people who have been successful in business and those who have gone bankrupt, it has been discovered that the real difference does not lie in intelligence, age, capital, or physical appearance, but in one’s belief system (principles).

The 7 Core Principles of Successful Entrepreneurs

Here are the seven things that successful people invariably believe in:

1. I am solely responsible for pursuing my goals.

Successful people never complain about situations. They try to shape these situations according to their will.

In any situation, even the most dramatic one, we have the choice between reacting passively and taking action by making the most of the resources at our disposal. Focusing on your own limitations is tantamount to choosing paralysis.

2. There is no such thing as failure; there are only results.

No one succeeded at everything on the first try; everyone has faced failures and financial difficulties. Yet they pressed on, viewing these challenges as temporary and adjusting their approach. (Remember the TOTE model?)

3. Things don’t get better by chance, but only after taking the right actions.

This is a consequence of the previous idea. Those who want to achieve results succeed by following certain procedures; they don’t wait for gifts from heaven. When we observe someone from the outside, it’s very easy to predict the results they’ll achieve based on the actions they take.

Doing this with ourselves is more difficult, but it is of fundamental importance.

4. Work is fun.

No one has ever succeeded by simply pursuing wealth; on the contrary, they succeeded by doing something they loved exceptionally well. Money should be a secondary consequence, not the most important goal. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain why billionaires like Bill Gates, Silvio Berlusconi, and Donald Trump continue to work 16 hours a day without breaks, even though they could afford an endless vacation.

5. There is no long-lasting success without sacrifice.

Those who have succeeded have thrown themselves wholeheartedly into the venture they believed in, sacrificing friends, leisure, and rest. No great achievement has ever been accomplished in a short time with minimal effort.

6. People are our most important resource.

If we examine those who have achieved great things, we will find that they succeeded because they knew how to make the best use of the resources and abilities of the people around them. Many of the founders of major financial empires, such as Ford and Onassis, had limited formal education, but they knew how to surround themselves with competent advisors.

7. If we manage to give others what they want and need, then they will give us what we want and need.

We discussed this in our first article. Our success, even when measured in monetary terms, is the exact measure of our usefulness to others and to society. If what we do is of no use to anyone, no matter how well it is done or how much effort we put into it, it will not yield a single penny. There are, of course, many other beliefs that can be useful to us, but this is already the best starting point.

If I haven’t convinced you, I suggest you try to prove the truth of the following statements, which are actually negations of the principles mentioned above:

1. I am not responsible for what happens to me; circumstances decide for me.
2. If I go bankrupt once, I’ll be bankrupt forever, and it’s not even worth trying.
3. Business only goes well if you have a lot of luck.
4. Work is a burden and a curse from heaven.
5. Results should be achieved immediately and without too much effort.
6. We should do everything ourselves and trust no one.
7. What I do should be considered valuable, even if it’s of no use to anyone.

Isn’t it true that we hear these arguments all the time, and they come from people who fail to achieve anything positive in life? Let me emphasize once again that we are the ones who decide what we believe. So, take note: in this case, we choose whether we are winners or losers.

Think carefully!