180: Mindset and Expanding Online

My goal is to help you see beyond the limits that you have set for yourself. When we're in a space of expansion, there is so much opportunity! This podcast episode is split into two sections: why we need a growth mindset as we are expanding online how to create that growth mindset from wherever you are right now Growth Mindset By the official definition, a growth mindset “describes people who believe that their success depends on time and effort. People with a growth mindset feel that their skills and intelligence can be improved with effort and persistence. They embrace changes, persist through obstacles, learn from criticism and seek out inspiration in others successes. So what does that mean? It means that it's okay to fail. It's okay to try something and not like it and say no, thank you. It's okay to try something, have it exceed your expectations and then for you to double down on it. It's okay to hire somebody and to decide that you actually really like the job that you hired them for and to move them around in your business or to say, you know what I really want to take this back. It's okay to start with a piece of software and decide that that piece of software doesn't do what you needed to do and start with a new piece of software Essentially with a growth mindset, we are always looking for the opportunity and the experience that comes along with it. Rather than what's called a closed mindset, which is staying where we're comfortable staying in the way things have always been done (staying in status quo.) Why do we need a growth mindset when we are expanding online? Quite simply, it's because everybody's online experience is different. Everybody finds success in different ways! Some may have success ads. Some might have wild success with social media. Some might rock at blogging or podcasting There are so many ways to create awareness for yourself that you don't know, I don't know and your next door neighbor doesn't know which one or two or three are going to be the winning combination for you and your business. You have to try -- you have to go all in on something -- knowing that the outcome may not be what you envision it to be. And we also have to be comfortable putting things on the shelf for later. That one is tough because we have all the ideas, we want to implement everything right here right now! In order to have a growth mindset we have to make sure that we have a forward progression and that it's not a scattered progression. We want to make sure that we are taking ourselves on a journey. We don't know if that road is going to go left, right, stay centered, maybe have a uTurn or two in it or switchbacks or things like that. We just need to be continually moving forward. If we start too many things then we become scattered and we are suddenly putting ourselves in the middle of a maze, not sure which way the road really needs to go. With a growth mindset, we are being disciplined but being forward thinking, we are being cautious but thorough and we are being strategic without holding ourselves back! We have to decide that we're going to start and follow through. We also need to understand how to niche down and what that means for opportunities. When we expand online, the whole world is available to us and so we could really work with anybody who wants to learn from us. When you are a generalist or you put yourself out there as “the teacher for everyone” nobody knows why they should choose you. Niching is the necessity as well as the opportunity to narrow down exactly who we work with, how we work with them and what kind of results we are going to help our students achieve. You don't have to create programs that span the spectrum from absolute beginner to absolute professional, you don't have to go that broad, you can go super specific. An example I use regularly: You are a fabulous piano teacher and the kids that you love teaching more than anything else are the lower elementary kids who are also involved in team sports. You become the piano teacher for kids who are athletic and have learned how to work as a team. Talk about narrowing down who we’re working with right? It seems like we might be limiting ourselves, but niching down actually is part of the growth, it is part of the, “Hey, I'm putting my stake in the ground and creating this opportunity for this unique population.” Once we niche, we can see how many more opportunities are truly out there. Let’s get out of the fixed mindset! You are able to make as much money as you want! You are so talented and have such a vast array of material that you can teach. You are not limited by what you've always done. Let that sink in: You can do whatever you want. That fact alone is going to help you get out of the fixed mindset and into a growth mindset. The quality of your teaching is going to improve when you work with a larger variety and cross section of the population. If you've always thought that the best teaching that you have ever done is in the one-on-one relationship, imagine the potential when you take what you've done with that student or five of those students and merge that together! You are going to create a better product to deliver to a group. This exploration of taking the best parts of your individual lessons and processes and bringing them all together to create something that is more universal for your niche -- Boom, that is getting into that growth mindset! Let’s look inward for a moment and see what is holding you back. Understanding where your weaknesses or flaws are allows you to exploit them. How can we turn a weakness or flaw into a positive and a growth opportunity??? An example: Maybe that weakness or flaw is that you can't type! I can't do online programming because I can't type. Think about how you can get around typing -- maybe you cou dictate or hire someone to take notes for you? What can you do to get around the fact that you can't type? Looking at our weaknesses and our flaws and exploiting them to become better -- that's what it's all about, that's how we get out of the fixed mindset and into the growth mindset! Your business cannot look the same at the end of this year, as it did at the beginning of this year. The world is passing it by. If you sit in that fixed mindset or closed mindset for too much longer, your opportunities are going to feel like they dry up. Remember this is the Expand Online podcast -- It's all about expansion and growth and opportunity! So, get started expanding and growing :) I'd love to talk with you about the opportunities that are right at your fingertips. So click on the link http://callwithjaime.com and we'll get on a quick call. Let’s chat about what you want to accomplish and how we can get you out of that fixed or closed mindset and into that growth mindset to make those dreams a reality! It's time! Round 3 of the Online Music Course Accelerator is open for application. Click here for details.