Blind to the very things that might make our careers more meaningful

What’s worse than an entrepreneur who is afraid of commitment? 

An entrepreneur who is living their lives to accommodate an outdated commitment because they’re afraid of contradiction. 

That was the stubborn siren song of my professional life for years:

Stick to your guns, shoot yourself in the foot, and then aim the gun at the other foot just so you have a matching set of holes. 

My career was the poster child for firearm regulation. 

From a small business standpoint, it’s understandable. It’s good for the brand. Commitment can make us feel like we have honor. It can make us feel like a special and noble professional who deserves to be congratulated on their idealism. 

But on the other hand, commitment can also make our work narrower and less flexible. Blind to the very things that might make our careers more meaningful, more satisfying and even more profitable. 

My mentor once told me that being religious about how we make our money is the quickest way to go out of business. And so, our responsibility as we progress in our careers is to adapt, evolve and recalibrate our commitments as time goes on. 

Here are a few key questions to ask yourself along the journey. 

Have you locked yourself into a lane that you will have a hard time getting out of? 

Are you so invested in your current strategy you have stopped thinking about other possibilities? 

Have you gotten so worked up thinking your approach is going to work that you can’t imagine it won’t? 

Are you so focused that you are unconscious to the opportunities to pivot to a game that has better odds for you? 

Do you limit yourself because you won’t accept the fact that you might be able to do something else? 

Remember, the commitment police aren’t going bang down your door if you decide change your mind. 

Duchemin once wrote that there is there is no prize for the one who leaves his canvas clean. 

Perhaps the same idea can be applied here. 

There is no prize for the one who never changes lanes. 

LET ME ASK YA THIS…

What obsolete commitments might be trapping you?

* * * *

Scott Ginsberg

That Guy with the Nametag

Author. Speaker. Strategist. Inventor. Filmmaker. Publisher. Songwriter.  

[email protected]

www.nametagscott.com

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