How do you see the world right now?
Fear about coronavirus? Concern over global warming? Angry about politics? Concerned about financial matters?
Every situation, every trial and tribulation that we face in this world has the power to destroy you, or define you. How we view the world, the lens we apply, will largely shape the options we see and choices that we make.
While there can be no mistaking that coronavirus has presented its own unique challenges and obstacles, how we react to this situation is entirely within our control. Despite what popular news media outlets propagate, coronavirus doesn’t spell the end for small business owners.
On Saturday November 28th, 2020, a couple friends of mine tied the knot. (Congrats!) And a wedding during a global health crisis poses its own unique challenges. But rather than let the complications paralyze them, the wonderful couple looked for opportunities to enjoy and share the day with their loved ones. Turning to technology, they were able to live-stream the event around the world, enabling loved ones on a different continent to share in the joyous occasion.
Closer to home, my girlfriend looking for a unique gift turned to Etsy to find something perfect for this wedding. The result, a “coronavirus wedding” cookie.
A talented local woman decided to turn her love of baking, and her new-found free time in quarantine life, into a side-hustle that capitalizes on an obstacle we all face.
Here we have the same situation: coronavirus getting in the way of weddings. One couple doesn’t see this as a roadblock, but instead leverages technology to forge ahead with their love, while still bringing the experience to their loved ones.
And a completely unrelated individual, seeing the massive disruption to weddings in 2020 as an opportunity to supplement and grow her income. All this, while thousands of others are cancelling weddings, and hundreds of thousands are filing new unemployment claims.
The same situation, the same challenges, yielding vastly disparate results.
Flipping the mindset which you approach any situation will open your eyes to new doors, new opportunities. These opportunities aren’t new, but they only reveal themselves when you change the way you view a problem.
These examples are all around us. For decades, the mentality for gas-guzzling automobiles was to make more efficient engines. Europe is flooded with small-engine cars, all striving to hit emissions standards set by regulatory bodies. Sticking with the widely accepted way of thinking about the problem didn’t reveal a brand new solution - electric vehicles. Now one of the wealthiest people in the world, Elon Musk proved that thinking about the same problem in a different way is a viable way to succeed. No longer are we surprised to see a Tesla on the road next to us.
What challenges are you facing right now? How can you think about those problems differently? Thinking about the same problem from a different angle will reveal to you different opportunities and options.
Who knows? Behind those newly revealed doors may lie the opportunity you’ve been waiting all your life for.