Pivot Adapt Opportunity

Our world is in transition. We can’t deny that things are changing.

Change can be good though when we change our outlook, our perspective and our viewpoint.

We don’t have to accept everything at face value (especially the negative news) because asking questions makes you smarter.

Asking God what His plans are for your life will open up a whole new world for you.

Let’s discuss how we can pivot, adapt and look for opportunities amidst the storm.

Uniqueness

It has always fascinated me to look at the uniqueness of personality types in the world. You get the entrepreneurial types and those who are sticklers for rules and need that conformity.

Apparently, more structured personalities are less than 3% of the population. This means 97% of our population are more experiential in their learning. It’s strange to me that our school systems have primarily catered for 3%. 

This leaves us with the systemic problem we have today. The majority of the population will ask ‘why’ before they will colour inside the lines. 

It’s tough as a parent to gauge this well, but I have raised my 3 children to think for themselves and to ask questions. They need to be equipped in such a way that they are able to step back and look at things from an eagle-eyed view. 

We need to learn that we don’t have to just accept everything at face value because asking ‘why’ makes you smarter.

It gives you the chance to learn, look a little deeper and figure out the reasons behind things. 

Culturally, South Africans don’t rely on the government for health care or retirement because the government just doesn’t provide that. It’s up to the individual to look out for their own retirement and health care plans. This is partly why poverty and crime are so high there (I’ll share more on this later).

I think because I was raised in an unstable environment, I have learned how to take care of myself and to figure things out, without the support of the government.

I think this is also part of the problem with our educational system. We are teaching our kids to memorize facts, but we’re not teaching them to plan. Maybe it’s time for us to start teaching children that the decisions they make today are strategic for their future. Everything we decide on today will have a repercussion in the next 5 or 10 or even 50 years. 

Is college right for every personality? Maybe it’s something our children need to be able to consider before they get stuck in a system that might not be what they’re designed to do.

The lie we have believed is that the only way to be successful in today’s world is to get a college degree. However, many entrepreneurs don’t see the value of a college degree and yet are doing exceptionally well. 

Yesterday I had a conversation about ‘adulting’ with my 21-year-old. This is when the rules of the game change, and you start to take ownership and responsibility for your own life. It can be tough and things don’t always go according to plan, but you have to be willing to try and to embrace the mindset of growth and learning. 

As a parent, put them in the environment and let them grow. 

As parents, we have to be okay to allow our kids to fail and learn from their choices and mistakes. If our kids don’t ‘make the grade’ or make bad decisions, the only way they will grow their own muscles is if we don’t always step in to rescue them.

Often we do this because of our own set of expectations on us, but also on our kids. These expectations are not always helpful.

This COVID-19 pandemic we’ve lived through hasn’t all been bad, we’ve actually learnt different ways of learning. Before teachers were used to being in a classroom, now they have had to learn how to teach kids online. With online schooling, you don’t have an automatic feedback loop like you do in a classroom. You have to allow people that time to absorb and process information which means we have had to adapt the way we teach, learn and think. 

Back in the day, farmers needed the kids to help them out with the crops during the summer. Everybody would only go to school after the harvest, which is why the school only starts again on the 4th September in the USA, they would be done with the harvesting. These days, we don’t need our kids on the farm anymore, we need them in classrooms.

However, if people were really connected to their purpose and their unique strengths then maybe we would not stagnate?

We need unique personalities in the world today, and our educational system should potentially start supporting and catering for these. 

Another example, I decided to become a competitive adult figure skater at the age of 32. I had not learnt to skate when I was younger, and I was a classically trained ballet dancer. So this meant that I had to learn from scratch. People said I was crazy. I saw how possible it is to reprogram the brain after learning about it in neuroscience. I fall, I learn and I grow through the training and having a positive mindset towards doing something new. The good news is that you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Elon Musk and I attended the same high school in South Africa. I was a few years behind him, but I know exactly what he went through when he was bullied for thinking differently. I can imagine people picking on him for being unique. Back then daydreaming of becoming a rocket scientist was a far stretch for a school kid, yet look at him today!

We have to be willing to dream, and then we will be able to teach our children to dream big, work hard and learn well. 

We will fall down, we will fail, but that’s okay because every time you fail, you learn how to get up again.

If you are ready to break through barriers, fuel your faith, pursue your purpose and market your message so that you can impact the marketplace for God, then you are in the right place. 

As a Mindset Coach I’m here to help you shift your thinking and unlock your full potential! If you’re needing support, encouragement and accountability; consider joining my group coaching program Unstick Your Mind.