A new year has started. Many of us have made our New Year resolutions. And we are really willing to follow through and start with a lot of energy. From experience we know we cannot keep up that effort for long. Not because we are weak or not disciplined, but often enough because our mental willpower is limited.
Life is dynamic and when other tasks of life demand attention they take away from this willpower. We are just not able to invest as much willpower in the discipline muscle for performing sport or going to gym. Not sustainable. So we still can’t improve much. Not reach our new goals. But wait a minute.
Are we caught in what I call a “thinking rut”, which says “working harder” is the best way to achieve more?
But is working harder really the solution?
Einstein said the solution of a problem cannot be found on the same thinking level as the problem was created. That means we have to move up another level to solve the riddle. And no matter how hard working you are, there will be people this year who will achieve more with even less effort.
Why?
In nature, we see many examples of this.
A lion for example, is focusing his energies the moment he „smells“ food. Only then he is ready to deliver and sacrifice his energies. A fair trade of a good chance to get some payback for „invested energy“ by new meat.
Often one can watch a lion sleeping, but when the victim is close….. the predator takes over and all his energy burst in alertness. And seriously – if he was running around all day impatiently looking for food – at the moment the right situation arises, would he have enough energy left to hunt down his victim?
I doubt it. For him it is a lot about timing. Being at the right place at the right time and then take focused action.
The same applies to humans, doesn’t it?
But we have been raised with “work harder” mantras, so our inner voice keeps calling for action, when there is no target to reach. 
Being in the right place, meeting the right people with the right mental attitude outplays hard work many times. It just has more leverage. “Well tempered” and timed action. Having the ear on the newest trends and already sensing what the future might be like.
No ambition outpacing the situation, but action arising in a symbiotic dance with the current environment.
The easiest solution I found for that is to meet like minded people and expand one’s own knowledge with solutions of others. Future pacing yourself. Why struggle with old ways of working when already new have horizons appeared?
One level up, as Einstein put it. Learning and using cutting edge strategies to keep with the times and avoiding unnecessary waste of energy working harder using „clogged pipes“ full of outdated strategies, which worked in a world that no longer exists.
Look, there are different kind of people. Joel Barker has explained this years ago with an analogy to the colonization of the “Wild West „.
First, there are courageous “paradigm changer”, who dare to be first on the new terrain, even though the dangers seem uncontrollable. Then there are bold “paradigm pioneers”, which arrive next. Still facing uncertainties, but already partly settled. They are being observed by the “settlers”, who finally arrive, when the situation seems not to be risky anymore. And they still got their share.
But in the information age of today this does not work anymore. Only the paradigm changer and the paradigm pioneers take advantage of new situations. Nothing left for settlers anymore.
Why?
Because the future has a much faster pace than the old Wild West days and the market is changing rapidly. The time to copy proven models has shortened rapidly.
The paradigm changer and the pioneer have their ear on the leading edge of the future.
So who are you going to be?
If you decide to be paradigm changer or paradigm pioneer that is a good move and you find more information supporting that decision below.
Look, you are online, you are reading this article and you know that the right actions and a few simple changes can dramatically grow your business and your future chances.
The best way to stay in tune with future developments is to listen constantly to newest trends. This can be overwhelming and confusing, the amount of data given.
The easiest and fastest approach I know to get the “essence” is to attend a futurist seminar where the newest trends and the “world of tomorrow” is discussed.
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To your success.