MINDSET The 1 Factor That Determines Your Success in Business Ebook

The #1 Factor That Determines Your Success In Business
And The Simple Secret Formula That Will Help You MASTER IT!
by David E. Fernandez
Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez
All Rights Reserved.
Meet David at davidefernandez.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
A PERSONAL LETTER BY THE AUTHOR3
THE BIG SECRET REVEALED5
OUR IDENTITY.7
THE COLLEGE GRAD IDENTITY...14
YOUR MONEY IDENTITY.16
A PERSONAL ACCOUNT..19
A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS CALLS FOR A BUSINESS MINDSET....21
TAKING CONTROL BY RELEASING THE BREAKS..24
THE SECRET FORMULA...25
YOUR NEW SELF..33
ONE LAST THOUGHT.35
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...36
FROM THE DESK OF DAVID E. FERNANDEZ37
Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 2

A Personal Letter From The Author
After I graduated business school, an experience that entitled me to legally add three letters to
my name (M.B.A.), I didn't really feel like I could start my own business. I couldn't pinpoint why
I felt that way after all the classes I had to take, after all the studying I had to do, and after all the
effort I had to put in. I truly thought that getting a master's degree would actually do it, and by
that I mean provide me with all the knowledge, the skills, and most importantly the confidence
necessary to get something going, all while ridding me of my many doubts, fears, and
insecurities. Boy was I wrong.
I left school just as confused and scared as I was going in. But, I didn't let that stop me. I
continued to search for answers. I continued my quest for knowledge, and I read, and read, and
read. And I Googled, and Googled, and Googled. I found myself pouring through immense
amounts of information, and I became a "theoretical expert" at many business related subjects. I
started a few ventures but was never really able to get any of them off the ground. Usually,
shortly after getting started, the initial excitement for whatever idea I was trying to develop
would leave me, and as a result I would halt the project. I would get depressed for a little while;
just to resume my search for the next idea that would get me excited enough to try again.
Little by little, the more I poured into self-development, human psychology, and even eastern
spirituality literature, the more I realized that the knowledge I had been looking for was only part
of the equation and hardly the entire picture. I began to realize that my own psychology and,
more specifically, my belief system was somehow holding me back. I could not believe it. How
could it be that someone can deliberately sabotage his or her own efforts toward what he or she
desires most?
Well, I am proud to say that I have found the answer to that - and the rest of my questions too.
Since then I have been able to get a business off the ground, and now I am on my second one. I
now know and believe that success in business and life in general is about 80% mental, 10%
knowledge, and 10% skill.

This short ebook reveals the most critical of my findings and how to harness its power by
following a simple secret formula.
It is my sincere hope that after you read this ebook and start applying this simple secret formula
to your life and business that you may come to the same conclusion, go on to achieve the success
you deserve, and find what you are looking for in life.
Wishing you much success,
David E. Fernandez
Houston, TX 2014

THE BIG SECRET REVEALED
"What a man thinks of himself, that it is which

determines, or rather indicates, his fate."
Henry David Thoreau - Walden
The number one factor that determines how far, how successful, and how happy you will get to
be in your life and in business is your IDENTITY!
What we think about ourselves, who we think we are, determines the amount of success we will
experience in every area of our lives. Now, success can have as many definitions as there are
people on this planet, but for our purposes let's define it as the attainment of everything we deem
desirable in life.
How is it that you can imagine this grandiose life and have all these dreams about someday
making it big, having more money than you can spend, having the best relationships with your
family and the people around you, being in the best shape of your life, and being able, very able
to make a difference in other people's lives; and yet there is such a huge gap from where you are
now to where those dreams show you could be?
The answer? Easy Your identity does not include you being rich and powerful. It also does not
include you being the best husband/wife the world has ever seen. Same with being in shape and
leading a healthy life. Shocked? Wait, there is more
Your current life is a DIRECT reflection of your identity.
And, contrary to what you may be thinking, this is actually great news!
Why?
Because your current life is showing you everything that you need to know about yourself. And,
thank God for that, because otherwise it would be almost impossible to see what's truly in our

minds, since most of it lies under water according to Freud and his iceberg metaphor. Picture an
iceberg floating in the middle of the ocean. As you may know, underneath the tip of the iceberg
lies a huge mass of ice many times bigger than what can be seen above the surface. Freud used
this sight to describe the human mind by likening the conscious portion of the mind to the tip of
the iceberg and the unconscious portion to the huge invisible mass below it.
The conscious mind represents a very small piece of the mind pie and it is also the only part that
has the ability to think and be aware of itself, hence the name. This means that, for the most part,
we have no clue about what is really going on inside our heads. What we do know is that all the
reasons driving our behaviors live in the unconscious mind, or the subconscious mind as it is also
known, and here is exactly where we can find our identity.

OUR IDENTITY
Let us define identity.
Identity is primarily who we think we are, based on an assortment of
1. labels we adopt as we grow up that are a direct result of how other people saw us and thought
(out loud) about us, and
2. a series of roles we modeled by observation and that later on we used as blueprints and
measuring sticks for our own and others behavior.
So basically, our identity is all learned. Shocked again? I was too when I first learned this.
Our identity is what I call the number one component of our belief system, the other components
being our values, or what we think is right or wrong, our preferences, or what we like and
dislike, and our fears, or what we think could harm us and probably endanger our survival.
By the way, our belief systems, in case you thought I wasn't going to define it for you, are a
collection of mental programs that "help us" navigate through life, and that pretty much dictate
all the decisions that we make.
Yes, almost all of our decisions have already been made by our subconscious mind way before
we actually "make them."
Don't believe me? Look at your wardrobe. Do you see a lot of the same colors, same style of
shirts, same bottoms? When you go to a store, you are already predisposed to buy what you
deem desirable because somewhere in your mind you have linked certain items, usually all very
similar, to something desirable to you. If, on the other hand, you are one of those who cannot
own two shirts of the same color, then you can be sure that your identity about the way you look
dictates that you must look significantly different every day. In either case, your wardrobe is
telling you something about how you make decisions at the mall.
Ok, back to our main topic.

I have discovered that our identity is comprised of and driven by these 4 elements:
1. What we think about ourselves.

2. What we think other people think of us.
3. What we think other people should think of us.
4. What other people really think of us (that we know of).
1. What we think about ourselves.
Mainly, who we think we are is based on labels and roles, as I mentioned before. So, it is only
logical to think that our gender, our race, our education, our culture, where we are from, our
religion, the groups we belong to, the football team we follow (and believe we are part of), some
conscious personality traits such as shyness, organized, caring, grumpy, etc., that we may allude
to occasionally, make up pretty much who we think we are. These are all labels we have learned
to attach onto our self-image.
Our parents had a lot to do with this labeling and role modeling process since they are, well, our
first role models.
What parents think, say, or imply about their kids has an enormous weight on their identity,
positive and negative. Did you ever hear them say things like "my kid is so smart," "she is great
with directions," "very creative," "great at basketball," "such a good helper," "when he starts
something he sees it through."? These are all positive labels that you may have taken on from
those comments. But there sure were a fair share of negative comments as well. They may have
referred to you as "clumsy," or as having a "weight problem," or as "not too intelligent," "not
really good at math," "lazy," "a pain in the neck," "disorganized," "messy," "a burden". These
negative labels were also taken on by you. This mix of positive and negative labels makes up
most of your identity today.
To give you an example of how this may work consider a person having within his identity a
label, and consequently a subconscious program that says, "I am clumsy; therefore, I must act
clumsy so that everyone keeps thinking that I am clumsy." Or, in contrast, "I am a winner;
therefore, I must act like a winner so that everyone keeps thinking that I am a winner."

This person, because of this or that label, does not "know" how to be or behave any other way, at
least not at a conscious level. Remember, these labels constitute beliefs about ourselves and are
how we learned to interact with our surroundings since we were very young. These beliefs
provide us with a certain amount of certainty about what to expect of ourselves, others, and the
environment we are in. To act any other way would mean to violate who we are, to step outside
what we know with certainty, to experience something we are not used to, therefore creating a
certain level of uncertainty and, as far as our brain's defense mechanism is concerned, the
possibility of dying.
We also learned a good deal of our behaviors from the way we saw adults behave. We learned
how a person should relate to their spouse, in public and in private. We learned how to behave at
a social gathering when we don't know anyone, and also when we know everyone. We learned
how to behave at a football game, and at a tennis match. We learned how to interact with others
one on one, and in groups.
Now, imagine two kids going into work with their respective fathers who happen to work at the
same office. As the two sets of father and son walk into the office, father number one says hello
to everyone he crosses paths with in a very subtle voice as he avoids eye contact with them. At
the same time, father number two stops and shakes hands with everyone as he asks them how
their weekend went in a more confident tone and eyes locked in. Want to guess which kid will be
the popular kid in school?
Once we learn how to get our conscious mind to start observing our subconscious programming
carefully, we can begin to effect positive changes in our identity make up. But, we are not there
yet.
And, just so you know, if you think your parents were loading little you with labels consciously,
think again. They were just projecting their own internal issues on you. None of it was personal.
No, really, it was not about you. It was always about them and their subconscious programming,
and ultimately their own identity.
So, you can go ahead and forgive them now. This will free up a ton of mental energy you could
be using to reengineer your own identity so that it includes more of what you want and less of
what you don't. We will get to this later.

Now that you know this, I would suggest that you begin to observe your behavior around your
own kids if you have any. You will start noticing some of these modeling patterns have already
begun to occur, and also that you call them names you were also called when you were growing
up.
I know this is all crazy stuff.
2. What we think other people think of us.
This is a big one because it drives most of our behaviors. The very title of it implies it is totally
imaginary, since it is about what we "think" others are or may be "thinking" about us. To be
exact, the things we believe others are thinking about us are directly related to the labels we
identify with and also to our own very survival. I'll focus only on the survival side of this
element, since we have already touched on the label portion in the previous section.
Do me a favor; just ask yourself how many things are you doing because of what others may
think, whether good or bad. Why do you drive what you drive? Why do you live where you live?
Why did you choose that school over another? Why do you go to the gym? Why are you on a
diet, honestly? Why do you buy at this store versus that store? Why, and Why, and Why? We are
conditioned to belong. We have to belong, period. We dress like everybody else; we talk like
everybody else; we go to the restaurants everybody else goes to; we watch the TV shows
everybody watches. It is important for us to belong, to be accepted by the pack! Believe it or not,
this is why it is a primal survival instinct. Those who travel alone are easy targets and will get
eaten. That's it. To belong means to be safe. To be accepted in our society means to assure
survival.
But, let's be realistic, we live in a very different world. We don't live in caves and have to hunt
for survival in the middle of the jungle on a daily basis, which would imply tremendous risk, lest
a saber tooth tiger came out of nowhere and score a nice lunchYOU!
So why do we still feel like we need to belong?
For two reasons: First, simply, because we are unaware of this primal instinct and don't realize
that we could manage it, or change it if we really wanted to. And second, because even if you

were aware of it, changing a primal instinct like that can be difficult and very painful, thereby
rendering this and other primal instinct programming automatic and extremely reliable, in case
we still needed them. Make sense?
If this is confusing you a little bit, I dare you to go into work tomorrow wearing bright red socks
over your pants and up to your knees. This will certainly make you stand out, and for sure you
may not belong to that pack for much longer after that. I know you won't do it, but just for the
heck of it, imagine the scenario.
You, dressed up in a suit, with red socks over your pants. Do you feel the tension within you? Do
you feel ashamed? Chances are you would not dare to ever do something like that. And this is
not just about fear of getting fired. If you think that's the case, then just bring the socks with you
to work but leave them in the car. When you get out from work, put them on and go to a store on
your way home. Same feelings? There you have it. We are a bunch of pansies that need to fit in.
3. What we think other people should think of us.
This one is mostly driven by the same factors I just told you about in element number two, our
need to belong.
Sometimes we like to simplify this element by saying this is our egotistical mind thinking,
talking, or just needing to show off to others. But, in reality, it is just a need for acceptance and
to be taken seriously so that we can pass as someone important and be wanted by the pack.
About those roles I mentioned earlier, a good example of one is becoming a spouse. When you
become a spouse, you unconsciously add that role into your identity (you are now a husband or a
wife) and start thinking, speaking, and acting like one according to what your subconscious mind
has gathered over the years, and more specifically picked up from your parents, about the way a
husband or a wife should think, behave, and act.
This gathering happens mainly in the first few years of our lives, when we are nothing but a
blank slate and are in need of this information in order to learn how to cope with whatever life
throws at us. Anything from basic survival to knowing how to relate to others is learned during

these first few years of our lives. I know, I already told you that. I just felt like re-wording it a
little bit so that I could tell you again.
All this information that we gather gets compartmentalized into buckets with labels such as
husband, wife, son, father, daughter, friend, worker, co-worker, business owner, rich man, poor
man, middle-class man, teacher, student, etc., etc., etc. And any time that we find ourselves in a
situation that matches one of these labels or roles, we simply step into it by drawing information
from the right bucket to help us cope with the event without having to think too much about it.
Ever heard, "you are just like your mother?" Well, it's not all about genes. You definitely pick up
your parents' behavioral patterns.
By the way, until you become aware of all this information and learn a thing or two about how to
uncover some of these mental programs that make up your identity, your values, your
preferences, and your fears, you will not be able to think rationally and logically, but only from
your subconsciously programmed mind. Whether this is good or bad depends on your
circumstances, what you are trying to do, where you are trying to go, what your goals are, and
who you would like to become.
I'd like to take a moment here to congratulate you because you are doing just that!
4. What other people really think of you (that you know of).
As I mentioned above under the first element section, many of the labels you were called during
your childhood you took to heart. Whether these labels were true or not, you had no way of
knowing, you simply trusted that others could see something in you that you couldn't. These
others included your parents primarily, but also other authority figures such as teachers and
priests. And let's not forget the almighty schoolmates. I could give you many personal examples
from this category of people, but I'd prefer not to recall that time in my life.
What other people really think of you (that you know of) is the number one factor that shapes
your identity, your self-image. The way other people see you is how you learn to see yourself.
And, once you adopt these labels as your own, you become virtually blind to any event that does
not reinforce these labels; the possibility of allowing anything into your life that does not
conform with who you think you are, consciously or unconsciously, is not an option. To borrow

a term from the book Celebrate Yourself by Dorothy Corkille Briggs, your perception freezes
and you can no longer perceive anything other than what you believe to be true.

THE COLLEGE GRAD IDENTITY
Allow me to provide you with another example of how our identity gets conditioned, and how it
plays a big role in determining our fate.
For the majority of us, going to college is something that we look forward to during our teenage
years. We often hear comments from our parents early in our lives such as "when you go to
college you will" and "when you go to college you can. We also hear "when you graduate
from college you will, and "when you graduate from college, you can...." All of these
comments literally programmed into us that first, going to college is a possibility and almost a
given, and second, graduating college is also a possibility and almost a given.
Did you ever doubt you were going to go to college when you were in high school?
If you did, it was probably because, unlike most, the idea of the possibility of not going to
college was programmed as part of your identity, and you believed that other options were
feasible.
But, the decision to not attend college would probably be very hard to make because
subconsciously you were supposed to go to and graduate from college. After all, this is what
everyone talks about during the last two years in high school.
Your parents' comments made an impression in your subconscious mind and created the label
"college graduate." Now, your identity will not earn this "title" until you actually graduate, but
you will step into the "college student" role until that happens. You will think, speak, and act like
one during your time in school.
Being a college graduate is part of your identity even before it happens, and it is the reason why
you make the effort through 4 years of college and strive to complete the task.
It is so ingrained in your identity that you can't even image life without having a college degree.

Now, of course, people drop out halfway through, and you can be sure the reason still is in their
identity make up. After all, daddy didn't go to college, and he's done pretty well for himself. This
fact alone may result in an inherent belief that they can have a good life with or without a college
degree. This belief was already part of the dropout's identity way before ever thinking about
going to college, and because the possibility of making it without a college degree was always
there, they have the confidence to drop out and know they will be able to figure something out.
But, most of us can't imagine life without a college degree, I know I couldn't.
This is just an example, but this concept of your identity being the driver of who, what, and how
much of the good stuff you get to experience in life applies to everything, even starting you own
business.
Whether you go to college or not, whether you go for this or that job, whether you go back to
school in order to later pursue a promotion, whether you start your own business, whether you
buy a house in this or that neighborhood, whether you drive this or that car, whether you go on
vacation here or there, whether you save or spend all your money, it is all driven by your belief
system and your identity.
Just like the college student is able to put in the effort and the necessary work in order to
graduate college only because that label is part of his or her identity, in the same way you must
learn how to add labels such as successful business owner or successful entrepreneur to your
identity if you want to be able to start your own business and be successful at it. It is the only
way. You must believe you are what you want to become, before you become it, in order to pull
it off.

YOUR MONEY IDENTITY
Money is a big piece of identity due to the level of importance attached to it by our modern
society.
Have you ever asked yourself how much money do you deserve to have?
You may think that you deserve to have it all!
But, if it is not part of your identity to have it all, but simply to have enough to continue being a
middle-classer for the rest of your life that's as much as you'll have.
Let's be clear about this, if your identity included the things that you desire to have, be, and do,
you would already have, be, and do all you desire. So, if having lots of money in your life was
part of your identity, you would have lots of money at this very moment. Not five or ten years
from now, but at this very moment!
Yes, you may be able to save "a lot of money" during your working years so that you can retire
comfortably. But not like a rich person would retire, you would retire like a middle-classer
would retire; even if that meant a couple of million dollars in the bank.
Let me put this concept in perspective so that you may see it even better.
You know, some people think that if they could make an extra $300 a month, then life would be
a lot better and so their efforts are going to be a reflection of that belief. Maybe they don't think
they have the ability to make more, so they settle for that.
Another group of people may say, $300? Are you kidding me? We know we can make at least
$3,000! And the very belief that they can do it is what drives them to make the extra cash.
Now, imagine what Donald Trump would say about this and what his beliefs about his ability to
make money are. To be honest, I don't think he knows how to make $300, or $3,000, or even
$30,000 with what he does. He would have to get some type of low paying job in order to make

little sums of money like this. Otherwise, he can only make millions. It is part of his identity,
who he believes he is, and what he believes he can accomplish.
By the way, I think that someone estimated Donald Trump's income to be about $1,000,000 a
day! And you can be sure that if this is true, and he suddenly started making a bit less per day, he
would worry and have someone in his staff look into it with the purpose of bringing it back up to
the $1,000,000 level. Donald's identity has expanded enough to include the possibility to make
this type of money on a per day basis. This is his new comfort zone. Any more would probably
trigger alerts within his brain, and he may sabotage a deal or two until he catches up, analyzes
the situation, and starts working on expanding his identity to include the new higher income.
Any less and he would start looking for ways to bring it back within his comfort zone.
Let me make a quick pause here and define comfort zone for you. According to Wikipedia, the
comfort zone is "a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral
condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually
without a sense of risk."
Please notice the words "within which" in the definition, because this is the key to understanding
the concept of comfort zone. Our comfort zones act like a bracket, anything below a certain level
will trigger alerts and create discomfort just like anything above a certain level will do the same.
This is very visible when it comes to money, and especially when there is a shift in social status.
Someone who grew up in a middle class family will tend to stay in that status for the rest of his
or her life. Someone born into a poor family will tend to stay poor; someone born into a rich
family will tend to stay rich. Social status, and the mindset that comes with it, usually sets
people's comfort zone. This has more to do with the mindset than the actual social class you are
born into. And, just in case I haven't said it enough, our family's mindset, their belief system, and
their individual and collective identities are all crucial aspects in the shaping of our own identity.
We are all the same. And make no mistake, just because Donald Trump makes that kind of
money doesn't make him any different. Remember, he's been up, he's been broke, he's been up
again, and he may go bust one more time if he is not careful. But, keep this in mind, just like any
man with that level of financial success; Donald is very clear that his identity is what allows him
to perform at that level. He is completely aware of it.

The way our subconscious mind works is that whatever you believe you should have, be, or do,
if it is already part of your identity you get to have almost effortlessly. I suggest that you take
inventory of your life and look at how it came to be what it is today. Please keep looking at it
until you realize that you have been the sole creator of it, consciously, and unconsciously.
A WORD TO THE WISE
Taking a moment, or a day, or a whole weekend to examine where you stand in all this will be
more beneficial to you than any business class, or M.B.A. program you may decide to enroll in.
They don't teach this in business school. I know; I've been there. And nope, no mention
whatsoever about the importance of psychology in entrepreneurship. My guess is that they don't
have a clue about any of this stuff. It may very well be the reason they are all teaching and not in
business for themselves. No offense to any college professor out there, you are all lovely people.
Besides, I did learn a few things in business school.
Hey, you may find out you already are well suited to become a successful entrepreneur. But if
that isn't the case, don't despair. At least you will have a good idea of what to start working on,
certainly giving you a HUGE head start over countless people trying to get their business going.
Your mindset, your belief system, and ultimately your identity are a direct reflection of your
current life. And let me add this to that statement, "and a great predictor of your future
life!"
Now, that, I call perfection.

A PERSONAL ACCOUNT
Let me tell you a little bit about myself, where I come from, and how I achieved the biggest goal
of my life.
I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela (for those needing a little refresher on geography,
that's a third world country located at the very top of the South American continent) by a
standard middle-class family, pretty similar to the ones in the States, and since my teenage years
my dream was to come live in the United States.
All the movies I watched growing up were American movies, all the music I listened to was
American music (I am a musician so this was a pretty big one for me), and all I thought about
was the day I would be old enough to be able to make the big move.
Well, that dream came true a little after my 23rd birthday in the month of April in 2000. It was
probably one of the scariest and most exciting things I've ever done in my life.
It wasn't until many years later that I understood how I had been able to accomplish something
that would stop most people on their tracks: a new country, a new culture, and a new language,
which was probably my biggest hurdle, and come out on top to achieve more than I ever
imagined was possible.
I attribute my success in achieving this goal, this dream of mine, to the fact that within my
identity the thought of coming to live in the United States was not only a dream, but a possibility,
and despite the fact that there were a lot of unknowns and that I didn't know if it was going to
work out, I went for it and gave it my all. This took a lot of work, and not just the physical kind,
but internal work.
To me the possibility of turning back was not an option. I was determined to make it work
somehow, and I knew that if it didn't I was going to have to endure some very rough times. But it
didn't matter to me. This dream was bigger than anything else in my life. It was my very identity!

Now, "luckily" for me things worked out very well, and despite a lot of hard work in my first
few years in the States, events just kept falling into place.
Please don't think that my success was just sheer luck. I was literally creating everything that was
happening to me and how things were unfolding; I just wasn't doing it consciously yet.
My identity was the number one factor that made it all happen for me and continues to make it
happen. As I mentioned before, the possibility of me making it in this AWESOME country
already existed deep inside of me, at an unconscious level at the time, but it was certainly there
as part of my identity.

A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS CALLS
FOR A BUSINESS MINDSET
Making money in business equates to bringing value to the marketplace. The more value you
bring, the more money you make. The more value you bring, the harder you are going to have to
work. Unless your business is built around your passion, you need to be realistic, and most
importantly, honest with yourself about the amount of work necessary to make the kind of the
money you aspire to make as a business owner.
You need to start by asking yourself what type of lifestyle you are looking to lead before you
decide on the type of business you will be getting into. Some businesses will be more time
consuming than others. Some will require a lot of work upfront, but little managing at a later
stage, and some will be the complete opposite.
Whichever business model you decide to get into, make sure you work on developing the right
mindset and identity for it. As I have mentioned a few times before but bears repeating, if your
identity does not include something, the chances of you getting, becoming, doing, or in this case
building it are very slim.
When you look at the lives of the people you deem successful, and I use the word deem because
we all have a different definition of success, despite the fact that our society's general concept of
success is having made a ton of money, when you look at these people's lives, or read about
them, you will discover that what they think of themselves, and what they are capable of
accomplishing was in direct proportion to what they accomplished and ultimately what led them
to lead the lives they led.
In other words, these people's mindset was, or is, in complete alignment with the life they are
leading, just like your own mindset is in complete alignment with the life you are currently
leading. The job you have, your material possessions, the relationships you have with other
people, your health, your weight, how much money you save, and how much you invest, to name

a few, is all the result of your identity and what you think is possible for yourself whether you
like your current life or not.
Successful people truly believe they can do the things the set out to do, and also that they can
handle whatever comes their way. And, just as important, they believe that what they have is
what they deserve to have. If Andrew Carnegie or John D. Rockefeller thought they couldn't do
what they did, there would be no railways, there would be no iron bridges, and certainly there
would be no Chevron, no ExxonMobil, and no Amoco. Life would be very different today
without men like them.
It's not that they didn't face immense amounts of risks, issues, worker strikes, calamities; you
name it. It's just that their mindset was such that it didn't matter what came their way; they knew
they were going to be able to handle it. It was all part of their identity.
You may be thinking, "But, I am not like Carnegie or Rockefeller, and I certainly don't like
taking risks." If you are having these type of thoughts in addition to "starting a business is risky
and complicated," "there are too many unknowns in business," "starting a business will be time
consuming," or "when will I see profits, if I see profits at all?" "what if I fail?" and "what will
others think of me if I fail?" "what if I lose money?" or "I don't even know where to start," well,
chances are you won't even try to get started.
But wait, actually, having these thoughts is great! These thoughts are telling you exactly what
you need to know about your beliefs on being a business owner and your "business identity" in
general. This is valuable information, and I'll tell you how to use it in a little bit.
We may think a task is hard and difficult to accomplish making it in our heads an out of reach
event, or at least extremely unlikely for us to pursue it. The result? Inaction. We shut down to the
possibility of any reward coming from the accomplishment of such tasks. Thoughts like this one
are called limiting beliefs because they limit our actions and literally encircle us in a comfort
zone. Our comfort zones are made up of all kinds of limiting beliefs that only permit us to reach
so far out into the world, and consequently allow us to experience life only to a certain degree.
You may think that you don't have what it takes start your own business, the education, the
skills, the confidence, the competitive and outgoing personality, or that you are not young

enough, or tall enough, or short enough, or that you simply may not have the looks you think
may be required to be a successful business owner. All of these are your beliefs speaking to you.
Your identity showing you your possibilities.
And this is all ok! Like I said before, this is valuable information. And this new awareness, this
new way of looking at your limiting thoughts, is an invaluable skill that can take you places you
haven't even imagined; Carnegie and Rockefeller worthy.
Do not make the mistake of deeming your belief system faulty right off the bat, just because you
think you have so many of these limiting thoughts and are not where you think you should be at
this stage of your life. Our belief systems are very useful filtering mechanisms that allow us to
make decisions quickly and on the spot, if necessary, in the midst of the overwhelming amount
of information our five senses are continuously picking up every second of every minute of
every day, and many of them are meant to protect us and keep us safe. Rest assured that we are
doing the best we can with the information and resources we have at any given moment of the
day. So, never belittle yourself in any way.

TAKING CONTROL BY RELEASING
THE BREAKS
Improving your situation, making better or different decisions, and most importantly, exploiting
your full potential so that you can go all out for your dreams and create a business that will make
it all happen for you, requires that you increase your awareness of yourself.
You need to take an honest look at the areas in your life that are not working the way you would
like them to, pinpoint what beliefs inside you are the cause, determine your ideal outcome in
each of these areas, come up with a list of the beliefs that would yield those results, and start
working on replacing the old beliefs with the new ones. This process will help you create an
identity conducive of and in complete alignment with your goals, your dreams, and ultimately
everything you deserve to have, be, and do in your life.
You, and only you, have the power to effect these changes in yourself. You are the creator of
your life experiences on a minute by minute basis. The decisions you make at any moment are
literally shaping your next moment, and the next. The problem is that these decisions are made
from old beliefs that no longer serve us and keep us in a rut, mainly by only allowing the same
experiences over and over into our lives. But, with this new awareness, you will be able to
observe how you are creating your current reality by the way you react to multiple events and
situations in your life, the thoughts these situations generate, and based on this start effecting the
necessary changes to those reactions in order to obtain the outcomes you desire. You will
literally start creating your life consciously.
Can you imagine where you would be at this very moment if you could remove all your limiting
beliefs? All of the baggage that has been holding you back? If you could just release the breaks
so to speak?
Theres no telling!

THE SECRET FORMULA
Finally, huh? I am sure that by now you are probably asking yourself, "Ok, so how do I do this?
How do I determine what beliefs are limiting me, what my identity includes and what it doesn't,
and how do I actually program more things into it so that I can experience more abundance,
prosperity, happiness, and success in business and my life?
Before I get into the actual process, I really want you to understand and know that you can effect
serious changes to your psychological makeup and, therefore, obtain any outcome you want in
your life and in business just by taking the time to do the following exercise and applying your
findings to your life. Any belief, and by default any identity, with the assistance of these tools,
can be dissolved and replaced by new ones if you are determined enough to do it.
In a way, I already gave you the formula in the previous section. But, in case you missed it, let
me add numbers to the steps:
1. Identify a problem area in your life.

2. List the beliefs that are causing the current outcome.
3. Determine your ideal outcome in this area.
4. List the beliefs that would yield your desired result.
5. Replace the old beliefs with the new ones consciously.
Remember, when I said I was going to tell you what to do with all those limiting thoughts you
may be having around the idea of starting a business?
Let's use them as an example, and run them through the formula.
Step 1. Identify a problem area in your life
In this case the area is your career, your finances, your income, which all relate to starting your
own business. I normally treat career and finances as separate areas in my life but, for the
purposes of this exercise, we are going to combine and treat them as one.

Define what your current outcome is. In other words, ask yourself, where do I find myself at
this very moment in regards to this area in my life? It is important to acknowledge where you
currently are so that your plan begins from there.
Step 2. List the beliefs that are causing the current outcome
Your current outcome may be not being able to get your business started, for example, or if you
are in the beginning stages not being able to follow through with your original idea, being
slightly clueless about where you are going, or simply not knowing what your next step should
be. Defining what is the real problem, is critical for this exercise to work.
What I personally do, is ask myself: what are the reasons why I have not pursued or followed
through with this goal of mine? I call this reasons resistance, because they feel like a pull in
the opposite direction. What I really try to figure out is where my resistance to accomplishing the
goal comes from. More specifically, I ask myself, what beliefs do I have that hold me back
from taking the necessary steps toward the accomplishment of my goal?
Let's bring back some of those common thoughts, reasons for not moving forward, the excuses,
resistance, or whatever you'd like to call them that most of us face when thinking about starting a
business and list them here:
1. Starting a business is risky.

2. Starting a business is complicated.
3. There are too many unknowns in business.
4. Starting a business will be time consuming.
5. When will I see profits, if I see profits at all?
6. What if I fail?
7. What if I lose money?
8. I don't even know where to start, how could I possibly run my own business being so
clueless?
9. What about my family? I can't just quit my job.
This is not a comprehensive list by any means. The list could go on, and on, and on. List all of
the limiting thoughts that run through your head and that you think may be holding you back in

this section. Every negative thought about business, every negative thought about yourself and
your abilities.
Bear in mind that every single doubt you have about anything related to starting a successful
business is limiting you and preventing you from having all that is possible for you. Remember,
always remember, all of these thoughts are just thoughts, and not reality. These thoughts are
not you. They are learned patterns that at some point in the past helped you cope with a certain
situation, but now they are not serving you in any way. We need to bring all of them into our
awareness so that we can dissolve them and replace them with empowering thoughts that will
yield the results you are after.
Now, go down the list, and next to each thought write down the answer to this question: what
would I have to believe in order to think this way?
Here is the list again with my answers to this question. Notice that each limiting thought may
have more than one belief generating it, and also that the same belief could be generating several
related thoughts at a time:
1. Starting a business is risky - I am afraid of failure. I don't think I could handle failing. What
would others think if I failed?
2. Starting a business is complicated - I don't know what I am doing. I am not sure I could
learn. I may not be smart enough.
3. There are too many unknowns in business - I am afraid of uncertainty. I don't want to
have to learn by trial and error. I am not comfortable with "not knowing." What if I can't
handle a problem?
4. Starting a business will be time consuming - I am already overworked, and this may mean
working nights and weekends. I don't want to work more. I want more time to myself.
5. When will I see profits, if I see profits at all? - I am afraid of uncertainty. I won't have
control over my income. I am not confident that I'll be able to build a profitable business.
6. What if I fail? - I am afraid of failure. I don't think I could handle failing. What would
others think if I failed?

7. What if I lose money? - I don't have a lot of money. It's taken me a lot of time and hard
work to save what I have. It would take another X number of years to save that back. I am
risking my retirement money. My spouse would kill me. Losing money is painful.
clueless? - I am overwhelmed by the thought of learning all I need to learn about business. I
don't want to spend the time. I don't want to put in the effort. I want this to be easy. I may not
be able to pull it off. I may not be smart enough.
9. What about my family? I can't just quit my job - My job means financial security. I am
unable to support my family without a job.
As you can see, all of these beliefs are counter-productive and are in complete opposition to your
goal of starting a business. No wonder it's been so hard to get started. Your very nature is against
it.
But, what is it that you really want?
Step 3. Determine your ideal outcome in this area
It is very important to be specific here, and I suggest that you should first define how what you
would like your lifestyle to be like before you define the type of business that would provide you
and your family with that lifestyle. Let's say your ideal outcome is:
A successful business that provides me with enough income (you should calculate the exact
income you will need) to support my family and be able to travel 4 times a year for 2 weeks at a
time, that can be managed from anywhere in the world I desire to live, and that requires no more
than 10 hours of work per week.
You can add anything you want to your desired outcome. The more specific, the better.
Step 4. List the beliefs that would yield your desired result
I think this is the most fun part of this whole exercise. I like to put myself in the shoes of any of
my success role models when I work on this section. Doing this has proven very effective for me
for two reasons. First, it is much easier for me to visualize the beliefs I would need to develop in
order to accomplish something when I "trade" places with my role model; and second, because

after a while of doing this you become accustomed to automatically see things from your role
model's point of view, no longer having to over think or analyze situations. Try it, and you'll see
for yourself.
Going back to our example list of common limiting thoughts, let's work on coming up with a
new list of beliefs that will replace the old ones and assure your success with the goal at hand. To
complete this part of the exercise, we are going to make a slight change to the question in Step 2,
and rephrase it like this:
What would I have to believe in order to be able to achieve this task or goal effortlessly?
Let's see:
1. Starting a business is risky - I am comfortable with risk. I can handle anything that comes
my way. I am not concerned with other people's thoughts.
2. Starting a business is complicated - I can learn anything I need to know about business. I
am able to figure out anything I put my mind into. I am smart enough.
3. There are too many unknowns in business - I am comfortable with uncertainty. The best
way to learn is by trial and error. I can handle anything that comes my way.
4. Starting a business will be time consuming - I will schedule time to work on my business as
needed. I am working to create a better future for me and my family. My business' work is
fulfilling, and I am passionate about it. I will never have more time to myself if I don't get
started now.
5. When will I see profits, if I see profits at all? - I have a plan of action that if executed
timely and properly will yield profits at its due time. Having a business gives me tremendous
control over my income. I am confident that I am capable of building a profitable business.
6. What if I fail? - There is no such thing as failure, one can only produce results. Not getting
the results I desire gets me one step closer to my goals. I take cues from these lessons,
readjust my aim, and shoot again. I can handle anything that comes my way. I am not
concerned with other people's thoughts.
7. What if I lose money? - I consider all money spent on my business venture as an investment
in my education and the pursuit of my ideal life.

clueless? - I know I can learn anything I need to know about business. I am able to figure out
anything I put my mind to. I am smart enough.
9. What about my family? I can't just quit my job - I will take the necessary steps to make
sure this venture continues working until my business is able to replace my salary. Basing the
financial security of my family on one job is the biggest risk anyone could take. I am
confident that my business will, in due time, be the sole support of my family. (There is a big
difference between basing your financial security solely on a well-run business, and a simple
job. It is called having control).
Starting to get the hang of it? Let's put all of this newly found insight to work.
Step 5. Replace the old beliefs with the new ones consciously
Now that you have gained some awareness of the workings of your subconscious mind, your
belief system, your identity, or in one word your mindset, you will not be able to help but notice
your own thoughts and how they have controlled your decisions, speech, and activities up until
now. This awareness is all you need for this last and most important step.
This is how it works. Every time one of these limiting thoughts gets triggered by an event, you
will be able to catch it. This may not happen right away in the beginning, but a few minutes, a
few hours, or even a few days later when all of a sudden you realize that a certain event
generated some negative thoughts in you, and you take some time to analyze what happened.
This realization will give you enormous insight about yourself and the situation that prompted
the limiting thoughts. Do not let opportunities like this pass you by without taking the time to
look at them, analyze them, and write them down. Sometimes it is very difficult to uncover
certain beliefs that are buried deep down in your subconscious without the right situation, or
trigger, presenting itself to elicit them. Thus, it is key that you make the most out of these
opportunities. Keeping a journal is advisable.
Here are the steps to start replacing the old beliefs with the new ones consciously:
1. Acknowledge the limiting thought.

2. Acknowledge what triggered it.

3. Say to yourself out loud if possible: CANCEL! CANCEL! (the limiting thought, of course).
4. Recite your new belief about the event out loud if possible as many times as necessary for
you to perform step 5.
5. Imagine how you would feel if this new belief were your current belief, and, as a result, you
would have achieved your desired outcome already. Generate this feeling and stay with it for
as long as you can. (See explanation below)
IMPORTANT: This last step calls for imagining and generating the exact feeling you would
feel if that new belief was, in fact, your current belief about the event you are working on. This is
the single most important element of this entire formula, and without which it would not work at
all. It is the key that will unlock the door for your new beliefs to enter your subconscious mind
and imprint themselves within it. I can't stress this point enough. The language of the
subconscious mind is through images and feelings. You are speaking that language on this last
step. You are imagining, visualizing, and feeling as if you were already thinking in this new way.
Step 5 goes like this: As you keep repeating out loud, or in your head, the new belief from step 4,
close your eyes, take three deep breaths, and in your mind's eye picture yourself thinking,
speaking, and acting as if you had already acquired this belief and in turn your desired outcome.
Stay with that thought until you start feeling like all this already happened, and you are just
enjoying the rewards. Usual feelings are accomplishment, triumph, winning, wholeness,
euphoria, confidence, and a feeling of being "on top of the world."
Do not neglect this step, as it is the most important one in the formula. This step is what erodes
the negative feelings your current beliefs are linked to, and replaces them with new positive and
empowering ones. The way you think and feel about a task, event, or goal is what makes it
pleasurable or painful, easy or hard, effortless or effort intensive. These two contrasting emotions
or feelings are what give our subconscious mind a point of reference about each and every single
belief we have, and pretty much set the confines of our comfort zone. If we believe that doing
something will bring pleasure to us, we include it in our comfort zone. On the other hand, if we
believe that doing something will bring pain to us, we avoid it altogether by excluding it from
our comfort zone. It is that simple.

TIP: You may perform steps 4 and 5 as many times as you like during the day, or whenever you
remember. It is not necessary for you to wait for triggering events when you are consciously
working on a specific area that you have already spotted, analyzed, and are aware of.
As you keep doing this, the strength of the current belief will start waning as the new belief gets
stronger and takes its place. Staying alert for limiting thoughts and going through this short
sequence is the key here. Remember, repetition, repetition, repetition, is the mother of all skills.
As a way of illustrating this whole exercise visually and to make it easier to grasp, I have
recreated it in a table that you will find at the resource site for this ebook
http://www.davidefernandez.com/ebookresources. No worries, I will also provide you with a
blank form of the table so that you can repeat this exercise using your own thoughts and current
beliefs. I encourage you to use this formula in every area of your life; you will be amazed at what
you will find and how much you will learn about yourself.
Whenever you notice new limiting thoughts in any area that you have not examined yet, go
through steps 1, 2, and 3 as you normally would if you were analyzing it consciously. When you
get to step 4, try to quickly reverse the negative thought and think how that new positive thought
would make you feel. Imagine and generate that feeling during step 5. At a later moment, write
down the experience, and try to come up with a better set of beliefs around this newly discovered
limiting thought and trigger.

YOUR NEW SELF
Thinking is a process that we, westerners, have yet to master. And I say this because easterners
are way ahead of us when it comes to self-awareness and mind mastery. I am not implying that
all easterners are masters of themselves, many of them are just like us. What I am saying is that
culturally they have historically had more access, and been generally more open, to this type of
information than the west has. Many of these concepts of self-awareness, spirituality, the real
self, and the like are just starting to spread on this side of the world, to the benefit of many who
like you are now being exposed to them maybe even for the first time.
When we eliminate old programming from our minds, we start liberating energy that up until
now was being spent worrying, doubting, holding ourselves back, and making sure we stayed
within the confines of our comfort zone. Once the new positive and empowering beliefs take
place, this energy gets channeled toward thoughts and activities that will invariably, and virtually
effortlessly, move us forward in the direction of our goals, our ideal lives, and certainly our
success in business.
In time, you will get so good at spotting limiting thoughts that this process will be performed
automatically and in real time. When this happens, the areas you've been working on for a while,
will feel like you have consciously programmed them to feel like, and your confidence around
the triggering events will start to soar. The new beliefs will be on their way to becoming
permanent as the old ones gain a surreal feeling around them, almost like they never existed.
You will start seeing this happen in every area in your life, and even more so in the ones you
have consciously put through this whole exercise, which is similar to the same natural process
that unconsciously imprinted the limiting thoughts in your subconscious mind ages ago. Only,
this time, you will be doing it consciously. You can re-create your identity consciously. You can
be whoever you want. You can achieve whatever you desire. All it takes is a belief system and an
identity conducive to those results.

Changing and aligning your identity to include beliefs conducive to success in business will
make your business endeavors almost effortless since your thoughts, behaviors, and actions will
be in complete alignment with your objectives allowing you to experience virtually no resistance
to putting in the necessary work.
Creating effortless success does not mean that there will be no work involved. It means that you
have built a mindset, a set of beliefs, and an identity that is so in tune to what you are doing that
time seems to fly by as you take on the tasks that will bring you closer to your goals and
ultimately to the life you deserve, the life you envision.

ONE LAST THOUGHT
In order to make it easier to employ this technique in other areas in your life, begin by making a
list of your most important goals in each one of these areas. I categorize my life in the following
areas: Business, Financial, Material, Relationships/Family, Health/Fitness, Personal Growth,
Spiritual, Fun/Travel, Contribution.
Start with the goals that you have put off the longest. Put them through this process so that you
can spot where the resistance is and what's creating it. In order to help you with this task, I have
included a blank copy of the very form I use to write in my goals along with the other resources I
mentioned earlier available at http://www.davidefernandez.com/ebookresources. I encourage
you to use it as a tool to help you gain clarity about where you are headed, and to start designing
your own future. Once you start this process, things are going to happen very quickly.
This entire formula is extremely powerful, and it does not take much for you to see the results
show up in your life. Starting to observe your limiting thoughts will open the door to yourself
and place your entire destiny in your hands. Use this power proactively to help you create the life
you envision and a business that supports this vision. Before long, it will all have become your
current reality!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David E. Fernandez is the founder of Business Mindset Academy, a collection of online

training programs designed to help entrepreneurs develop a comprehensive business mindset so
that their psychology, business knowledge, skills, and actions are in complete alignment with
their goals.
David has spent the last 15 years of his life researching and studying business and success
psychology in order to develop what he came to realize is the almost universal mindset that leads
people to business and financial success. Now, he has made it his mission to share his findings
and revolutionary insights with the world.
David holds an M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the University Of New Haven.
Come meet David at DavidEFernandez.com

From The Desk Of:
David E. Fernandez
Houston, TX
Dear Friend,
I hope you enjoyed my ebook. If you did, youll love my FREE webinar "How to Build
Confidence & Start Your Own Business". Make sure to head over to DavidEFernandez.com
today and sign up for it. And while you are there go ahead and join my email list, I have tons of
FREE success & business mindset tips I'd like to share with you!
Wishing you much success,
David

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The #1 Factor That Determines Your Success In Business

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez

All Rights Reserved.

Meet David at davidefernandez.com

A PERSONAL LETTER BY THE AUTHOR3

THE BIG SECRET REVEALED5

THE COLLEGE GRAD IDENTITY...14

YOUR MONEY IDENTITY.16

A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS CALLS FOR A BUSINESS MINDSET....21

TAKING CONTROL BY RELEASING THE BREAKS..24

THE SECRET FORMULA...25

YOUR NEW SELF..33

ONE LAST THOUGHT.35

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...36

FROM THE DESK OF DAVID E. FERNANDEZ37

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 2

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 3

Wishing you much success,

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 4

"What a man thinks of himself, that it is which

Your current life is a DIRECT reflection of your identity.

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 5

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 6

Let us define identity.

Identity is primarily who we think we are, based on an assortment of

Ok, back to our main topic.

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 7

1. What we think about ourselves.

1. What we think about ourselves.

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 8

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 9

I know this is all crazy stuff.

2. What we think other people think of us.

So why do we still feel like we need to belong?

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 10

3. What we think other people should think of us.

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 11

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 12

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 13

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 14

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 15

You may think that you deserve to have it all!

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 16

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 17

A WORD TO THE WISE

Now, that, I call perfection.

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 18

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 19

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 20

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 21

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 22

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 23

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 24

1. Identify a problem area in your life.

Step 1. Identify a problem area in your life

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 25

1. Starting a business is risky.

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 26

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 27

But, what is it that you really want?

Step 3. Determine your ideal outcome in this area

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 28

Copyright 2014 David E. Fernandez - All Rights Reserved. 29