Mindset Matters

Subrahhmanyan Chandrasekhar, who created the model for what became the basis for black holes, is now a renowned astrophysicist. But back in the 40’s and into the 50’s he was still living in relative obscurity, conducting research and teaching at the University of Chicago. During this time, Chandrasekhar was working at Yerkes Observatory which was run by the University of Chicago, but located about eighty miles away from the main campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. One semester, Chandrasekhar was slated to teach an advanced seminar in astrophysics, but only two students signed up for the class. Because teaching that course would require a one hundred and sixty mile round trip drive twice a week to get to and from the main campus, it was expected he would cancel the seminar and avoid the hassle of commuting for just two students. Chandrasekhar not only kept his commitment to go forward with the seminar, he did so with great enthusiasm, fervently investing a great deal of eff...

A few weeks ago, Anchorage was hit by a major earthquake. Power was knocked out across the city. Major roads and highways were destroyed when the ground heaved, shifted and sank, leaving depressions large enough to bury a three story house. Four weeks later, we are still feeling significant aftershocks. But amidst all the destruction, I was amazed how our city came together. It can take a week for city plows to get to your street after a large snowfall. Fixing a pothole might take months. But when large chunks of highway disappeared into the earth, crews were out immediately and had roads, bridges and on-ramps repaired and completely functional in mere days. Some major thoroughfares were fixed in just 48 hours. It wasn’t just road crews either. A windstorm can knock down a few trees, taking powerlines down with them, and a few isolated neighborhoods might be without power for up to a few days. When the ‘quake hit, it shut off power all over the city. The whole town went d...

About 11 years ago, right at the beginning of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, I began a financial planning and investment management practice. Giving up a six figure income and beginning this new venture from scratch out of a downstairs bedroom, I invited plenty of criticism and confusion from friends and family. I also was ignored by professionals in the industry as I sought their guidance. I felt like they thought I was some punk kid who wouldn’t last, especially as the recession wore on and investor confidence dwindled. Even partnering organizations seemed to ignore me. I quickly developed a chip on my shoulder. I wanted to prove all my doubters wrong. But my intent was not to tell them, “I told you so.” My desire was to succeed in such a way that I wouldn’t have to say anything at all. That my actions would show them they misjudged me. I wanted my drive and determination to say everything. However, building my practice was more difficult than ...

I want you to try a little exercise with me. It’s okay if you want to look around and make sure no one is watching first, I’ll wait for you. Okay, ready? Here’s the deal: I want you to stand up, life your arm and reach as high as you possibly can. Now, reach a little higher. You were already supposed to reach as high as you possibly could, but two seconds later you were able to extend your hand even higher. It’s not like you became more flexible or got taller in the last few seconds. So what’s that about? You, and myself as well, have been conditioned to hold back. You’ve become accustomed to not going “all in,” but rather keeping a little reserve off the table. While this might be a good strategy in poker, in life you only get to play one hand. And the old adage, “you can’t take it with you” applies to more than just possessions – it’s your effort and expertise as well. Whatever is held back and left over is wasted. Go all in in life because this is the only hand you g...

It’s amazing what the human spirit is capable of doing when it’s backed by the commitment of the soul. People have accomplished extraordinary feats when they are determined to persevere. We are designed to endure much more than that for which we give ourselves credit. And many never see much more than a glimpse of what they are capable of doing. I believe some of this is due to hunting the wrong “bear.” Instead of searching to understand what we can bear – seeking and stretching our limits to learn what we are capable of enduring – we instead become content to only find the “bare.” We strive for the bare minimum effort to not get fired and to maintain status quo. We commit to only the bare bones preparation for what needs to be accomplished. We work just hard enough to acquire only the bare essentials for the tasks that lay ahead. People get caught up in the pursuit of “just enough.” It’s the perspective of “What do I have to do?” versus “What needs to be done and how much...

A few years ago, Jaguar came out with a sweet little crossover SUV, the F-Type. This luxury ride boasts all the sophistication and stylish designs one would expect from Jaguar, and its top trim package, the F-Pace SVR, provides a beastly 550 horsepower engine. However, at just a little more than half the price of the SVR package, you can get a base level trim. It still has the overall look of a Jag, just a few less bells and whistles. But when it comes to what lies beneath the hood, it’s completely gutless. Instead of 550 horsepower, the F-Pace 20d trim package gets you 180 horsepower. To put that in perspective, that’s about 100 less horsepower than the minivan we are currently renting on vacation. It looks the part, but doesn’t deliver. This “budget” version allows one to say they “drive a Jag” without having to pay the price for true performance. Everything on the outside proclaims prestige and affluence, but where the *ahem* rubber meets the road, the actual driving exper...

About a week ago, Anchorage, Alaska was hit with one of the biggest earthquakes I can remember in the 37 years I’ve lived there. Thankfully, there were no fatalities or even major injuries that I know of. However, roads and buildings weren’t so lucky. One of our major highways dropped up to 30ft in some places, bridges and overpasses collapsed and some older homes and buildings were completely destroyed. Power was knocked out all across the city and gas had to be shut off in certain areas because lines had been compromised. In most cases, power was restored remarkably quickly and folks began to clean up the mess and mayhem the earthquake caused. But they also went into prep mode. Some gas stations were tapped bone-dry of fuel. Grocery stores had their bottled water supply cleaned out along with canned goods being picked bare. Generators sold out over the weekend. Everyone stocked up on basic necessities and survival gear. However, this was AFTER the quake and power, water a...

Renowned author and speaker Seth Godin discusses a stuck escalator, relating it to how many view life. He paints a picture of individuals moving up an escalator when it abruptly stops. Instead of continuing on with a technique usually reserved for stairs, and simply walking up the frozen steps, the “passengers” begin to get unruly and impatient, calling out for help and yelling in frustration. As silly as this picture is, it does a great job of capturing the essence of our society as a whole. Rather than taking responsibility on ourselves and doing what is necessary to move forward, we are often paralyzed by entitlement, helplessly waiting for someone else to come rescue us and solve our problems. Furthermore, we tend to look for others to blame instead of accepting the fact that sometimes the responsibility to continue forward rests on us, even if it’s not our fault the escalator broke down. We spend our energy condemning outside forces – the manufacturer of the moving stairs,...

We are good at celebrating the positive things we execute, but do we put enough emphasis on effectively avoiding the harmful and destructive? The missteps we manage to prevent don’t seem to get much press. After every touchdown in the NFL, there is inevitably a dance in the end zone. But do you ever see an “I almost threw an interception, but avoided it!” dance? Sometimes, the mistakes avoided make the biggest impact in the outcome of a game. In fact, Lou Holtz, the legendary college football coach, used to tell his players before every game, “You don’t need to make the big plays, just eliminate the stupid ones.” It’s easy for me to get caught up with all the positive things I could add to my life to be more productive, but sometimes I miss the opportunity to improve myself and my circumstances by simply eliminating the negatives. Marshall Goldsmith explains life as a box you carry around with you. Many successful people are so concerned with cramming as much “good” stuff as po...

Have you ever considered the fact that all the genetic information to grow a giant tree is stored inside a tiny acorn? The blueprint, design and instructions necessary to create the towering oak are hidden within that little nut. They still require nutrients and resources to thrive, but the acorn intrinsically contains all the design and potential to become the oak tree. However, very few acorns ever reach their potential. Some are eaten by forest creatures. Others never find suitable soil. Still others never receive the proper nutrients to grow and thrive. Some may sprout but then are trampled and die. Many of those sprouts will also not survive the harsh winters. People are a lot like those acorns. We are all born with incredible potential, but many will never see what they are designed to accomplish or execute what they are capable of doing. Like the acorns, that potential is often devoured. Not by squirrels or forest animals, but by doubt and fear. Some potential is sq...

Sometimes I let myself get caught up in details that should not have preeminence over other priorities, but they somehow get the bulk of my effort. It’s not that these details don’t matter. They often do, but they aren’t critical, and at times I let less significant issues demand disproportionate amounts of my resources. All of us get caught up in this. We place major emphasis on minor things. We get distracted and diverted from what is crucial to do what is convenient. Even if it’s not a matter of convenience, whatever calls out to us the loudest often takes precedent over what is most vital. We end up placing 80% of our effort on the areas that might only produce 20% of the results. We all have our attention pulled away from what must to be done as we are drawn to what can be done. We end up being firefighters instead of construction workers. We get stuck putting out the fires of urgent, but unimportant matters, rather than proactively building what is essential. Re...

What if the prize goes to the participant who fails the most? What would that look like? It might look a lot like the stories of success around us because many times, that’s exactly how it works. Fear of failure is often what keeps us from chasing a goal or a dream. The embarrassment of a bad idea is often what scares us away from trying to come up with good ones. Unfortunately, these outcomes are knit together intimately. The only way to create any significant achievement is to build it upon a mound of failures. Good ideas only present themselves after sifting through many bad ones. Out of the five players responsible for missing the most shots in NBA history, four of them are currently in the Hall of Fame. And the only one of the five who isn’t in the Hall of Fame holds the top spot with nearly fifteen thousand failed attempts. His name is Kobe Bryant. Reggie Jackson owns the MLB record for most career strikeouts by a batter. He is also in the Hall of Fame and nickna...