6 Things All Successful Entrepreneurs Believe

Entrepreneurs have a different way of doing things.

It takes a special kind of person to be able to turn the spark of an idea in their minds into a full-fledged income-generating operation that's built to last. It's no wonder entrepreneurs seem just a little bit different from everyone else. They really are different.

By understanding these 6 things that successful entrepreneurs believe, you can learn lessons that will help you succeed in your own business--and in your career and life.

1. Entrepreneurs believe that anything is possible.

This is what drives them to create the impossible out of pure ideas. They don't understand why other people don't reach for their dreams and put everything on the line for an idea, because that's just how their brain works. Because of this, it may be difficult for some people to convince an entrepreneur that his or her idea is impossible. Entrepreneurs don't know the meaning of the word impossible, and they will pursue their ideas until they find the success they are looking for.

2. When people see hurdles, entrepreneurs see ways to get over them.

It's in nature of entrepreneurs to start figuring out possible problems before they exist, and to figure out ways to neutralize them the moment they arrive on the scene. if anything, obstacles and naysayers push entrepreneurs to want to succeed even more. Don't try to stand in an entrepreneur's way because you are likely to get run over.

3. Entrepreneurs are extremely optimistic.

They know they are going to succeed--eventually--and they always look at the word as a glass half full instead of a glass half empty.While this optimism is at times misunderstood, it's one of the best qualities that an entrepreneur possesses. The ability to look to the future with rose-colored glasses is a gift that many people wish they were blessed with.

4. Entrepreneurs can't stand authority.

Whether it was a boss in the past that they couldn't stand, the feeling of being stifled in a corporate position, or just the fear of mediocrity, there's a driving force behind entrepreneurs wanting to work for themselves. Entrepreneurs don't do well with authority because they are used to living up to their own expectations, not someone else's.

5. And the same goes for rules.

Entrepreneurs like to answer to themselves--and themselves only. They don't like being put in a box or confined to a set of rules that they didn't create. This doesn't mean they don't follow the rules that really count, because they do. They aren't going to break the law just because they don't like it. But entrepreneurs set very high standards to live up to, and their own expectations are higher others would expect or hold them to.

6. Entrepreneurs see limitless possibility.

Ask any entrepreneur if all the success in the world has already been exhausted, and he or she will surely look at you like you must be crazy. Entrepreneurs look at the world and see endless possibilities. Because of this, they never stop reaching for more opportunities and success, and are highly unlikely to ever retire. Most entrepreneurs continue to grow their ideas and start new companies for the entirety of their lives.

10 Excuses Unproductive People Always Use

They moan. They wail. They shuffle around the office looking for free candy. Unproductive employees have an excuse for everything. Here are a few of the phrases they use to explain away the problem. Listen for them, then correct the action to get things back on track.

1. I'm overworked.

I hear this one constantly. What unproductive people might not realize is that we are all overworked. We're in an overworked age. Instant access to email and a mobile browser means work is always just a click away. What separates the wheat from the chaff? The really productive people don't dwell on the problem. They just do the work.

2. That's not my job.

I've written before about staying productive by focusing on your job and not doing the work of unproductive co-workers. That's always a bad pattern to set. Curious, then, that the really unproductive people always seem to notice when they're doing extra work to help a project. They focus on their role too much and on what everyone else is not doing. Truly productive people don't even care. They just do whatever it takes to get things done and plow ahead, analyzing the exact role definitions later.

3. I'll finish that later.

Forget the Mark Twain quote about procrastination. Unproductive people waste time because they live in a constant state of incongruity. The loose ends of their tasks never meet up, and stay loose. They start one Word document, work on it for a while, drop it, then start working on a PowerPoint. In the "picking up and setting down" process they waste time because each tasks needs a jump start, which uses more energy.

4. I don't have all of the answers yet.

Overly detail-oriented people use this one. They wait until everything is perfectly lined up before starting a task, usually languishing in perpetuity because things rarely do line up. And, ironically, some of the employees in your company who are wasting time mindlessly browsing all day are the ones who think they have to wait for the project pieces to fall in place. The solution? Productive people just do whatever they can now on any tasks that need to be done. They don't wait for the perfect timing.

5. I'll wait for the boss to tell me what to do.

For any employee in a small business, a lack of independence is a true productivity killer. While someone is waiting to be told what to do, a project will spin out of control. We all know the "get it done" crowd just figures out the problem and starts working on a task. Besides, if the boss has to explain every little detail, that's using up valuable time anyway.

6. I don't understand all of the variables.

Really? Is there an employee who won't act until he or she has all of the answers? That is a sign of someone who will be waiting a long time because no one ever has all of the answers. The folks who started Airbnb and Uber didn't wait for all of the regulatory issues to be ironed out. And Google didn't wait to test driverless cars until every state allowed them.

7. I don't see the benefit for me.

We are living in a world of narcissists who take selfies every 30 minutes and post about their inner feelings on Twitter. The underlying problem? They're slowing down a project because they only care about their own rewards. Productive people see the greater reward of a successful company and want to play a part in building something cool. The selfies can wait until the weekend.

8. I might not get the credit.

Related to that problem is another productivity destroyer: the need to take credit for the task. The process of hyping up your work, demanding crediting, and pestering people to notice your actions all contribute to an unproductive day. The employees who are slowing things down the most are spending too much time trying to get the attention of the boss.

9. I'm worried about my quality of work.

Productive people know how to slam out good work in a constant flow of creativity and skill. They care about quality, but they also understand that being productive requires a push to finish. When the goal is to always create perfection, unproductive people create a serious slowdown. Praise quality, expect proficiency, but encourage productivity.

10. I might fail.

The hallmark of every unproductive person at work is being worried about failure. It's a time-tested truth. If employees don't ever start a project, they don't have to worry about failure, right? I've written about total failure before, but letting a few tasks fail is okay. It means you are trying new things and staying busy. Holding back because you want every task to succeed? It just means completing fewer tasks.