When you decided to be an entrepreneur, you may have thought you’d simply chosen a vocation that you manage yourself.

You know that you’ll need a strong, success-oriented mindset and you’re working on that.

You know that you need to take care of yourself and you do your best to make time for that, even when it feels like your business needs you more.

This is of course all true.

Unfortunately, all these bits and pieces of personal growth will not help you a single jot if your self-identity is still just hopeful, and, who you’ve always been.

You want to be the entrepreneur with the strong and successful mind and body. Right now, you’re the same you, who also happens to be an entrepreneur, who also happens to work on their mindset for success, who also happens to work out, who also happens to meditate and visualize.

You have aspirations. You’re working toward a big vision. You’re living on purpose.

But why do you still feel like you’re on a treadmill of “when will this all start to feel like it’s doing anything?”

Why we need to talk about self-identity in business

You’re not doing it all wrong, you’re just doing it backwards. It’s a little bit like trying to grow a tree by creating leaves first, and the analogy doesn’t end there.

It is time to grow a self-identity with a strong core and foundation for all the motions you’re going through, and be able to sustain them easily.

You’re probably thinking, “Won’t doing all the inner work and taking care of myself eventually get me there?”

Yes, but only if you let it. Doing the work doesn’t mean you’ll automatically end up being who you want to be. However, there are a couple of things you can do easily, right now, to make sure you can transform once and for all, rather than just keep trying.





1. Take ownership

You are not just a random human who decided to become a successful entrepreneur, you are a successful entrepreneur who decided to start a business. Acknowledge that you had the thought, drive, excitement, and idea – and that is why you will succeed. Acclaimed author, Napoleon Hill of Think and Grow Rich has said, “If you can conceive it, you can achieve it.” You were born an entrepreneur, and your idea chose you to bring it about. Honor that!

2. Trust your gut

No, really trust yourself. Sure, let your business mentor and/or mindset coach mentor you and guide you to your own answers, but make sure they really are your own answers. Do everything the way the powerful leader and entrepreneur that you already are wants to do it. This isn’t a case of asking yourself “What would Richard Branson do?” This is you never ever wondering to yourself if something is right or wrong for you to do. This is you trusting yourself and your capabilities.

3. Understand the basis of self-care

All the inner work and self-care you’re doing is to support who you already are. You are not trying desperately to “become” anyone by taking actions that you think they would take. It works inside out, not outside in. Do you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger as not being a body builder, just because he wasn’t lifting weights for awhile? Of course not. Even before Arnie was Mr. Universe, he was Mr. Universe because he thought of himself as Mr. Universe.

Ultimately, you are allowing yourself to be a successful entrepreneur, because you say so. This is not a decision you will finally accept when you’ve done enough mindset work, proven it with an income level, and other people bestow you with the honor, it must come from you.

Ironically, it will never really happen unless you own that you are a successful entrepreneur from day one. 

“Just because you believe in something, doesn’t make it true” says Emma Swan in the pilot episode of Once Upon a Time… to which little Henry replies, “that’s EXACTLY what makes it true…” I’m with Henry.

This article has been edited and condensed.

Mariska Anderson is the main (only) source of trouble at mariskaanderson.com. She specialises in exploring peoples’ minds, upgrading their identities from within, essentially – guiding them to allow themselves to be extraordinary, and get what they want. When she triumphantly drove home from her successful Ph.D. defense and realised she still didn’t feel like she had become the woman she wanted to be, and still didn’t feel like she had what she really wanted, Mariska knew there was something that needed to be done, and fast. Because when you can be extraordinary and get what you want? We all win. Connect with @fairgamehunting on Twitter.

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