How to Solve the Problems You’re Facing Today
For the past decade or so, it’s been talked about as something everyone should consider. It’s been touted as something good to have within any organization or company, regardless of your position within it. I think now, it’s imperative that you adopt it. I’m talking about an entrepreneurial mindset.
In general, an entrepreneurial mindset is about believing in your own ability to succeed and influence your own outcome. It’s about empowering yourself to take ownership of your life. It’s about creatively thinking about the problems around you and how to solve them – both for yourself and for others. It takes drive and a willingness to attack a problem like a dog with a bone.Whether you own your own company, run one, have a side hustle or are just part of a team within a larger organization, it’s a mindset that can propel both you and your company to new success.
In my last post, I talked about the path to success was by solving problems. This post is about how to go about solving problems – whether they are your problems, your company’s problems or a potential client’s problems.
Today, we are all faced with new problems. Some are working from home. Some are figuring out how to work safely back at their job. Some are without a job, wondering what comes next. In every one of these instances, you can use an entrepreneurial mindset to solve the problems in front of you and take control of the situation you’re in. That is why it is important today.
Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going
Turning to entrepreneurship has been a trend for a while now. As the ROI of a college education has gone down, a lot of Gen Z has been turning to entrepreneurship as the way to become financially independent. Many of the Millennials before them found a side-hustle mentality was their way to create income and independence pathways beyond their “day job.”
But, what about Gen X and us Boomers? Creativity and drive are not age dependent. And you don’t have to be an entrepreneur to use an entrepreneurial mindset to get ahead. I have believed for a long time in the power of an entrepreneurial mindset. It’s what drove me to bring new ideas and methodologies to my former company. It wasn’t enough to save it when a number of factors ended our run together. But, it was enough to make my next chapter a success and see me through our current situation.
That’s the point. Anyone can adopt this mindset and use it to propel themselves forward. It isn’t a magic pill that will make your troubles go away, but it is a way to find solutions that will work for you, your company, your family or your community.
Looking Beyond What’s Worked Before
If I never hear the words, “because we’ve always done it that way” I will be a happy man. It is a phrase that has kept many an organization from moving forward, often resulting in someone else rising to take their place. Having an entrepreneurial mindset is about being open to opportunities as they present themselves. It’s about taking risks, knowing they might not pay off, but that you’ll learn something valuable in the process if they don’t. I’m not talking about taking unnecessary risks. I’m talking about not being frozen in the past because of a fear of risk.This is more important now than ever before.
Critical thinking and a willingness to find creative solutions is the key. Analyse your current situation or problem critically. Don’t hold back. Lay it all out there, from every angle. Now, let it peculate in your thinking. Look at it from different perspectives you haven’t thought of before. Do some research and reading. Then, move beyond the first, second and third idea you have. Push yourself to find a completely different way to solve it. What haven’t you tried? What if you did the opposite of whatever your first idea was? What is something people would want that they don’t have now and haven’t had before? These are the kind of questions to ask yourself.
Believe It, Then Conceive It
It all starts with the belief that you can solve whatever problem or issue you’re facing. Believe that there is a solution and believe you can find it. Then, start to tear after it. Remember, you’re going to fail. If the solution was easy, it wouldn’t be a problem. And chances are you will not reign supreme every time you set out to solve a problem. Learn from what doesn’t work and take solace in small victories along the way.
Also, you don’t have to do it alone. If you have a team or partner you work well with, bounce ideas off each other. If you are on your own, find someone you trust and ask them if you can run some of your ideas by them. Heck, if you can’t find anyone, contact me – I’ll make some time to listen and help you get through to the other side. The important thing is that you believe there is a creative solution and you’re willing to put in the work to find it.
Mike McClure, feeling entrepreneurial
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