June 1, 2023

I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the popular e-commerce site called Alibaba, but it is a marketplace, a search engine, and a bank, all in one. This highly successful company is currently valued at around 500 billion dollars and was the creation of the once English teacher now tech mogul, Jack Ma. But here’s the thing. Jack wasn’t just born brilliant; he didn’t just become great overnight. It was a process. In fact, he failed his college entrance exams three times. He was turned down by Harvard ten times. Out of a group of 23 applicants to work at KFC, he was the only one denied employment.

When he started Alibaba, it took him 25 years just to get it going. Through it all Jack Ma was learning, gaining experience, and developing new skills and as a result, Alibaba is the company it is today. Jack is a perfect example of what it means to have a GROWTH MINDSET.

In her book Mindset, Dr. Carol Dweck explains there are two kinds of mindsets in the world today. One is the “fixed” mindset, the other is a GROWTH MINDSET. Those that have “fixed” mindsets believe that everything from traits, talents, and intelligence is fixed. They’re something that is inherited. Those that have a GROWTH MINDSET believe that skill, talent, and intelligence can be grown and developed as we invest the time and the effort to improve them. This type of mindset creates an excitement, enthusiasm, and hunger for learning that creates the right perspective to take people through the tough times of life.

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
— Winston Churchill

"Love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning."

— Carol S. Dweck

"The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge." 

— Napoleon Hill

It’s amazing how many people today seem to adopt a fixed mindset when they face challenges. They seem to give in too easily to the emotions of fear, worry, anger, and defeat. They resign to the falsehood that they just don’t have what it takes, they aren’t talented enough, or that someone or something is holding them back and they give up. Since 2020, the world has been going through what some economists refer to as the “Great Resignation.”

• 48 million people quit their jobs in 2021
• 55% of American workers are planning on looking for new jobs
• 52% of Millennials and Gen Z are considering changing companies this year
• 41% of the global workforce is considering quitting their jobs

Now we don’t know all the reasons for all this unhappiness at work, but one can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with mindset and how people see the difficulties they are experiencing. At our church we have a power phrase, “We are victors, not victims!” This is the stance that leaders with a GROWTH MINDSET take. They realize that God has given them the power and the opportunity to grow, improve, and get better and they jump in and seize it!

Here are some questions to ask yourself to find out if you have a GROWTH MINDSET:

1. Do I believe my basic qualities are things I can cultivate through effort and education?
2. Do I believe that organizational and individual capabilities can be developed?
3. Do I see failure as an opportunity to learn and get better?

If you answered yes to these — congratulations! You have a GROWTH MINDSET.

Book Recommendation:

Mindset the New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck

God is for You,
Pastor Blunt