Gents Journey
Gents Journey
Unlocking Potential: The Power of a Growth Mindset
What if the key to unlocking your fullest potential lies in a tiny shift in how you view challenges? Discover the transformative power of adopting a growth mindset, as we unravel the groundbreaking work of psychologist Carol Dweck. Join me, Anthony, on the Gentleman's Journey podcast, where I promise you'll gain insights into how changing your perspective on challenges and abilities can empower you to achieve your wildest dreams. From overcoming fear of failure to embracing the gift of the word "yet," we discuss practical strategies that will help you identify and transition your current mindset towards one that celebrates growth and development.
We'll explore the science behind the growth mindset, focusing on neuroplasticity and inspiring success stories from NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo and Spanx founder Sarah Blakely. Learn how these icons turned their weaknesses into strengths and reframed failures as opportunities for growth. With actionable strategies on reframing failure and focusing on effort over outcomes, this episode will arm you with the tools needed to foster a mindset that thrives on persistence and resilience. Whether you're an executive, athlete, or entrepreneur, this journey towards potential and growth is one you won’t want to miss.
"True mastery is found in the details. The way you handle the little things defines the way you handle everything."
Hello and welcome to the Gentleman's Journey podcast. My name is Anthony, your host, and today we're gonna talk about something that when you have this mindset, it really establishes everything else in your life. But when you don't have this mindset, when you have the opposite of this mindset, you can live a very tragic life. Now, what is this that I'm talking about today? I'm talking about a growth mindset. So let's go ahead and let's talk about it. So, as we're talking about this, let me ask you a question. Have you ever said something like this to yourself? Like you know, I'm just not good at this, or you know, I'll never get it right, I'll never be able to do this right Just something negative to yourself. Well, those are fixed mindset. Thoughts, beliefs, that are, our abilities are set in stone. But what if I told you that, with a shift of perspective, you could really unlock who it is that you want to be and what it is that you want to become? Now, what is that? That is the power of a growth mindset. So here's what we're going to do today. Okay, we're going to dive into this. We're going to get pretty deep in this. Okay, in the growth mindset, we're going to talk about what it is. We're going to talk about how it works and why it's really the key to achieving your goals right, and we're going to explore the science behind it. I'm going to give you some stories, like we always do, but, more than anything else, I'm going to give you some practical strategies to make this a part of your daily life, because what my goal is at the end of this episode, that you'll not only stand the power of a growth mindset, but I want to give you the tools necessary to start developing one today.
Speaker 1:So, as we're talking about growth mindset, what is that? So, a growth mindset was actually coined by a psychologist named Carol Dierwick. Coined by a psychologist named Carol Dierwick. And what it is? A growth mindset is the belief that abilities, intelligence and talents can be developed through effort, learning and persistence. Okay, now you have two sets of mindsets out there. You have a growth mindset and you have a fixed mindset. So what a fixed mindset is that beliefs? Or it's a belief that your talent and intelligence are static, or meaning that you can't grow Like they're? Just, they're always going to be this one level and that's it level and that's it. When you have a fixed mindset, you avoid challenges, you fear failure and you give up easily. So this would be an example of things that you say to yourself. If you have a fixed mindset, you'd be like you know what? I'm never going to get, that I'm not good at math, I'm not good at writing. If I'm not successful immediately at this, that means I'm not capable of doing what I'm supposed to be doing. You just give up very easily Right Now.
Speaker 1:A growth mindset embraces challenges. It learns from its failures and it sees effort as a part of the mastery of something right. An example would be like I'm not good at math yet, but I can improve with practice. Or every mistake I make is an opportunity to learn. Another one that I say all the time is that there is no mistakes, there's only lessons. Now here's something I need to tell you as we're talking about this A growth mindset, it's not about being happy, go lucky all the time.
Speaker 1:It's not about being optimistic all the time, but what it is about it's about believing that growth is always possible, no matter what's going on. Okay, so here's what we're going to do. We're going to see what mindset you're in right now. All right Now, if you're driving, obviously you don't have to do this, do this later. But if you're not driving, you're sitting somewhere. Grab a piece of paper, get a pen or do this on your phone. You know on your note, section Right.
Speaker 1:And what I want to do is I want you to write down these statements. And as we're writing down these statements, you are more likely to have a fixed mindset, or growth mindset, if you are saying this to yourself right now or you really respond to this. Okay. Now, this is the first statement I want you to reflect on. When I face a challenge, I avoid it because I'm afraid to fail. Okay, does that resonate with you right now, or does it resonate with you right now? Again, there is no right or wrong answer to this, okay.
Speaker 1:Next one is this when I make a mistake, I feel like I'm not smart enough. Does that resonate with you right now, or doesn't it resonate with you right now? Third one If I don't know how to do something, I feel frustrated, or I get frustrated and I stop trying. Is this something you say yourself a lot to yourself, or not? Is this how you're feeling right now, or not? Again, no right or wrong answers. Okay, when I see here's the next one, sorry when I see someone excel at something, I think they're naturally talented and that they don't have to work hard for it. Is that something that resonates with you, or is that something that doesn't resonate with you, okay. Next one I believe in my abilities and I believe that they can improve with practice and effort. Is that something that resonates with you, or is that something that doesn't resonate with you? Okay, last but not least, I enjoy learning new things, even if they are hard, okay.
Speaker 1:Now, if a lot of those resonates with you, especially like one through four and five and six, didn't you're in a negative mindset? Right? But let's say, none of them resonated with you. You're just probably in the middle somewhere, right. But if five and six really resonated with you, congratulations. You're in a growth mindset, congratulations. You're in a growth mindset, okay. Something you have to remember is that, if you're open to learning and you believe your efforts will lead to improvement, you're practicing a growth mindset Because, remember, identifying a fixed mindset it's not a bad thing, okay. What you're doing is, if you have a fixed mindset and you identify that, it's the first step to shifting towards growth and that's all we're here for. Remember 2025 is your year right? These are conversations that you have to have with yourself in order to improve yourself. To you know, to the, you know, to the, essentially, to be on that journey, to be a gentleman, you know, which involves self-improvement, which is what we're talking about right Now.
Speaker 1:There's actually a science behind a growth mindset right Now. One of the first things is called neuroplasticity. Now, if you're like, what is that, here's what neuroplasticity is. Neuroplasticity is your brain's ability to change and grow in response to effort and learning. For a long, long time, they thought once you did something, you could never undo it, or you couldn't learn new things past a certain age. Right, like they say, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. This is kind of where that came from. They didn't know that your mind could rewire itself all the time, but what they've started to learn is that when you start practicing new skills, it actually creates something called a new neural pathway, and neural pathway is essentially it's just, you could say, roads that are in your mind that lead you to places that you always are doing, and it leads you there faster and faster and faster right Now.
Speaker 1:The next thing is the power of. Yet I'm gonna tell you right now, this three-letter word is such a powerful word because when you add yet to a fixed statement where let's say, for an example, you're like I'm not good at that yet or I haven't learned that yet, do you see how? It's a different feeling. I'll get there, I'm just not there yet. Again, remember, when you have a growth mindset, instead of seeing disabilities in front of you, you see possibilities and opportunities in front of you. You see possibilities and opportunities in front of you. That's a big thing. Here's the next thing about a growth mindset is that you're, when you focus on small wins, it triggers dopamine, right, which is that feel good chemical that your brain releases when something good happens, right. Well, when you do that and you start to understand it comes from a growth mindset, you reinforce the desire to keep being in this mindset and keep growing bigger and better as a person. Excuse me, now let's talk about some growth mindsets and actions as I take a drink here.
Speaker 1:Now, the first story we're going to talk about is the greek freak. His name is janice okunedipo. Right now, when he entered the NBA this is probably like 10, 12 years ago now his athleticism was undeniable. Like for his size, he was doing things that shouldn't be possible, right. But the thing about it was he wasn't a strong shooter Because of that. He wasn't a strong shooter. Because of that, critics doubted his potential. But what he said to himself, instead of accepting these limitations, what Giannis did? He committed to relentless practicing what he did. He turned his weakness of being a shooter into one of his biggest strengths. And just because he did that, because he had that growth mindset, he's now a two-time MVP and he's won a ring, he's won a championship right, and that's the power of believing in growth, right? Because here's the thing what people don't understand is that weaknesses, they're really just opportunities in disguise. Remember that, okay.
Speaker 1:Now my female listeners would really know who this is Sarah Blakely, who is the founder of Spanx, right? So when she founded Spanx, she heard countless no's, right From manufacturers and investors, because no one's going to want to use this, no one's going to want to use an invisible girdle. Essentially, no one's going to want to use this, right. But what she did? She viewed every rejection as a learning opportunity. She used it to hone her pitch, to refine her product, and she kept going. And you know what? Today she is a multi-billionaire and Spanx is a household name.
Speaker 1:The lesson there is to understand this. Failure is not the end. What it is is just feedback. Okay, so, as we're talking about this, you're like, okay, well, these stories sound great, but how do I get to a growth mindset now? So we're going to talk about some practical strategies. The first strategy is you have to embrace challenges. Challenges are realistically just opportunities for you to grow. Write down a recent challenge and ask yourself what did you learn from this? Right, what did you learn? Write that down. Here's the next one Reframing failure.
Speaker 1:So much of I mean everyone sees failure as an end, right, they don't see it as anything more than that. They say, oh, this is just an end, I failed, that's it. They don't even take the learning lesson from it. It's just a one-sided show of just them being failing, and that's it right. But the thing about it is it's not. When you understand that failure is just a part of the process and not the end of the journey. That's a big, big thing, you know. So I know we've talked about this before, but I'm telling you it's so helpful.
Speaker 1:Start a failure journal. Write down what didn't go well and what you learned from it. Remember, when we can go back and review things that we've done right and things that we've done wrong, what is and is not working. Those are big things for us, right, especially what we talked about doing the manifesto. Remember that when we were talking about that, it was one of those things to where this is something you're always holding and you're always working from. Your failure journey could really be a part of your manifesto too, because it's something that you're comparing what you're doing to and refining your process. Right, because here's the thing again, remember, there's no such thing as failure. There's only lessons. Right Now, here's the next thing.
Speaker 1:Focus on your effort, not on your outcome. Praise yourself and others for their effort, persistence and progress. Set effort goals. Spend 30, 40, 50 minutes practicing a skill instead of an outcome-based goal right. If you can just refine your practice of doing something well and doing that over and over again, guess what the outcome's going to take care of itself.
Speaker 1:There is a saying that if you chase money, you will always chase money. The minute that you chase success, money will chase you. This is a great example of that. Right there, just do the best you can do right and just get marginally 1% better every single day and, trust me, your life will change, I promise. And again, adding the power of yet this is such a strong three-letter word, right it, just. You go from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset just by adding this right, like, say, if you're saying like, so I can't do this, this won't work, this hasn't worked yet, you can't do it yet Yet is the key to your success. Yet is really that bridge to get you to where you need to be.
Speaker 1:Now. Here's the next thing. We're going to do another interactive activity. Right, we're going to do something called a growth ladder, and it's a tool that I use that's really going to help map out your growth mindset journey.
Speaker 1:Okay, so what you're going to do, you're going to get on another piece of paper and at the very bottom of that piece of paper, you're going to write a fixed mindset belief. And you're going to write down a belief that is holding you back. Let's say, for an example, I'm never going to be good at math, or I'll never be, whatever it is, doesn't matter, just write it down. Okay. Then what you're going to write on top of that is three to four small actions to challenge disbelief. Let's say, for example, you're not good at public speaking. Let's say that was your one, right? So we can say an action that will challenge this is practice. Speaking in front of your friends, right? When let's say you're singing happy birthday, you can say hey, you know what? Happy birthday, man, I'm just so glad that I'm here participating in this, or whatever the case is. Saying something like that that two, three sentences is a huge deal, right? Record a video to review of yourself public speaking, or join a public speaking group. There's a ton out there that are free that can help you with this.
Speaker 1:Now, on top of that, you're going to write a growth mindset, belief. So you're going to rewrite your original belief at the bottom that you're looking at, and now you're going to write it as something positive and let's say so. We're talking about public speaking here. Right, since that's what I do, you're going to write down this I'm improving my public speaking skills every single day. Every single day, I'm improving, right, and here's the thing Keep your growth ladder visible to remind yourself that every step counts, no matter how small.
Speaker 1:It all counts, okay, this all matters. It all counts because, remember, this is your year. This year, 2025, is the year of you. It's your year, and by doing these things right here. I'm telling you it's going to change your life, because that's what we're doing this for, right. So what I implore you to do challenge yourself after this. Build your growth ladder, identify that one limiting belief, take a small action towards reframing it. And remember growth is not about being perfect. It's about progress. Your mindset I'm going to tell you this right now your mindset is your greatest asset you have. It's about progress. Your mindset I'm going to tell you this right now your mindset is your greatest asset you have. Invest in it, nurture it and watch what is possible when you truly believe in growth. Okay, you guys can do this. Like we say this all the time now, 2025 is your year. You, establishing a growth mindset will ensure that this is your year. Remember, you can do this. I believe in you. I know you can do this because 2025 is your year. So, guys, thank you so, so, so, very much for listening today. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Now, if you want to get a hold of me, there's three different ways you can get a hold of me. First way is texting me. If you go, look on the description here, it'll say text me. You go ahead and click on that. You text me some questions. Whatever, I'll respond to you right away. Second way is going to be through my email. My email is anthonyatgentsjourneycom. Please, please, please, never hesitate to reach out to me there. Third way you can reach me is my Instagram. My Instagram handle is MyGentsJourney. Please feel free to message me there at any time. I'll get right back to you. Okay, so again, guys, thank you so, so, so very much for listening today. And remember this you create your reality. Take care you.