If we are to develop our entrepreneurial mindset and experience the transformation that comes from the renewing of our mind, then developing our grit is essential. But moving from become gritty for the sake of being gritty, we must tether our growth and development of grit to a larger purpose, which Angela Duckworth defines as "intention to contribute to the wellbeing of others." When this is coupled with a passion, we become grittier. Let's Go!

You are an average of the five people you hang around with the most--this stems from the law of influence. If you could directly influence your overall happiness, your net worth, and your quality of relationships, would you do what it takes? It is really just about surrounding yourself with the right people.

"To have more than you've got, become more than you are" - Jim Rohn's words of wisdom ring as true today as when he first said them years ago. This principle goes alongside his seven strategies for wealth and happiness which become powerful tools for helping us make ourselves as valuable as possible.

Charlie "Tremendous" Jones is famous for saying "you'll be the same person you are now in five years with the exception of the people you hang around with and the books you read." So, what are you reading? Are you reading books that align with the vision of who you want to be in five years? Are you moving from BELIEVER to "EXPECTER" to ACHIEVER?

The entrepreneurial mindset is rooted in movement, in momentum. It is about being biased for action--take the leap, step into the unknown, go for it. Too often planning becomes its own form of procrastination that keeps us from going after the things we need to do in order to create lasting change in our lives.

“Principles are concisely worded statements of truth that transcend circumstance” (quote from Alex Judd of Path for Growth) and as a result, it imperative that, as educators, we work to point out principles for our students and teach them to leverage these principles in their lives.

In other words, principles are always at work regardless of our acknowledgement of them—consider the principle of compounding: every single thing we do adds up over time to define who we become. This can work for us (become healthier and happier) or against us (lose our health and sense of purpose) but once we identify the principle and how it works, we are better poised to use it to our advantage.

In this episode of the podcast, I identify four key principles that drive the entrepreneurial mindset: belief drives behavior (and behavior drives results), consistency compounds, time can be spent or invested, and constraints breed creativity.

We focus a lot on investments and getting a return on our investment but often we don't focus on the return we get by investing in ourselves. Through making ourselves more valuable, we become more valuable to others (and therefore to the marketplace and to society at large). Let's focus some intentional investing in our personal growth to become as valuable as possible.

Empathy is the superpower of the person with the entrepreneurial mindset--after all, understanding the customer's problem is at the root of what it means to be a successful entrepreneur. When it comes to empathy in action, I can think of no better example than Sara and the way she inspired an entire crowd at a high school track meet.