Mindset Makes You, Actions Define You

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. How many times have you heard that as you navigated life? I would venture to say it won’t fall short of numerous. I doubt Sir Isaac Newton determined this Law of Motion thinking it would resonate well beyond just physics, but it has. 

Our mindset makes us, but our actions will define us. Every single step of our life is determined by our responses that others see, not the mentality that leads to those responses. 

Often you will have a great idea, a plan of action, or a novel concept that when displayed to others around you can help guide or fix an issue. There will also be times that that mindset will become a failure once put into action. 

I would argue that most of us don’t have ill intentions to the world around us, but there have and will be times that your actions haven’t played out how you saw them working in the ole noodle upstairs. How you pivot from those actions, reassess, regroup, and then change is what will define you. 

So many times in my life I have had great concepts and thought there is no way this can go wrong. I have pulled the trigger on that mindset, put it into action and done damage to those I touched along the way. I have also stood there as I watched the building burn going there is no way that was my fault—in reality it all was. 

It is very simple to look at those around you and find faults or flaws in the execution that they bring to the table when playing out your guidance, or maybe someone just interpreted what you said wrong, putting you in a bad position when it comes to the actions brought forth. 

Those are the moments that are the toughest to overcome. That is when the realization will set in that the results you saw coming don’t, and your response becomes negative, doubling down on the problem and making things far worse. 

Most recently I led a very successful and tenacious sales team in the beer industry. When I first started I was no-nonsense and what I like to call edgy, and at times a bit abrasive. In reality I could be a huge asshole and very tough to work for. 

One of the first hires I ever made has risen to unbelievable heights in his personal consulting business over just a few short months after his departure from the company, but I will always look back on him and wish I could have approached some things differently. 

I consider that rockstar to be one of my very closest and best friends to this day. He is one of the handful of people that know every single thing about me and we speak daily—sometimes multiple times a day. Still, if you asked him I would be willing to bet he would say there was a massive change in me over the two years we spent as co-workers that led to our deep friendship. 

What I had to learn over time was that just because I thought something would work or that a strategy should be flawless at execution I could be wrong. At times with every single aspect of the plan. The more I stepped back and would listen to his views and understand the vision provided from our minds coming together made us exponentially stronger than just blindly following my lead. 

My mindset may have told me one thing, and that tenacious approach never changed. It still resides between my ears today. What I learned, however, was that despite those tendencies I could listen and evaluate prior to taking action. I needed to concern myself with the environment, mission, and execution better through a team style approach—not just to practical application but to the planning phase as well. 

As our company and team grew to a Top 50 performer in the craft beer space we expanded exponentially. I had to learn to adapt my coaching style and approach for each individual based on their mindset and ability. I had to listen and learn their tendencies so that we could get the best results possible in their respective markets. 

I have often said and truly stand by the conclusion that there is no such thing as a bad employee in a business. There are only bad leaders and managers. 

If I had an underperforming employee there were two options that led to that problem or lack of growth. Myself or my people had hired wrong—our fault—or we had failed to train properly. Again, our fault as leaders and managers. 

This doesn’t mean that every single person in an organization is in the right seat—after all, finding the right cheeks for the right seats is what success is based on. But that again falls to leaders and managers to ensure that if the fit is wrong, move them to where it is right. If it still isn’t working, separate from that person. 

The same can be said in your personal life, not just business. 

You will bring people into your life that will affect you and the way you think or act. You will also have people that you will do the same for them. Your mindset may not always be the best and your actions will show it. Again, those actions and reactions will be what defines you, not how you think or feel that it should. 

A basic sales concept is to listen 80 percent of the time and to speak 20. Apply that daily in your interactions and you will see a noticeable change in the way you think and operate. 

The saying goes we may not be here for a longtime, but let's be here for a good time. The only way to ensure that it's a good time as often as possible is to adapt your mentality and how it makes you so that your actions can define you properly. Just because we think it is a good idea doesn’t always make it so. 

I have failed more than I can count in life. I have failed my sphere of influence at times as well. Almost always it was based on my mindset being set and my actions being unwavering. What a selfish life to live—and truly I have lived it on occasion. 

The best way to provide the community around you with the best possible impact is to ensure your actions define you properly. That you use every opportunity to show care, thoughtfulness, and provide a listening ear to those that want to speak and share—especially when initially you may disagree. 

Be open and willing to change, think before you speak, and act intently. People won’t know your mindset and often won’t care about the reasoning behind your actions. They will, however, see those actions and that is what will define you. Choose wisely to live a life of purpose, on purpose.