Finding opportunity through curve balls and brick walls

Applying the principals of the Undefeated Mind to startup life

Just under two years ago I was standing in my living room with my newly ex-boyfriend, mounting a ridiculous amount of floating shelves that I had decided to build and install myself. I was completely overwhelmed by the immensity of the project I had undertaken in context of all of the other changes going on in my life. Apart from the break-up and renovation, I was renting out my loft and moving to London in a couple of weeks to lead a massive pilot project for a client. My ex, being the saint that he was (and continues to be), listened to my anxiety-ridden ramblings with concern, and although he could’ve said “you broke up with me, remember, this isn’t my problem anymore” he instead said “I think you should read The Undefeated Mind.” I didn’t know it then, but he had just given me one of the most powerful tools that I could ever hope for to tackle an infinite number of problems in my personal and professional life.

The Undefeated Mind, by Alex Lickerman, focuses on providing readers with the lessons to face any challenges in life head on. Further to that, it enables people to realize that you can come out the other side of these adversities not only intact, but likely better than you were before the challenge presented itself.

As I’ve ventured into my startup, there have been, and will continue to be, many barriers to success. From axing product features from your MVP through to deciding on which investment partners are right for you- every decision has the potential to inhibit or accelerate the success of your company. I’ve continually relied upon two of the key lessons from the book to recognize the opportunity in these road blocks rather than allow them to slow me down.

I have written about this lesson before in my article on Momentum, but it’s worth highlighting again. No person can control everything in the world, shit is going to happen- that’s just life, but you can control how you react to all events in your life. You have the ability to manage your own emotions, define how much energy you devote to a problem, and the actions you do or don’t take in every circumstance. This lesson sets the ground work for the next step…

I’ll repeat it again: shit is going to happen- that’s just life, but if you accept and believe in lesson #1, then you have the power to turn adversity into opportunity. This takes practice…a lot of practice, but like any habit you want to form, it becomes easier over time. The first step in wielding this power is to look back at your life and find an example (or a few) where something crappy happened, but in the end, it was for the better. It could be a break-up, getting fired from a job, or failing a course in university- everyone has an example that applies to them.

Now that you’re consciously aware of the fact that it is possible to come out better on the other side of a challenge, you can start to move this perspective and power forward in the adversity cycle. Instead of always recognizing the opportunity at the end of dealing with an issue, next time you may realize it halfway through, and the time after that, you may realize it the second that the adversity rears it’s ugly head. You may not know what the opportunity or lesson is to be learned right now, but you know that somewhere, hidden deep under the pile of crap you’re going to have to wade through, is a golden nugget that will make it all worthwhile.

If you get a chance to read the book, you’ll realize that these lessons can be applied from relatively small problems all the way through to one of the biggest challenges of life- facing our own mortality.

For me, the decision to take on a startup in the first place required the skills of an undefeated mind. Stepping into the high stakes game of building a tech company is a gamble, and although my internal ambition screams out for the opportunity to prove itself, my perfectionist demeanour recognizes that taking such a risk exposes me to a high probability of failure. So…what to do?

I decided that even if the company, for all intents and purposes, was not a success, the skills I would develop through the process of building it would be more than enough reward for my efforts. I also decided that the variability in daily challenges and the breadth of skillsets required in a small company is exactly what I needed to feel fulfilled in my work day in and day out, allowing me to enjoy the journey, not just the destination.

Now don’t get me wrong, my internal pragmatic perfectionist would not just allow me to take such a dive if:

I’ve spent the last six years of my career consciously building a set of skills that I believe will allow me to be as prepared as possible for the startup journey. I’ve also analyzed at least four previous business ideas quite seriously and decided not to take them forward as a result of one issue with the business model or another. So if you’re currently debating whether or not to take the startup leap, I’d highly recommend asking yourself the following questions:

Overcoming my initial fear of failure is only one example of how I’ve applied these lessons, and I am sure there will be many more circumstances (ahem…investment) but there is an incredible power in knowing I have the tools and training to venture down the exciting path that is building a new company.

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