Playing Your Hand
I used to work with a woman we will call Jane. That is not her real name, but the story I will tell you about Jane is as real as it gets:
You see, Jane was born in abject poverty to a single mom with four other brothers and sisters. Right from the start, she was dealt what you might call a bad hand.
Pulled from school to school while her mother tried to find work, she was on the road from a young age. She endured countless cities coming and going all the while watching her mother bounce in and out of meaningless relationships. She was partially raised by her grandparents. And I am not doing justice to her full story in this description! Yet you would think that her story ends as a sad one – but it does not. You see, Jane earned an entry level job in the Ad business after leaving the Military and worked her way up. I hired her with zero ad experience but I saw in her a relentless drive. She is now a successful businesswoman.
We in business can learn a lot from Jane. I often find myself wishing that the hand I was dealt was better at work. I wish I had more cash flow. Less turnaround. More new opportunities. More publicity. The list goes on and on. Do you wish that you had a new piece of machinery that would increase production by 15%? Do you wish that you had more market share in a particular area? Do you wish you were a better writer? (I know I do.) You can wish all you want but what is most important in how you deal with the cards you have in front of you. How do you utilize what you do have and make the best of it? You need creativity, because analytics alone cannot get you there.
By maximizing what you do have to it’s upmost potential you will find success if you look at it creatively. No matter how small that success seems at first. Because eventually a bunch of little wins adds up to a big win. And focusing on what you do have instead of what you don’t have is essential to get one foot in front of the other. It is literally the stuff that wakes you up in the morning and gives you purpose. But only if you will it. Jane is living proof of this. Countless times she could have given up. Or given out. Or compared herself to others and gotten derailed. But she built on each success creatively, no matter how small at first, and eventually made her own luck and opportunities.
And seeing what can be – not what is – is one of the cornerstone creative outlooks of The Creator Mindset. It shifts your perspective. You can start this shift by refusing to see any problem as binding and crippling. Instead, see problems as opportunities to solve them creatively. In ways no one had before. And in doing so, problems you thought were monsters turn into lambs. Issues that were once unsolvable become manageable. All you have to do is believe in a creative ability to solve problems.
I am sure you know some people like Jane who have likewise risen above peril. Because not sitting idly by and accepting mediocrity or failure no matter how bad your situation seems is a critical step in The Creator Mindset to actually manufacture your own triumphs. Taking it step by step no matter how small the steps are builds momentum. This is the manufacturing part. And you will get to the next level this way in slow but measured increments. And perhaps you will be dealt a new hand to play at some point by earing it. Still, nothing will happen until you set the cycle in motion.
You can spend a lifetime comparing yourself to others. To what someone else is doing. What they have and what you don’t. Be it professionally or personally. I know I have. Embarrassingly, perhaps too many times. But by playing the hand you were dealt and making the most of your creative way of seeing things the walls and obstacles to your success will begin to crumble.
