Your Mindset is Your Destiny: Simple Shifts to Go from Daily Struggle to Long-Term Success
“You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” --Brian Tracy
Have you ever looked at someone who is incredibly successful—maybe a brilliant artist, a successful business owner, or a great leader—and wondered, “What do they have that I don’t?”
It’s easy to think it’s luck, special connections, or even a different type of brain. If you’re the average person who struggles for success each day of your life, waking up wondering how you’ll pay the bills or if you’ll ever get ahead, that gap between you and the super-successful can feel huge.
But here is the secret that will change everything: the difference is almost never talent or luck. The real, fundamental difference lies in their success mindset—the specific beliefs, principles, values, and behaviors used that guide their every choice.
The good news is that these mindsets are skills, not gifts. You can learn them.
This article is your down-to-earth guide to understanding and adopting the exact mental blueprint used by people who achieve greatness. We will break down four key areas where the mindset difference is most clear, illustrating how adopting these beliefs will support you in creating success in your own life, starting today.
The Core Belief: Failure is Data, Not a Final Stop
The first and biggest difference between the average person and people who achieve huge success
is how they view failure and ability. It comes down to two kinds of thinking: the Fixed Mindset and the Growth Mindset.
The Fixed Mindset (The Average Struggle)
The average person often operates with a Fixed Mindset. They believe that their intelligence, talent, and abilities are set in stone—you’re either good at something or you’re not.
Key Beliefs of the Fixed Mindset:
“I failed, so I must not be smart enough.”
“I was born without a knack for money/leadership/writing.”
“I should quit before I look silly trying.”
When they face a setback, they feel ashamed, embarrassed, or defeated. They see the failure as proof that they shouldn't try again. This mindset keeps people stuck in the daily struggle because they stop trying right when the learning is about to begin.
The Growth Mindset (The Success Blueprint)
Historically successful individuals operate almost entirely on a Growth Mindset. They believe that
intelligence and talent can be developed through effort, good strategies, and persistence. They do not see failure as a personal flaw; they see it as essential data.
Key Beliefs of the Growth Mindset:
“I failed this time, but what can I learn from it to do better next time?”
“This is hard, which means my brain is growing.”
“Effort and practice are what create genius.”
Real-Life Scenario: The Inventor’s Persistence
Think about Thomas Edison. When he was trying to invent the light bulb, he supposedly failed thousands of times before succeeding. The average person would have stopped after 10 tries, saying, “I guess I’m just not an inventor.” Edison, the successful person, famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
This isn't just a clever quote; it’s a living principle of success. He didn’t view those 10,000 attempts as personal failures. He viewed them as 10,000 necessary steps of learning. That’s the entire mindset difference in a nutshell.
How to Adopt This: Next time you fail at something—whether it’s a diet plan, a job application, or a coding project—stop yourself before you say, “I give up.” Instead, ask, “What did this experience teach me? What needs to change in my plan, not my ability?”
Principles of Action: Extreme Ownership vs. Blame
The second critical area where the mindset difference emerges is in how people handle responsibility. This successful mindset is rooted in the powerful value of Extreme Ownership.
The Average Mindset (The Blame Game)
When things go wrong for the average person struggling for success, the natural human tendency is to look outward for a cause.
Behaviors of the Average Mindset:
Blaming the economy, their boss, their parents, or their lack of resources.
Waiting for someone else (the government, a mentor, a savior) to solve their problems.
Saying, “I can’t do it because X happened to me.”
While external challenges are real, this mindset puts the person in the role of a victim, which means they have no power to change their situation. They wait passively for an external force to help them.
The Successful Mindset (Taking Ownership)
Successful people have a powerful, almost radical belief: If it affects me, I own it.
This means they take full responsibility for everything in their world, even the things that aren’t technically their fault. Did a major client leave? The average person says, "That client was awful." The successful person asks, "What signals did I miss, and what can I do now to ensure I replace that income in the next 30 days?"
Real-Life Scenario: The Power of Proactivity
Imagine two people starting small online businesses. Both suffer a website crash that costs them money.
Person A (Average): Spends a day complaining on social media, blaming the hosting company, and waiting for a refund.
Person B (Successful): Immediately calls the hosting company, demands an explanation, and, while waiting, starts learning how to back up their data so it never happens again. They take proactive action and immediately begin rebuilding lost income.
Person B’s behavior, which is driven by the principle of Extreme Ownership, is the key to achieving success. They don't waste emotional energy on blame; they channel it into solutions and self-improvement.
How to Adopt This: The next time a problem hits you, stop before you point a finger. Ask yourself, “Regardless of who caused this, what is the one thing I can do right now to make the situation better or prevent it from happening again?” This shift empowers you completely.
Values in Time: Long-Term Vision vs. Short-Term Comfort
Successful lives are not built in a day. They are built through a commitment to the value of Delayed
Gratification—the ability to resist the temptation of an immediate reward for a greater reward later.
The Average Mindset (The Need for Instant Comfort)
Most people focus on the present moment and the easiest path. This is a very natural human impulse, often called the Short-Term Comfort mindset.
Behaviors of the Average Mindset:
Spending money they don't have on things that don't matter (instant gratification).
Choosing the easy activity (like watching TV) over the hard but necessary one (like exercising or studying).
Ignoring small problems because dealing with them now is uncomfortable.
This short-term focus creates the daily struggle, leading to debt, stagnation, and regret over time.
The Successful Mindset (The Long-Term Vision)
The most successful people think in years and decades, not hours. They have a clear Long-Term Vision and willingly accept temporary discomfort or delayed rewards to get there.
Key Principle: Compound Effect. They understand that small, smart choices made consistently over time lead to massive, powerful results (like a snowball rolling downhill).
Real-Life Scenario: The Power of Saving and Investing
Consider the difference between two young workers, both earning the same salary.
Worker A (Short-Term): Buys the newest phone and car, eats out often, and saves nothing. They get instant comfort but are financially vulnerable.
Worker B (Successful): Lives slightly below their means, drives an older car, and invests a small amount every month. They deny themselves some short-term pleasure.
After 20 years, Worker A is still struggling paycheck to paycheck. Worker B, due to the compound effect of their investments and their success habit of consistent saving, has built a significant safety net or even wealth. Their success wasn't due to a sudden lottery win, but a simple, repeated choice to value the future over the present.
How to Adopt This: Identify one small activity you do for instant comfort that you can replace with a success habit that benefits your future. This could be cutting out one hour of TV to read a book, or saving just $50 a week instead of buying takeout coffee. Focus on the feeling of achievement and future security instead of the momentary comfort you are sacrificing.
The Behavior of Learning: Constant Curiosity vs. The Illusion of Knowing
The final, powerful differentiator in the mindset of these individuals is their relationship with
knowledge and learning. They operate on the belief that their education is never finished.
The Average Mindset (Stopping the Learning Process)
For the average person, once formal schooling (high school or college) is done, they often stop seeking new knowledge intentionally.
Beliefs of the Average Mindset:
“My degree/certificate taught me everything I need to know about my job.”
“I don’t have time to read books; I need to relax.”
“That information is too complicated for me.”
They become complacent, relying on old skills in a world that is constantly changing. This is why their career often stalls, leading them back to the daily struggle of trying to catch up.
The Successful Mindset (The Pursuit of Mastery)
Successful people treat constant learning as an essential part of their job, no matter what their job is. They maintain a radical curiosity about their field and the world.
Behaviors and Values of the Successful Mindset:
Voracious Reading: They read books, articles, and research papers constantly. (Many famous successful leaders read at least one book a week).
Seeking Mentors: They actively look for people smarter than them and ask intelligent questions.
Humility: They are humble enough to admit when they don't know something and are eager to fill that gap.
Real-Life Scenario: Adapt or Fall Behind
Think about a small business owner (a baker, a plumber, or an accountant) in the last five years. The world suddenly changed with social media marketing, online booking, and digital payments.
Owner A (Average): Ignores the changes, complaining that things "used to be simpler." Their business slowly declines because they aren’t reaching new, younger customers.
Owner B (Successful): Sees the changes as a new opportunity. They spend evenings and weekends learning how to use Instagram, setting up a website, and mastering the new tools. They adopt these success habits and their business grows, reaching a new market.
Owner B didn't just survive; they thrived because they had the belief that they must constantly evolve. This willingness to learn is a core principle in how to change your mindset for success.
How to Adopt This: Dedicate 30 minutes every single day to learning something that directly helps your goals. Read a book in your field, watch an educational video, or take an online course. Even 30 minutes a day adds up to 182 hours of focused learning a year—that’s like getting an extra college semester of knowledge!
Your Blueprint for Success
If you’ve read this far, you’ve already completed the first step: you are choosing to learn. You now have a clear, simple blueprint for achieving success that has been used by history’s most acknowledged people.
The gap between you and the super-successful person isn't a lack of opportunity; it's a difference in these four simple, yet powerful, mental habits.
The Average Struggle MindsetThe Success Mindset Shift
Fixed: My ability is set.
Growth: My ability can be developed through effort.
Blame: External forces control my results.
Ownership: I am responsible for all results in my life.
Short-Term: I need comfort right now.
Long-Term: I will accept discomfort now for a greater future reward.
Stop Learning: My education is finished.
Constant Learning: I must adapt and seek new knowledge daily.
The Secret Beliefs of Highly Successful People are not hidden away in vaults; they are practiced every day in small, consistent actions.
You don't have to change your whole life tomorrow, but you must change your mind today. Choose one area—maybe shifting how you view a recent failure—and start practicing the success mindset. It is the most powerful investment you will ever make in creating a better life. Take our FREE assessment to find out where you are, and what you can do to improve your success.
