Open up your funky mind and you can fly.

– George Clinton/ Funkadelic

By Omar Douglass

Contributing Writer for The Purpose is Profit Blog

Imagine what the world would look like today if everyone who lost their job amid the turmoil of the “Great Recession” had thought of themselves as “self-employed” rather than “unemployed”? It might sound a little crazy, but pause and consider for a moment the impact such a shift in the collective consciousness might have had. Think about the people you know who suffered the most during that period. Would they have fared better by operating from a mindset more like an employer – or an entrepreneur – and less like an employee? I don’t know the answer, but I believe that many of us would have come out of the crisis more mentally courageous, fiscally confident, and emotionally capable to succeed in living the life of our dreams.

As Ed McLaughlin and Wyn Lydecker discussed in a previous blog, the only difference between an entrepreneur and a non-entrepreneur is attitude. For a successful entrepreneur, it’s a particularly “take charge” mentality that, “requires you to take on responsibility, adapt to quick changes, and harness your ideas.” When applied to your venture (or your life) it can sustain you when you’re just inches away from going under. Ed and Wyn point out in Chapter 10 of their upcoming book, The Purpose Is Profit, that founders who understand the right startup principles are more likely to build a profitable business because they know how to effectively combine their vision with competence, determination, and preparation. It’s a success-seeking attitude, combined with doing the right things that can make the difference between failure and success.

To be clear, I’m not trying to make light of the detrimental impact the financial crisis had on people around the globe. Within my own small-town environment, the recession made its presence known everywhere from the shuttered windows of hometown businesses to the faces of the people whose patronage had kept them thriving for years. The increasingly dismal outlook in the community, plus my growing discontent for the professional path I was on, left me restless and ready to redefine my life. Rather than falling back into the funk that was consuming the world around me, I chose instead to jump forward into the great entrepreneurial unknown.

This decision to leave security for ambiguity and the overwhelming feeling that drove me out of the office is what Ed calls the “Push” of entrepreneurship. It’s the moment that business idea you can’t stop thinking about finally compels you to act. In The Purpose is Profit, he explains how entrepreneurs can use the power of the “Push,” and the “Pull” leading up to it, to home in on the most efficient path to profit and the subsequent success that comes along with it. To read more about an entrepreneur’s motivation, download “The Pull to Become an Entrepreneur!” here.

Whether starting a business or trying to grow one, mindset matters. The mentality of a successful entrepreneur enables you to create success and live out the freedom found in owning your own business.

Ed McLaughlin is currently co-writing the book “The Purpose Is Profit: Secrets of a Successful Entrepreneur from Startup to Exit” with Wyn Lydecker and Paul McLaughlin.

Copyright ©2015 by Ed McLaughlin. All rights reserved.