Every successful entrepreneur will tell you that having a healthy mindset will lead to success for you. One particular mindset will keep you from having success… and you may not even know you have it! I’m talking about a refund mentality—and no, I’m not referring to your customers.

I used to have this mindset, and it almost killed my efforts to start a business. Back in the day, I was a cheapskate with a refund mentality. I’m not proud of what I’m about to tell you.

Several years ago, I found myself flat broke. I’d been laid off from my job, the bills piled up, and my unemployment benefits were running out faster than toilet paper in a pandemic. I justified pirating software and illegally downloading a bunch of courses from black hat sites because I needed to figure out how to run a business. Even though I felt like I worked my butt off, I made zero progress for a long, long time. 

One day, I woke up and realized that if I wasn’t being an honest customer myself, I couldn’t expect other people to do honest business with me. That morning, I deleted every piece of illegally downloaded software and all the bootleg courses I had.

Then, I started from scratch. I could no longer rely on blaming software, a course, or my lack of money for my problems getting my business off the ground. I finally realized my success was on my own shoulders. 

When I made that attitude adjustment, my business took off! My agency landed clients left and right. I started a second business with a partner. Most importantly, I became the business owner who solved problems instead of the one who constantly complained about them. 

By the way, if you want to hear this in podcast form, simply follow this link.

Why Can’t You Do It?

If you identify with my story about being a cheapskate with a refund mentality, you are shooting yourself in the foot when it comes to building a business.

I see it all the time. Someone comes to one of my training sessions, they see a bright, shiny new product that gets them excited, and they realize they want the results that product can bring them. BUT, instead of putting the product into place and getting those results, they come up with a million reasons why it won’t work for them. They tell me all of these reasons.

This is sad to watch because I hate seeing people sell themselves short. In essence, they say, “I’m not willing to do the work.”

They say, “I can’t do that because I don’t have everything I need.”

I say, “Okay, go get whatever you need so you can get it done!”

Or they say, “I can’t do it because I don’t have the knowledge or that certain skill.”

I reply, “Well, it’s good to recognize you don’t have that skill. Now go work on learning it so you can get closer to making your goal work. Go figure out what you need to know and do it.”

I’m not complaining about customers who ask legitimate questions. I want to give my customers answers. If you don’t find that a product or service lives up to its promised value, you should ask for a refund. I want to make sure my customers get what they need from the services I provide.

At the end of the day, your attitude matters most. Do you look for the negative in every situation? Do you look for every reason you CAN’T achieve your goals? I like to foster the opposite attitude—one that looks for every reason you CAN get it done!

If you want to experience the success you dream of, make sure you have a healthy mindset. These three questions will help you consider whether you’re trapped by a refund mentality.

Check out my FREE guide for the strategy I’ve used to build multiple six-figure businesses. You can use these five steps to turn your next idea into a revenue-producing gig! 

3 Practical Questions to a Healthier Mindset

If you want to change your life, change your mind. Ask yourself these three practical questions:

1. Do You Operate with Honest Business Practices?

Let’s shoot straight. Consider what kind of customer you are. Are you cheating someone else out of their hard work? Do you constantly look for “good deals” at the expense of the seller or creator? 

Think about how you would explain your business decisions to the person who created your resources. Would you hide the truth? If so, it reveals a problem.

Don’t forget: Your choices affect more than just yourself. Not only do you numb your mind toward unethical practices by justifying your own, you hurt the efforts of other people trying to make a living—people with similar goals to you! When you make decisions based on honest practices, you will ultimately find more success.

2. Do You Make Excuses?

Do you look for all the negative sides of a situation? Do you only see all the reasons you can’t possibly make something work?

Don’t give in to the temptation to stop moving forward with your ideas because you don’t know how to do something. Find your determination and go learn! You don’t have all the resources? Go find them! Even the most successful and knowledgeable people suffer from imposter syndrome. You don’t have to know everything or have it all together, at first—but you do have to be willing to get started. Go for it!

3. Where Do You Place Your Blame?

If you constantly blame everything around you—circumstances, money, resources—for the failures you experience, you will see little momentum in your entrepreneurial pursuits. Not to mention, if you harbor bitterness toward other people, you’ll end up with serious relationship issues. (And if there’s any time when you need support from people close to you, it’s while you’re trying to build a business!) If you struggle with resentment, and find ways to bury that habit for good.

You will never see the progress you want if you blame everything and everybody else for your failures. You have the opportunity to work hard and build a successful business. The resources you need are available to you.  Recognize that your success is your responsibility. 

Even though your success is up to you, you don’t have to go at it alone. Know that you can seek help to keep you motivated and explore new ideas. Find a business coach to ask you the right questions and help you move forward. Join a mastermind group to get valuable insight from others who have similar goals and experiences. Talk to a counselor when you struggle to get past difficult emotions or mindsets. Find the encouragement you need to propel you to successful business practices.
For more secrets the so-called “gurus” won’t tell you about making money online, check out my podcast.