Welcome to New Startup Mindset.
This is Sandra Spielberg and today we're going to talk about beginner's mindset.
I'll start with a little story.
So as you know I'm a company founder and by the time I started my company I had 15 years of experience in the biotechnology industry.
And though I had worked in this industry for decades,
Every aspect of starting my company made me feel like a beginner.
Until that moment I had never incorporated a business,
Developed a software product,
Or filed a patent.
I never hired every single team member,
Let alone been the person each of these employees looked to for decisions,
Motivation,
And culture.
And so I realized that after decades of feeling that I was becoming an expert in biotech,
Commercial,
And drug development,
I was finally a beginner.
But day after day I showed up to be a beginner at my startup and quite soon I came to the realization that this beginner's mindset was exactly what was propelling me and my startup forward.
As a beginner instead of judging my lack of experience I acknowledged my newness to leverage the curiosity,
Humility,
And patience that comes with being a beginner.
So I know now that if I had known more then,
I would have never started my company.
If I had known more,
I would have been able to see the challenges way in advance when there was still time to turn away.
If I had known more,
I might have predicted how competitive this market would become and turned away.
And that would have been a huge mistake.
I know now that once I started,
The business showed me the way.
And so today I want to talk about being a beginner and cultivating this beginner's mindset.
The beginner's mindset is about approaching all that comes your way with the curiosity,
Humility,
And patience of a person who is engaging with this task for the very first time.
So why is the beginner's mindset a productive way to start and build something?
Well,
A beginner is curious.
A beginner is really comfortable with this strong desire to know and learn.
A beginner is humble.
Being a beginner absolves you from any delusion of self-importance.
A beginner is patient.
A beginner has the capacity to accept delays and suffering without getting overly upset.
And this tolerance is paramount when trying to build a company,
A relationship,
Or anything else that endures.
A beginner also understands that temporary failure is part of enduring success.
Failure is indeed one of the most effective tools for learning.
There,
You failed.
Now you know it doesn't work and you can focus on what might.
A beginner is free of expectations.
Experts suffer so much pressure to live up to the expectations from themselves and from others.
But we beginners,
We're free.
We're free to create and fail,
Try again,
Have a detour,
And then succeed.
A beginner asks for help.
By asking for help,
You bring more diversity of thought into your creation.
And then finally,
A beginner can respond to the inner critic.
And that is that part of us,
That voice inside ourselves that tells us that we're not good enough.
It may feel like a bully lives inside your head in a rent-controlled apartment and won't ever move out.
But a beginner is the one that can evict that bully by reminding it that you are just getting started and are figuring things out.
So if I learned anything during this time of starting,
Building,
And then exiting my startup,
And if there is a message that I really feel compelled to share with all of you,
Is to not wait.
Do not wait for anything else to happen inside or outside of you.
The time to begin is now,
And trust that your creation will indeed show you the way.
Now I'd like to invite you to a guided meditation.
It is titled The First Time.
Take a deep breath.
Bring back into your body all the energy that may be occupied in activities that are outside your body.
One more breath.
And once you feel centered and fully in this present moment,
Let's begin.
I'd love for you to recall the time when you first learned to ride a bike.
You were probably six or seven years old.
A parent or loving adult gifted you this bike,
And you felt excited about the possibility of riding away,
Feeling the breeze on your cheeks.
You fantasized about all the places you could go if you only knew how to ride it.
You were a beginner.
You were new to the task,
But excited about it.
You were humble.
No pretenses.
You knew you needed the help of others to get going,
So there was likely an adult or older sibling behind you holding the seat and prepared to begin a brisk and unpredictable jog.
Once you figured out that you could indeed balance yourself on the two-wheel vehicle and take off.
I'd love for you to feel that energy of the beginner,
That excitement,
The acceptance of temporary failure on the road to success,
The gratitude for those who hold the seat so we won't fall,
The patience to get up time after time,
And the reward of this beginner's mindset.
I would like to invite you to think of an area in your life that can benefit from this mindset.
Perhaps this is your startup,
Your job,
A relationship,
A hobby,
Or your mindfulness practice.
And the question I'd like you to ponder is,
Can you afford not to be a beginner in this area?
And what could move forward for you in your passion or endeavor if you approached this area as a beginner?
Please take one more deep breath and with that,
I wish you many great beginnings.
