Mindset is Everything

Whether you think you can or you can’t you’re right. 

-Henry Ford

This week after doing a show in Saginaw, Michigan; I was scheduled to be on a flight from Detroit to New York City which got canceled at the very last minute while I was in the airport.

It was 3:30 p.m. on my birthday, I had to be back home for dinner reservations, and a big job in the morning that if I missed would cost me hundreds of dollars while costing the client thousands.

What the heck do I do? There are no more flights with this airline until the following morning, but that singular flight that would get me home on time is already full.

I can’t rebook a flight with another airline unless I want to pay an astronomical fee... but since everything is an adventure and this cancelation, a minor speed bump, I decide to rent a car and make the eleven hour drive back.

Since I’ve made the decision to drive home and there are other people in line who need to get back to New York, I find three other people to take the trip with me to throw in for gas money and to relieve me behind the wheel when I get tired.

To make a long story short, I made it home in one piece by 2 a.m. that evening. I made three new friends, two who were from Australia, and I got a chance to do some great work for my client the following morning. All is well that ends well.

That impromptu road trip was brought about by the horrible people at Voldemort (He who will not be named) Airlines, elbow grease, and a positive mindset.

“Everything is an adventure,” was the only thing I let go through my head as I pulled in those complete strangers and drove the long journey home. 

A great deal of those 200 other passengers stayed in that re-book line to b&%^h and moan, to give someone a piece of their mind, or left to go to Big Boy Airlines to pay a thousand times what they should have.

But in life, as entrepreneurs, as people of unlimited potential but of limited (usually financial) means; when things go awry we must put our heads down, rely on others a little bit, take a leadership role when the moment is right (and not always when it’s easiest), minimize as best we can the collateral damage, and soldier on.

Your mindset is one of the most powerful thing you can employ. You have a choice—will you continue to live as a victim of Voldemort Airlines, or will you do whatever is necessary to overcome that unfortunate circumstance to tap into the vast potential of your greatness? (Hint: You’re better than the unfortunate circumstance.)