The Mindset Shift That Turns a Side Hustle into a Business

There are two things that really set humans apart. One is our opposable thumbs, a neat trick we share with a few other species like koalas and some tree frogs. But the second one? That’s all ours. It’s our ability to take in information and consciously make choices based on it. This power of choice is our single greatest asset.

It’s what allows us to completely reboot our thinking and change our lives for the better. It gives us the steering wheel. No matter our circumstances, history, or the obstacles we face, we have the power and the responsibility to choose how we interpret and respond to them. Sure, some people have advantages we don’t, and others face hurdles we can’t imagine. But our ability to choose is the great equalizer. The decisions we make can level the playing field, helping us find a way to succeed regardless of our starting point. This is the core principle behind successfully and growing it.

As Thomas Jefferson said over 200 years ago, “We are all born with the equal ability to be unequal.” Where we are today doesn’t have to be where we are tomorrow. But getting to that better place requires changing ourselves first. This is why a mental reboot is so critical. The way we choose to think, what we decide to believe, and what we focus on—all of it translates directly into the actions we take.

If you need proof, just look at history. Every significant shift in humanity came from people who chose to think and act differently. Those are the people we remember. The ones who chose to think like everyone else? They’re never written about because they didn’t make much of a difference, for themselves or for anyone else.

Why We Do What We Do

The big question is, why do some people act in ways that get them better results? It’s a complex question with a simple answer: people act based on what they believe. What they believe about themselves, about others, and about how the world works. The tricky part is that these deeply held beliefs might be completely wrong. They can be totally inaccurate, but they still dictate every move we make.

This isn’t a new idea. More than 2,500 years ago, Gautama Buddha founded a philosophy on the concept of causality, or karma—the idea that our inner world drives our outer actions, and the sum of those actions shapes our future. Centuries later, the Greek philosopher Aristotle talked about how our beliefs are the central cause of our life’s outcomes. And in 1687, Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of physics gave us the concept of cause and effect, often stated as “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

The theme that has echoed for millennia is that things don’t just happen; they happen for a reason. Success and failure aren’t accidents. People win or lose for a reason. They strive for greatness or get stuck in mediocrity for a reason. Happiness, unhappiness, and peace of mind all have roots. Those roots are always found in our thoughts and beliefs. Successfully isn't about luck; it's about the underlying beliefs that drive your daily decisions.

Small Moments Create Big Momentum

I remember sitting in a mall parking lot waiting for my business partner and mentor, Joe Gianni. We had a long drive to a client meeting, and as he pulled up, he was full of energy. “You know,” he said, “I’ve been thinking a lot about something. Everything in life is cumulative. We see things as single events, but they all add up and start to make a big difference.”

I didn’t fully get it that day, but over time, I’ve realized just how profound that statement was. One single action rarely matters. But when you string a bunch of those “one things” together, they matter a lot. This accumulation builds either positive or negative momentum. Think about it: investing a single dollar feels pointless. But if you invest one dollar every day for 45 years, you’d have a nest egg of nearly $290,000. That’s the cumulative effect.

The same is true for everything else. One negative comment to someone might not do much harm. But make negative comments every day, and that relationship will eventually fall apart. This is why the consistency of our actions and words matters so much. It's the fuel for the momentum in our lives, whether we're building a relationship or a .

Initially, I only saw this from the perspective of actions. But a deeper realization hit me: our thoughts and beliefs are the root cause of those actions. I never fully grasped the cumulative damage of my negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. So, take a look at your life. What kind of momentum are you building? And more importantly, what beliefs are driving the actions that create it?

The Challenge with Choice

If we could all choose our beliefs as wise, experienced adults, we’d be in great shape. The problem is, as neurodevelopmental pediatrician Dr. Rajeshree Singhania explained, most of what we come to believe is defined for us in early childhood, primarily between the ages of 2 and 7.

During this time, our brains are in a highly impressionable state, recording nearly everything without filtering it. It just accepts what it sees and hears as fact. This was once a survival mechanism—our ancestors absorbed beliefs about danger, food, and shelter to stay alive. But today, the beliefs being passed down are more about our capabilities and what we can or can’t do. This is how flawed beliefs sneak into our subconscious.

Essentially, we’re handed a perfect mental operating system at birth, and life inadvertently corrupts it. It's a sad reality that people with limiting beliefs often perpetuate them in others. As children, we inherit these beliefs just like we inherit our eye color, with no say in the matter. Managing a becomes incredibly difficult when your subconscious is running on faulty code.

Your Path to a Mental Reboot

The good news is we don’t have to blindly accept the programming we were given. As adults, we can use our power of choice to decide what we want to believe. This is the key to transforming a simple and beyond.

This rebooting process happens on two levels. First, we have to fix our “core beliefs”—the operating system of our mind. When we were born, it worked perfectly, like a brand-new computer. But as we grew, we loaded new programs and messages that corrupted it. After we restore the operating system, we can clean up the mental software that shapes our perspective.

Many of us operate on a set of myths that create most of our unhappiness and dissatisfaction. By replacing these myths with truths, we can free ourselves from a life of mediocrity. The first step is what Indira Gandhi, India’s first female prime minister, called “the power to question.”

Ask yourself: What do I believe? Are these beliefs helping me or hurting me? What would my life look like if I let go of my limiting beliefs? The bottom line is, we can train our brain. Our muscles control our bodies; our mind controls our experience of the world. Make your beliefs a conscious choice—nothing will influence your life more.

For those who lead others, this is especially important. A leader’s greatest leverage is their ability to influence the choices and beliefs of their people. When building a team, you must reinforce core beliefs that support adaptability and performance, for success or driving a corporate team forward. An improperly grounded belief system makes it nearly impossible to drive change and achieve great things.