One: it’s the moment you decided to do anything. Please.īecause really, there are only two ways to approach the question of “when have you made it”. Trying to figure out whether this is the moment that you “made it” will keep you from moving forward.

They have the hindsight, the perspective, to pick out the moments. It may seem helpful or even “cool” for them to bring them up, but in truth, it’s not. It says that you should know when those moments happen in your own life. It’s unfair for them to tell you about those things because it sets an expectation. When people give keynotes, particularly in business, they will talk a lot about “that one moment” where they knew they made it. I’m an offensive player complaining is playing defense.

Where is the value in complaining? Instead of complaining, my process is this: Assess the problem, find the solution, and get on the offense. If you’re in control of it, you have the ability to fix it. Short of the death of a loved one, or a terminal illness, or some other horrible tragedy, everything feels controllable. To me, the only things anybody has a right to complain about are things like their health. I genuinely feel that there is no real value in complaining. I hope I can help you start to overcome it. But right now, take a look at this list and see if maybe one of these is the thing that has been standing in your way. Maybe you’ve even run into others already on your path. Or maybe you can’t seem to hire the right person to work with to achieve a goal.īut both those things can seem annoyingly simple when you realize that the real forces keeping you from reaching your objective are within you. Maybe you don’t have the money right now to start the business you really want to run. It could perhaps be explained more simply by one of my favourite heroic fictional characters - Jack Reacher from Lee Child’s novels - whose mantra is ‘hope for the best, plan for the worst.There are a lot of things that get in the way of a dream. It therefore describes a mindset of balancing optimism with realism.

The Stockdale Paradox combines facing into the current situation, and appreciating that it may be very difficult, while also holding on to the faith that a positive outcome is still possible. It is named after James Stockdale, a former candidate for US vice president, high-ranking naval officer, and Vietnam Prisoner of War for seven years. It is a really useful theory for leaders to consider when facing challenges, as many are in the current environment. The Stockdale Paradox illustrates how optimism can be balanced with realism to achieve successful outcomes. One theory which helps explain this is the Stockdale Paradox, made popular by the book ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins. They take time to understand their environment and spot all the possible pitfalls, which ultimately makes them better equipped to avoid them. Optimists, while hoping for a positive outcome, are more realistic. I therefore feel that it is not as grounded in reality as optimism, as it seeks to quash anything that could be perceived as negative. The dictionary definition of optimism is ‘hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something’ while positivity is ‘the practice of being, or tendency to be positive or optimistic in attitude.’ Although adopting a positive mindset can help us get through difficult times, it tends to focus purely on mind over matter - thinking positive thoughts and banishing all negative ones. Many people won’t have considered that there is one, but there is a subtle difference, and understanding this can help leaders develop the right mindset and attitude for success. I find it very interesting to examine the difference between optimism and positivity.

Positivity and optimism gary vaynerchuk