Whether you are starting a new job, launching a new business, exploring a new relationship, or trying a new activity, understanding your mindset is essential in helping you navigate uncharted territory. While your current skills, knowledge, networks, and experience may have brought you to where you are now, in order to go to another level, you will have to lose your old mindset, especially when pursuing new opportunities that will require a different attitude or approach than what was used to attain previous success. What once worked does not always work for every situation. In fact, I have learned that I must grow for the next level before I go to the next level. It is during these times that I honestly feel like I am LOSING MY MIND!!! My relationships with people start changing and I start feeling uncomfortable in spaces that once brought me peace. I begin sensing things I never did before and my views about my purpose become reframed as I no longer find satisfaction in what used to be a priority. It has been said that if you want something you’ve never had, then you must be willing to do something you’ve never done. This is not only true but can determine one’s success and survival as well. There are countless examples of the danger of staying stuck in your ways, but one that still baffles me is Blockbuster’s failure to adapt to the changing culture of the video rental industry, particularly when they were the leading source for watching home movies. It wasn’t the rise of technology through digital downloads and live streaming that caused them to go under – it was their unwillingness to acknowledge and implement new strategies and shift their mindset from what once thrived to what was needed to endure the competition. In 2000, Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, flew to Dallas to propose a partnership to Blockbuster’s CEO and his team. The idea was that Netflix would run Blockbuster’s brand online and the firm would promote Netflix in its stores. Hastings got laughed out of the room. In 2010, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy and to date, Netflix’s net worth is over 3 billion dollars. In a nutshell, the ability to lose your old mindset may be the key that unlocks doors that have already been there or that will come. Yes, people will think your new ideas or ways of thinking are crazy. Yes, they may even laugh you out of a room. But, think of what can happen if you risk not fitting in and change up your whole game plan. Sometimes, you have to start over with a clean slate and restructure what you are doing and imagine the possibilities that await if you are willing to pivot and persevere. In spite of what others may say or think, whether people support you or not, dream as big as you possibly can, then create a plan to execute your vision. If you can accomplish your dream on your own, it is too small. If your dream is safe and keeps you in your comfort zone, you won’t be challenged or see a need for change. If what you seek is approval and would rather maintain the status quo, then don’t expect anything different to manifest. Finally, let me address the fact that even those closest to you may not fully understand what is happening in your life as it pertains to losing your old mindset. Behind millions of successful leaders is an unpopular decision they don’t regret. Sometimes, you have to make choices that only you and God know are right.
