10 Mindsets That Will Radically Improve Your Performance

March 11, 2015 10:00 AM EDT

Success is something all career-driven individuals desire yet it eludes many people — at least at the levels desired. Why are some businesspeople successful and others not?

It has everything to do with habits, beliefs, passion, flexibility and attitude.

Often there’s nothing really different between one entrepreneur and another in terms of ability, as each person can do whatever he or she wants. What it all comes down to is having the frame of mind to set practical habits and keep a balance between attachment and commitment and letting things happen.

Here are 10 mindsets for success:

1. Choose courage over fear.

To be successful, you have to have courage. And to become courageous, do courageous things. Much of being successful is about going beyond what you think you’re capable of — venturing into the unknown. Whether you fail or succeed, you will learn and grow.

Growth, in and of itself, means attaining a level of success whether it came from success or failure.

2. Believe in yourself.

Attitude is everything. A negative attitude decreases success and a positive attitude creates success. Without that belief in yourself, you’ll lack a path to success.

Success is something that’s created. It’s not something that merely “happens.”

When you firmly believe in yourself, you can achieve virtually anything: It’s within this belief that you’ll find the power to create the resilience and fortitude needed to keep going when things get tough.

3. Choose good company.

Whom you surround yourself with is among the most important choices you’ll make as you climb up the business ladder. Negativity is contagious and if work groups, especially bosses, are negative, there will be a ceiling to your success.

To reach the goals you desire, be willing to change bosses if necessary. Or if you’re the boss, rid your team of toxic people immediately.

It only takes one toxic person to destroy the morale of an entire campaign. Further, when you surround yourself with other successful, goal-oriented individuals, you can learn from them and take on some of their habits to add to your own as you proceed along your road to success.

4. Adopt self-chosen goals.

Knowing and being clear about where you’re headed in business is something that must come from within. When your goals selected by you, you’re more motivated to achieve them.

That’s because by achieving these goals, you attain a new desired piece of yourself. When your goals arise from your instigation, they carry a deeper meaning and confer a greater impact on your identity.

Each self-selected goal realized adds a depth and an internal expansion to you as a person. Personal expansion is just one of the great gifts to come from succeeding in your business goals.

5. Have a purpose and a vision.

Visualization is powerful because actions follow thoughts. A great technique for nurturing your vision and purpose is to make your goals visual. Some people use vision boards; others opt for treasure maps. And still others set goals identifying specific dates for their achievement.

Whatever works best is a matter for the individual to figure out.

I believe that anything that’s written down is more likely to be achieved than visions kept only in the head. When you make your purpose visual, you make it real. When you keep them in your mind, they remain wishes.

6. Accept the challenge.

There are few easy paths up a mountain and often they’re hard to find. Challenge will be an essential piece in any type of success in business.

And challenge is what creates your growth along the journey. Each challenge obstructing your path provides you with the chance to create a more defined direction toward attaining your dream vendors, customers, managers, employees — and numbers. For this reason, bless each challenge. Each one is a compass directing you toward new business leads, circumstances and opportunities.

7. Be discerning.

Selectivity creates success. You must think deeply and intelligently about the bigger picture and what it is you need for each step along the way to continue articulating and executing your business goals.

Mindfulness means being aware of all angles and staying sharply in touch with the present so that you do not have to clean up mistakes in the future.

Be discerning of group dynamics: which person is the best at what job, which customers or deals will take you the furthest and what it is that each moment is calling on you to do or change to be the most efficient.

That’s how selectivity offers you the pursuit of success.

8. Be willing to take risks.

There are no guarantees on any path to success in life or business. The unknown is always looming. Therefore, risk and education are often the mechanisms necessary for knowing more clearly if you’re on the right path.

If you’re afraid to risk, you will put limits on your success and stay where you’re comfortable. You cannot get what you want if you don’t risk rejection and go for what you desire.

9. Do what you love.

You’re more likely to succeed in business when you’re invested in your passion and making your career fit your personality. There is a way to find passion about anything and everything you do in life.

You may not love every part of your job but tolerating discomforts by looking at the bigger picture makes your investment of time and energy worthwhile.

Be willing to love and find purpose in all aspects of what your business requires, commit to it and see what you’re doing as being a benefit to others. When you love the business you’re in, there is nothing that can keep you from wanting to work at it, nurture it and make it grow.

10. Gratitude.

When you see life and career in terms of the lack in what you have achieved, you cannot drive your business up the ladder of success. Then negativity is impeding your progress.

You must look at all you have and realize how great what you have is as compared to the situation of many others.

When you have this attitude, you stop suffering and complaining about the small stuff. On each receipt you pay out, write thank you. That’s not only to thank the person, event, vendor or customer for what’s provided you but also to give a private thanks acknowledging that you have the abundance necessary to pay for the service, product or event.

Habits coupled with flexibility provide you with a path to success. Success is fluid and so rigidity will stand in its way.

Developing these mindsets give you a compass to navigate the ever-changing tides on the way to business and financial goals. These mindsets allow openness and flexibility while also providing you precise direction.

This article originally appeared on Entrepreneur.com.