Tag Archives: mindset

Ne’er a Discouraging Word

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Question: I’m a pretty optimistic person most of the time. But sometimes when things don’t go quite right I get a bit discouraged. What can I do to avoid these kinds of feelings?

Answer: There is no doubt that maintaining a positive and an optimistic mindset 100% of the time is a high bar to clear. But to be successful entrepreneurs it must be our goal and we must always strive to achieve it. Why? Because an entrepreneur’s worst enemy is negative energy. It saps us of our creativity and our drive. If unchecked, it can trap us in a downward spiral.

I’ve been discouraged at times earlier in my career. And here’s what I learned. Being discouraged never solved one thing for me. Wallowing around in despair never made me feel one whit better. I’m pretty sure that I never made a single nickel as a result of being discouraged. Some might say that discouragement is simply a normal human reaction and that it’s Pollyana-ish to ignore it. Perhaps this is true, but it’s a human reaction that we must eliminate. But how?

Generally discouragement is the result of some sort of adversity. Teaching ourselves not to feel discouraged requires us to examine the way we feel about adversity. Remember this – adversity is a perception and only a perception. It is not reality. What we may have previously perceived as adversity instead is an opportunity for growth and experience. Staying cool, calm and collected when everything seems to be crumbling around us takes courage which is the antithesis of “discourage.” A colleague of mine stepped into his role running one of our business units at a time when that unit was experiencing some significant challenges. He had never run his own business before and not only did he have to learn how to do that, but he also had to learn how to fix some pretty big problems pretty quickly. I am pleased to say that he mastered both and in a big way!

Along the way, my colleague told me that he felt discouraged often. I can remember a number of times when he came into my office in a state of hopelessness and near-panic. There was no doubt that he could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. We talked a lot about how he was choosing to look at his situation. Eventually he understood that he was gaining an amazing amount of experience in a relatively short period of time. He concluded that any adversity he encountered in the future would pale in comparison to what he had initially dealt with. He also started to catch a glimpse of what his business would look like when his “trial by fire” was over. Today he has much thicker skin; he has sharpened his instincts; he has a much more consistently positive mindset, and his business unit is thriving.

When we become discouraged – when the task at hand looks insurmountable – the mindset we choose will lead us to succeed or fail. And if we resolve to maintain a positive perspective and look for the opportunity in adverse conditions, we will succeed beyond our wildest dreams.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

Discouragement

Transformers

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Question: Some entrepreneurs seem to be able to take an unexpected and difficult situation and turn it into success. How do they do it?

Answer: The skill to which you are referring is very simply the ability to adapt to a particular situation. And as with so many other things in life, it all starts with mindset. Have you ever created a plan that didn’t work perfectly when implemented? How did you feel? I can remember times in the past when I would become very upset and frustrated when my carefully crafted plan seemed to go up in flames. Other people always messed things up for one reason or another.

Recently we had an historic building we wanted to develop but needed a state agency to approve affordable housing tax credits in order to move forward. We submitted the project twice to the state agency and both times did not win an award. Of course this was immensely frustrating and we very easily could have given up and moved on to another project. Instead, we figured out a different (and even more complicated) structure for the deal and have been able to put the train back on the track, so to speak.

Being adaptable means having a mindset of flexibility. But there’s one more element that really unlocks the secret. It requires being able to anticipate that when something goes awry, it’s an opportunity. An opportunity to be creative, change direction – slightly or a lot – and make things even better than originally foreseen. I’ve reached the point where I expect to have such opportunities. This isn’t negative thinking by any stretch. Instead it’s a mindset of looking for ways to improve upon a situation. When something isn’t working quite right that’s a signal to me that there’s a better way.

You’ve probably seen the kids’ toys called Transformers. The basic premise is a toy that transforms from a seemingly mundane robot into a much more powerful object. Optimus Prime was the original hero in the Transformers franchise – a robot that transforms into a Kenworth truck cab containing a powerful ion blaster. Sounds silly, right? But that’s exactly what we entrepreneurs want to have happen. We want our good ideas to transform into great ideas. Sometimes this takes some twisting and turning, but eventually we prevail.

Problems lead to solutions. But be careful what you believe for what you believe creates the world in which you live. If you believe that problems are an opportunity to adapt and improve, your world will be filled with outcomes that are better than you ever imagined.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

Optimus Prime

Time Masters

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Question: I am so busy I meet myself coming and going. There isn’t a spare moment for anything. I need more hours in the day!

Answer: Each one of us has the same number of hours in the day. And yet some people seem to get more done with less hassle. Their secret isn’t on the face of a clock. The key to stretching the day starts in the mind.

When we make the statement, “there just isn’t enough time,” we are making a powerful affirmation of limitation. This becomes a mindset – a belief actually. I’ve said many times that what we believe in our minds will become reality and I’ve proven this to myself over and over. Thus, I have expunged this statement from my vocabulary – I want to create a “limitation-free zone” around myself.

I have found that once I establish a positive mindset about time, the rest comes fairly easily. Every evening before I go to bed, I plan my next day. Getting older means we’ve accumulated more mind clutter. To keep everything straight I maintain a comprehensive task list of everything that I have to do. The items to which I need to attend the following day are prioritized for that day. I use my task list and my calendar in tandem – both are electronic which makes it so much easier to function in today’s fast-paced world. The process of spending a few moments reviewing my calendar; my task list, and plotting a course of action for the next day gives me total peace of mind. I don’t wake up in the middle of the night wondering what I’m forgetting that is important.

Armed with a plan, I’m able to move through each day with a clear purpose. I block out certain times for phone calls, reviewing e-mails, and other routine functions. There’s a little sense of victory every time I’m able to “check off” a task as complete which keeps me upbeat about the progress I am making.

To become time masters, we must start with the right frame of mind and avoid putting limitations on ourselves. Then with a combination of process, purpose and focus, we move effortlessly through each day, savoring the fact that we are able to enjoy every second of it.

This blog is being written in tandem with my book, “An Entrepreneur’s Words to Live By,” available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle (My Book), as well as being available in all of the other major eBook formats.

Hourglass

It’s Bigger Than a Paperclip

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Question: Some entrepreneurs create truly amazing products and concepts. What is their secret?

Answer: Would you believe that mindset has a lot to do with answering this question? When interviewing people seeking a sales position with our firm I used to administer what I called the “paperclip test.” I would toss a paperclip to the interviewee and ask him or her to spend a moment in thought and then sell me the paperclip. Some people would first try to determine my needs – obviously an excellent practice. Most would then launch into selling me on the virtues of the paperclip. They would tell me that it was made of the finest quality metal. They would tell me that it would grab like a vise and that it was guaranteed not to tear my papers in the process. A few prospective salespeople even did a very nice job of explaining the benefits of the features they were describing. But every once in a while, there was that rare individual who went in a totally different direction.

The rare person I’m talking about performed the need determination. But he or she ignored the practical reality that the object was a paperclip. I remember one individual who asked me what I was encountering that was my biggest challenge at the time. He heard me say that I needed to solve a property financing issue of some sort. He then twisted the paperclip into an abstract shape and explained that it was a unique financing tool and suggested how it was the answer I was seeking.

You can see why I thought this person was a rare individual indeed. His ability to think bigger led to the discovery of a solution to my problem. And that is the differentiator. Thinking big and then thinking bigger. So here’s the challenge for each of us. When we have an idea, write it down in all its glory. Then go to the next level with it and think about all the ways you can turn it into an even bigger idea. Don’t worry if some of the things you come up with are a bit off-the-wall – that’s part of the process. The whole point is not to be satisfied with the result of your initial efforts. Push yourself to go beyond the obvious. Collaborating with your colleagues may help. The more you practice the more you can create a new mindset that will push you and your ideas into the stratosphere.