Developing a Success Mindset

The Mindset of Success

When I use the term "mindset of success," I mean thinking about challenges in the same way that successful people think about challenges. Adopting the mindset of success requires us to learn from people who have succeeded in a particular endeavor. Those lessons can be transformative.

I didn't develop a mindset for success until I read about Socrates. Socrates encouraged people to be curious and to ask questions. He taught that the only true wisdom is knowing that we know nothing. Socrates helped me believe that I could change. If I could change my thoughts, I could change my life.

Successful people in society have always thought about the long-term consequences of their actions. While in prison, I wanted to know about the decisions successful people make in corporate settings. When possible, I read about leaders and their path to success:

• Benjamin Franklin: Developed himself from a printer to becoming a diplomat and founding father.
• Dale Carnegie: Wrote books to help people become more effective communicators.
• Napoleon Hill: Showed how people could "think and grow rich."
• Bill Gates: Became the world's wealthiest man by understanding technological changes.

Identify Your Avatars

An "avatar" is an image in my mind of a person I'll meet later. The choices I make today will influence whether that person will want to interact with me. Anyone in prison may want to develop a mindset that can influence people who have a positive influence on prospects for success.

For me, avatars would include employers, parole boards, judges, prosecutors, community members, and family members. By thinking about these avatars, I began making choices that would impress them when I eventually met them.

When we work to influence avatars, we don't tell them what we're going to do. Instead, we build a record, documenting our steps along the way. When the time comes to meet our avatars, we show that we have been authentic.

Mindset in Action

A man named Corky began serving a life sentence in the early 1980s. Administrators of the BOP classified Corky to serve his sentence in the highest-security prisons. Yet Corky developed a mindset of success.

Although Corky served a life sentence, he worked toward becoming the best version of himself. He earned a GED and later, university credentials. He contributed to programs that helped others and to his community. After more than 30 years, opportunities opened for Corky to earn his freedom. The mindset of success led Corky through a lifetime of confinement.

From learning about the way that Corky thought, we get an example of the mindset of success.

The Power of Influence

Throughout Section II, we'll focus on developing influence. By developing influence, we increase our opportunities for success. To develop influence, we must:

• Think about the people we want to influence
• Understand what motivates those people
• Make choices that build a record showing our commitment
• Document our progress for accountability

This mindset allows us to be purposeful in how we use our time, regardless of how much time we have. The mindset of success gives us a framework for making daily decisions.