Instead of asking "What kind of business do I want to start?" the real question should be "Whom do I want to become?" Entrepreneurs change the world by changing themselves first. Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that on their journey, they spent more time working on increasing their inner strengths and finding ways to overcome their fears than they did working on balance sheets and fine-tuning marketing plans.

The most important skill sets for an entrepreneur, which affect everything else, are the ones associated with learning how to control how you think. Often, fears and negative thoughts hold us back from achieving our goals. But if you can train yourself to see the world in terms of possibilities instead of obstacles and impossibilities, and if you can learn how to hit the "mental reset" button when negative thoughts creep in, that gives you an edge and accelerates your growth.

Through my own process of personal growth, I have discovered strategies that will help you achieve your goals.

Always Ask "What If?" and "Why Not?"
These are two of my favorite "mental reset" questions. Sadly, as a society, we are more conditioned to tell people why something won't work than why it would. We're also conditioned to offer reasons why someone's dream will never become a reality instead of seeing how great it will be when it does--and supporting that journey to help that person get there more quickly.

As someone who constantly tries to innovate, I come up against this almost daily. I used to let it affect me. I allowed self-doubt to set in and even abandoned my ideas. I defended my ideas in meetings until I realized doing it only prompted others to defend their opposition to my ideas. So one day, I changed my strategy. When the person across the table told me my idea wouldn't work, I looked at him and asked, "What if it does? What if it changes the entire industry, and you had a chance to be a part of it and said no--how would you feel?" The dynamics of the entire meeting changed, and the power came back to me. I realized at that moment that asking these "possibility" questions challenged others to see things from a different perspective; it opened their eyes to other possibilities.

Often it is our own fears and objections that stop us from sharing our ideas with the world around us. Training our brains to constantly think in terms of possibilities and then, in turn, teaching others to do the same is one of the greatest skills you can build to lead you to success.

Fear Regret More Than Failure
Fear of failure is natural, and it often increases as we get older. Once we become sensitive to peer pressure, it permeates our life. Think about how many times you didn't do something that you really wanted to do because you were afraid to fail or let others down and potentially be ridiculed. I am sure every one of us can think of many of those moments--I know I can.

I was always coming up with new ideas and wouldn't follow through with them for fear I wouldn't know what to do and would fail. Again and again I saw ideas I had had come to fruition through other people. I realized that the feeling of regret I got every time that happened had to be worse than if I had tried and failed. At least then I would have gained some amazing experiences along the way.

Every time you let fear stop you from achieving a goal, think about how regret would feel, and let that be a measure of your passion toward the project you want to pursue. Develop a healthy relationship with fear; let it be your fuel for success, not regret.

Do Not Judge; Be Inspired
Inspiration is the seed of passion and innovation. In judging things, we limit how we see them. We are conditioned to judge: right or wrong, black or white. But if we condition ourselves to observe the world around us and strive to be inspired by what we observe, more opportunities rapidly unfold around us. We start to see things as what they can be, rather than what they are.

Truly successful people are constantly inspired. The passion that comes from this always provides more power and desire to push through fears and obstacles, and not to let anything stand in the way of seeing dreams become reality. The next time you see someone doing something that would normally cause you to say, in a judgmental tone, "Why is she doing that?" think about approaching it with curiosity and say, "I wonder why she's doing it that way?" Let your imagination begin the process to inspiration.

Success comes from a success-centered mind-set. Don't get caught up by all of the technical things you may not know that could prevent you from accomplishing your goals; you can learn those things quickly from others. Instead, focus your energy on the self-transformation that gives you the inner strength to look at any obstacle and say, "There's not a problem that can't be solved and nothing to stop me from achieving my goals!"

Serial entrepreneur and small-business advocate Jen Groover created the Butler Bag and Launcher's Café, an online community for entrepreneurs. She also wrote the book, What If? & Why Not?