I heard a story on NPR yesterday about a new restaurant that just opened. It’s seaside and diners are surrounded by date palms, and greenery. It serves mediterranean cuisine in a cultured and upscale environment. Sounds like a surefire winner – right? There’s just one thing that might cause you to pause. This restaurant is in LIBYA!
I know. Crazy! In the middle of a civil war, dreamer Abdelmuttaleb Twigiri opened his restaurant. He put it this way to Morning Edition host Renee Montagne, “people need places like this “to change the mood, the way of life. People want to go out. They want to dress up, they need to live.”
That’s what I call living in the Opportunity Mindset. If ever there was a reason for not pursuing your dream, I’d say the obstacle of a civil war ranks pretty high up on the list.
Your obstacles most likely look different. I find obstacles usually fall into 3 categories.
- Lack
- Lack of education.
- Lack of position.
- Lack of authority.
- Lack of resources.
- Lack of skills.
- Lack of freedom (rules & regulations can create this).
- Fear
- Fear of success.
- Fear of loss.
- Fear of failure.
- Fear of the opinion of others.
- Fear of change.
- Fear of the outcome.
- Yourself (This is the hardest to overcome by the way.)
- Your personality.
- Your habits.
- Your friends.
- Your family.
- Your circumstances.
- Your vision, hopes and dreams.
Where do your obstacles come from?
What’s keeping you from living in the Opportunity Mindset?
As you think of your own obstacles, I’d challenge you to think of 1 thing you can turn into an opportunity. Some quick suggestions for turning obstacles into opportunity…
- The first step is to assess your situation. Look at all your resources, good and bad, and make a simple list.
- Pick one thing from your positive side that you can do immediately. Like today.
- Take action! Do it. Pick up the phone. Visit that website. Write that first chapter.
- Enjoy the lift this positive action will give you.
You’re on your way to living in the Opportunity Mindset!
Want to hear more? I have the very high privilege of being interviewed today by Claire Diaz Ortiz for her Work by Design Summit. Click here to enjoy the interview!
I very much enjoyed your interview with Claire Diaz-Ortiz today and that got me exploring your website. I am at one of those crossroads in my life where I have the opportunity to find what makes my heart sing and although my Opportunity Mindset is usually turned on, I find myself seeing the obstacles more than the opportunities. Thank you for providing a guide through a time in my life when it would be easy to give up and go back to the known.