Building an online business is now one of the fastest ways, if not the fastest way, to start your own business. What could take you hundreds or thousands of dollars to set up a brick-and-mortar business, can be done for much, much less online. Sounds so simple, right?

But the truth is, many people try to start an online business, and a whopping majority of people fail at online business.

So what’s happening?

If you’re having trouble reaching your goals, the reason for failure could be less obvious than you think. Most people who are failing look outward when they’re struggling with their businesses, but oftentimes the problem lies within.

Consider a problem that you may have experienced with your online business. Does it sound something like… jumping from project to project without completing one? Spending the majority of your time online learning, rather than doing? Getting extremely excited about an idea only to see your energy fizzle weeks or months later?

Getting in a funk because you don’t have much to show for all the time and effort you commit to your online business?

Well, these behaviors are extremely common in crafting a business online. You see experts claiming million dollar launches, driving unheard of traffic to their new site in weeks, and other alerts that make you think with the “right” idea and a little bit of work, you could quit your Matka day job by the end of the month. Technically speaking, this IS a possibility. Winning the lottery IS a possibility. Having quadruplets IS a possibility.

In order for the advanced techniques to work, there must be a solid foundation of basics. And nothing is more basic than your mindset.

If you are looking for a path to success, reconsider thinking about specific techniques and zoom out to see the bigger picture. Look at the leaders in your field and start considering what makes their company successful.

If you are not where you want to be, what can you do to get there? There are many practical things that you should be doing on a daily basis to stay on the right track. But before you get on the road to success, though, you have to make sure you’re “driving the right car”, so to speak. You have to make sure that your mindset is programmed for success.

Now, what in the world does that mean?

In the oddly-titled classic “Psycho Cybernetics,” Dr. Maxwell Maltz discussed that even after he corrected physical disfigurements as a cosmetic surgeon, some patients would still complain of not seeing any improvement, even after they had been completely transformed. He concluded that our self-image was more powerful than any other outside information.

Our life is made up of thousands of assessments that make up our self-image, like the image of ourselves as parent, daughter, son, spouse, business person, student, musician, athlete, sibling, etc. We all have a view of how we see ourselves in these roles.

Maltz reported that no matter how hard you try, you cannot outperform your own self-image. Not for any meaningful length of time, and not on a consistent basis. He likens your self-image to a thermostat set on a specific temperature. If the room is too cool (you’re not living up to your own expectations) the heat will turn on, or your subconscious will kick in and you will begin performing well and finding opportunities to succeed. If the room is too warm (you start experiencing success outside your self-image), the air conditioner will kick in to cool the room, or subconsciously you will begin to sabotage your efforts to get the dial back where it was set.