When Building Your Company, Harness the Power of Positive Thinking!

By Ed McLaughlin and Wyn Lydecker

A life of success and achievement is a direct result of utilizing the power of positive thinking. Positive thinking is a mental and emotional attitude that focuses on the bright side of life and expects positive results. It is one of the most important assets you can have once you decide to take the risk to leave your job and build your own startup.

Oprah Winfrey said, “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.” This is not just pop psychology. Published scientific research has revealed that a positive outlook actually does change outcomes in life. While positive feelings, such as happiness and elation, are fleeting, long-term positive attitudes enable people to live longer, are more successful and have better relationships. You can change your own mental attitude by practicing mindful positivity.

Positive Psychology Yields Results

Positive psychology expert and bestselling author Shawn Achor uses science to convince companies to realize that the greatest competitive advantage in the modern economy is a positive and engaged workforce. He explained, “When you are positive, your brain becomes more engaged, creative, motivated, energetic, resilient, and productive at work. This discovery has been borne out repeatedly by rigorous research in psychology and neuroscience, management studies, and the bottom lines of organizations around the world.” But to use positivity in your life, you need more than just to be aware of its existence. You need to adopt the attitude of positive thinking in everything you do – in your language and behavior.

Achor’s 5 keys to a more positive work experience:

(They take up very little time but can make a huge difference in your attitude.)

1) Bring gratitude to mind – Write down three NEW things that you are grateful for each day

2) Journal – Write about a recent positive experience for two minutes once a day

3) Exercise – Engage in 15 minutes of mindful cardio activity

4) Meditate – Watch your breath go in and out for two minutes a day and

5) Engage in a random, conscious act of kindness – Write a two-minute positive email thanking a friend or colleague, or compliment someone you admire on social media

Avoid the Negative

Those who are consistently more negative than positive in their communications and interactions suffer from an untimely demise of their career potential and professional, according to career coach Kathy Caprino. Through her work she has seen the relevance of a positive-to-negative interaction in people’s careers and professional endeavors. “Be conscious about your words and actions so that you can be a positive force, rather than fueling the fire. Your energy will offer insights to any discussion and invite others to see things from your perspective.”

Remez Sasson, the founder of SuccessConsciousness.com, has several tricks that can help when a negative thought enters your mind. One of the first ones is to just be aware of the negativity and endeavor to replace it with a constructive one. “If the negative thought returns, replace it again with a positive one. It’s as if there are two pictures in front of you, and you have to choose to look at one of them, and disregard the other. Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively, and to ignore negative thoughts.”

Why is negativity so destructive? Because it limits, constrains, and tears down. Negativity also tends to escalate, and as it does, it strips away future opportunities for success, self-esteem, trust, confidence, and growth. Positivity, on the other hand, has the opposite effect – it builds, repairs, and protects. Using positive language and behaviors builds up support structures and creates new roads to solutions and success. It paves the way for a deeper level of human connection, compassion, and creativity. Being more positive in your behaviors and language makes room for far greater success at your new venture. As Tony Robbins said, “Take control of your consistent emotions and begin to consciously and deliberately reshape your daily experience of life.”

A Tool for Your New Venture

In addition to harnessing the power of positive thinking for your new business venture, choose the best tools to increase your likelihood of success. The Startup Roadmap is a business tool we designed to get entrepreneurs on the right track from the get-go. For a limited time, you can get a complimentary eCopy of The Startup Roadmap: 21 Steps to Profitability by clicking this link. If you prefer the print edition, you can purchase it directly from Amazon for $9.99.

Once you have read The Startup Roadmap, please let us know what you think by emailing us at: Ed@ThePurposeIsProfit.com

Ed McLaughlin is currently co-writing the book, The Purpose Is Profit: The Truth about Starting and Building Your Own Business, with Wyn Lydecker and Paul McLaughlin.