“Prepared minds win…You can seize chances only when you detect them. ” -Mitch Horowitz, The 13 Rules of Good Luck

The phrase ‘Prepared Minds Win’ has stuck with me ever since I read Mitch Horowitz’s article on good luck.

The context in which he claimed that ‘Prepared Minds Win’ referred to one’s ability to increase their chances of good luck.

As I started to look at my life and how I could better prepare my mind for good luck, I realized that this concept goes far beyond chance factors.

I began to apply ‘Prepared Minds Win’ to my perception of and journey to personal success.

I realized that if my mind was not prepared for success, then success may never come my way.

Beyond just the hours of hard work, self-discipline, and sacrifices you make for some vision of success you have in your mind, you also have to mentally prepare yourself for it.

Beyond What Success Is to You

The concept of success is an ever-evolving vision throughout one’s lifetime.

I know that what I currently envision as success will progress as I experience life, mature, and enter different seasons.

I’m also keen on the different types of success in my life, such as success in my relationships, in my career, and even in my mental and physical health.

At the end of the day, you can be crystal clear on what you envision as success in your life. You can even be taking daily actions and building the habits that will get you there.

But what separates those who experience success and then plummet to immediate failure from those who enjoy longevity in their success is the way in which they prepare their minds.

Here’s how I’m working on preparing my mind for the success I envision in my life, and how you can too.

#1 Get Comfortable With Making Sacrifices

In a world full of convenience and luxury, making sacrifices isn’t as common as it once was.

Today, most people are unwilling to sacrifice comfort and convenience in the slightest way.

We’ve become so accustomed to getting everything we want in an instant that we’d rather fully give up on an opportunity before we make some sacrifices to make it work.

But the reality is that all success requires some sort of sacrifice, big or small.

Do you want to become a business owner? Then you’ll likely sacrifice your money on investing in your business. Do you want to become a teacher? Then you’ll likely sacrifice a lot of your time. Do you want to be a nurse? Then you’ll likely sacrifice your sleep. Do you want to have kids one day? Then you’ll likely sacrifice…well, many things.

Oftentimes, sacrifices don’t feel like sacrifices, though, because (hopefully) you’re sacrificing for something or someone you love. Sacrifice in these instances will likely come easily.

But what happens when you hate your job? When your business isn’t going as well as you anticipated? When no one bought your book?

Are you going to be as willing to sacrifice then?

Despite where you are in the journey of your success, you have to be willing to consistently sacrifice along the way, until you’re at a point where you don’t have to.

Being comfortable with making sacrifices is a huge step in preparing your mind for success. It increases your drive and motivation when done properly.

#2 Practicing Humility

Being humble is the best way you can prepare your mind for success.

You do this by understanding that success is not your own. It took many people, many opportunities, and many resources to get you where you are now.

You do this by viewing everyone on the same level, never perceiving yourself as above others or others as above you.

You do this by acknowledging you are more than your success. Knowing that there is more to you as a person beyond the success you do or do not receive.

Humility is rare to come by, but when done genuinely, it is one of the coolest things to experience in someone who is uber-successful.

Imagine Elon Musk being like “Yeah, I contributed significantly to the progression of technology and humanity, but most importantly, I’ve been a great dad to my kids and love boxing CEOs of other technology titans.” Haha, just kidding. But you get my point.

When success comes my way, I want to be the type of person who is nonchalant. So, I practice humility in the little successes I experience now, for the big successes I hope to experience in the future.

#3 Positive Self-Talk on the Mountain and in the Valley

Positive self-talk is a superpower in preparing your mind now for your future success.

Positive self-talk comes easily when you’re experiencing success, but how about when your eyes are clouded with failure?

Is it easy to tell yourself you’re killing the real estate game when you’ve sold one house in six months?

Self-doubt and the repeated mantras of negative self-talk are going to be the biggest hindrances in the preparation of your mind.

For one, if you let yourself get bogged down by the natural hurdles of the journey to success, then you likely won’t ever make it to the finish line.

Say that after publishing 200 blogs, you only have 500 followers and no viral articles. Looking around, you see hundreds of other creators who have written a lot less and have an audience 5 times the size of yours.

You begin to tell yourself that maybe blogging isn’t your thing. Maybe your articles aren’t interesting enough, or aren’t good enough. So you decide to quit blogging altogether, even though you love doing it.

What if I were to tell you that you were one article away from publishing an all-time great? What if I were to tell you that you were one article away from gaining 10 times the number of followers you already have? Would you keep writing? Certainly!

Cycles of negative self-talk can get in the way of your success. They get in the way of your endurance, discipline, and ultimately, your dreams.

Secondly, being a slave to negative self-talk can, in turn, make you a slave to Impostor Syndrome.

If, despite your negative self-talk, you experience success, then I guarantee you won’t be able to enjoy your success because of the impostor syndrome you feel. And this is all due to your negative self-talk.

It’s easy to have positive self-talk when you’re on the mountain. But it takes an extremely prepared and focused mind to have positive self-talk in the valley.

Real Talk

We all know that success doesn’t come easy.

Even harder to achieve is the type of success that is fruitful and sustainable.

Beyond the daily habits and routines you implement and the grand ideas you brainstorm, you must prepare your mind.

This means being more comfortable with making sacrifices, learning to be humble, practicing positive self-talk, and doing all this consistently, in the good times and the bad.

Preparing your mind now for future success is what elevates those who graciously experience success.

It comes down to the type of person you want to be in the face of success, and that’s equally as important to be thinking about as how to get to that success.