Cultivate a Beginner’s Mind
Spring is a time for new beginnings, and so to celebrate, this week I’m starting a five-part series about starting up a company… now.
I’ve always loved the 0 to 1 phase of building a company. I’ve done it (too) many times myself. It's the starting up that I really love working with other founders on.
The world is a dynamic place, and the best way to start a business is constantly changing. Last week, I addressed the huge impact AI is having on society and business. If it feels like the world is moving faster than ever, it is. This is an invitation to take a minute and join me as I try to synthesize the lessons of my years of entrepreneurial experience.
1. Cultivate a Beginner’s Mind.
“If your mind is empty … it is open to everything. In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” ~ Shunryu Suzuki
The last five years have taken me on a spiritual path. Meditation, mindfulness, contemplation, and getting into a flow state are all important practices for me today. The gray hair I now sport may indicate years of experience as an entrepreneur and investor, but it only suggests wisdom if I acknowledge that emptying my head of judgment, learned behaviors, and ways you ‘should’ do things is the best way to approach something new.
Approaching a problem with curiosity, enthusiasm, and a child-like sense of play is a way to learn anew.
In my twenties, I didn’t think about how many at-bats I’d get on my entrepreneurial journey. Now, after running Flatstack for 20+ years and Launch Pad for nearly 15, I recognize as I approach 50 that I may just have a few swings left. A natural instinct is to feel like an expert, but it doesn’t serve to show up with all the answers. A much better approach is to be able to ask the right questions and be open to feedback.
Cultivating a beginner's mind will also help short-circuit the inclination to focus on a solution instead of a problem. Too often, entrepreneurs come up with an idea based on something they can envision and build.
Back up to the problem, sit with the problem, watch people tackle it, and understand the struggle before jumping to the solution. Playing with ideas, new technology, finding shortcuts, hacking at something are great ways to figure out new approaches to a problem without bringing your preconceived notions.
Hit me up if you’d like some resources. I’m happy to share things that have helped me with meditation and mindfulness. Starting up now, let’s adopt a beginner's mind.
- Chris