Is Your Mind Closed To New Ideas?

It’s funny but even the brightest minds grow dull if they do not remain active. If you want to be on top always keep climbing. I went out with my boss over the week to meet with a client. He was a former executive director in one of the commercial banks in Nigeria. The meeting was to facilitate some business transactions; however the meeting turned out to be a coaching session. While we were discussing about the reason for our visit, the client told us that we needed to start thinking about our lives outside our work. Interestingly most of us wake up in the morning every day to think about the wrong things. We major on the less important things in life. If you work in the corporate world, most especially in the finance industry in Nigeria the pressure to meet up with our targets and keep our jobs actually make us forget about our own lives, health and family.

Thinking about new ideas for survival might pose to be a suicide mission. What if I failed? What if I lost my steady income? Why should I jump in the murky waters of entrepreneurship when I can receive a regular pay check? While this could be assumed to be valid reasons, the truth of the matter is that if we do not expand our minds we might even lose the jobs we are fooled to have.  The world is becoming more demanding and so also are the bosses. It is only if you stayed renewed that you have the chance of surviving corporate shake up and besides making extra bucks even if you are fully employed will be an icing on the cake. The job you hold today won’t be forever so do something that will outlive your existence.

The thought of survival is mostly predatory and rudimentary. In fact it is the second need in the hierarchy of need as postulated by Abraham Maslow. When we base our thought process on safety and security alone, it closes our minds to the other hierarchy of needs, (self esteem, self actualization etc). We need to open our minds to new opportunities and ideas. Our minds are where the battle of life begins. Expand your mind.

The daily pressures of life can force you to want to recoil into your shell but do not give up. When paying bills become more important than thinking about making money then you need to wake up. Yes we need to pay bills, but that should not be our only reason for existence. Think outside the box. Stand tall and move forward. A new idea you have could change the world. Be a world changer. Make your ideas count. Do not get into a rut. Move on with your dreams and goals. Take a step of faith and take charge of your life once again. Remember, you determine what happens to you good or bad. What opportunities do you think you have in your current situation? Please explore them. Follow your instincts and act on that hunch. Most of us are so scared to fail. We get scared that people are going to laugh at us if we fail. The truth of the matter is that they would even laugh at you if you were successful. People are always in the habit of laughing so why bother? Trust me they would. We let people set our life agendas for us. If you refuse to think, chances are that people would think for you.

 The client looked at me and asked me one big question.  He said “apart from your work, what do you think about?” That was a big question. Really it’s sad these days but a lot us have stopped thinking. We have dropped our dreams because of the everyday pressure of living. We have failed to move on with our dreams. We think about our depleting bank accounts, our receding hair line and so many other things.  I had closed my mind and that is the truth. A lot of us have closed our minds to new ideas. We are scared to try out new things. I have a completed book, a detailed business plan for my training and management consulting firm but have been stalled because I have not been man enough to go beyond boundaries.  How would I feel if in ten years from now if I still feel like the time is not right to take a leap? Life is fuelled by risk and only risk takers can overcome. Take the extra push. Nothing comes easy. You just have to take that effort and hope everything turns out well. It is a privilege to live in our time. It is a time where we are opened to so many possibilities. The mind is a terrible thing to waste. I see you on top of your riches.

Kolawole Kehinde is the C.O.O of The Idea Embassy and R.E.E.L Inc and currently lives in Abuja. He can be reached on kolamagic@gmail.com and kolayore@yahoo.com 2348055159014 for speaking events and seminars on personal development, time management and marketing business services in the 21^st century.