Mindset Bests Skill Set

I have been thinking quite a bit about yesterday’s post.  While true, just being open will help opportunities come, there has to be something more to  success.  Especially when it comes to financial independence, it is tempting to believe that passivity will win the day.  After all, our best investment vehicle is the passive index fund.  Yet, we struggle to create a path to financial freedom paved with good habits and a stack of talents evolved through years of learning.  But talent is not enough.  In my humble opinion, mindset bests skill set every time.

Although this idea may seem simplistic, I think it holds water.  Skills come and go, but it is the way in which we approach the hurdles that predefines the outcome

Limiting beliefs

Ultimately, training and education only get one so far.  No matter how well prepared for a task, success is quite illusive if the probability of failure seems high.  This is the realm of limiting beliefs.  Often tasks are either never attempted or given minimal mental energy if already stowed comfortably in the unlikely box.

Conversely, if one is willing to trash their limiting beliefs, the road to obtain the necessary education and training seems rather manageable.  This is true for just about anything from learning to ride a bicycle to becoming a doctor.  Although some skills may take longer to acquire than others, the most difficult transition is often the first step.

Mindset bests skill set.  Every time.

The Fallacy of the Talent Stack

The problem is that skills are fungible.  In this ever-changing world, one’s highly specialized abilities may prove worthless in the near future.  Creative destruction, technology, outsourcing.  One never knows when ones skill set will become outdated or the need for certain abilities quickly turn extinct.

There is absolutely no way to be able to foretell the future.  Even my role as a doctor may be usurped by technology, machines, or lower paid employees.  The only thing that doesn’t change is the process of change itself.

Overly investing in the talent stack may eventually lead to destitution and failure.

Mindset bests skill set.  The manner by which a problem is approached and solved will always be more important than the tools actually used to solve said problem.

The Growth Mindset

Tenants of the growth mindset believe that intelligence can be developed, and that we can get smarter with hard work.  Notice how I didn’t use the term more able.

When we build our talent stack we do good things.  We become more able.  But we don’t necessarily become smarter.  To rely on our skills only would allow us to become masters.  Not necessarily innovators.  This is the fixed mindset.

When I went to medical school I was building my talent stack.  I was developing a skill set, and working towards mastery.  This was all good, but it in no way prepared me for the topsy-turvy environment that healthcare had become.

By becoming a medical director of nursing homes, opening a concierge practice, and uncoupling my revenue streams from Medicare, I was using the growth mindset.  I was pivoting, and opening myself up to the opportunities that came my way.

I would have never thrived if I had relied only on those abilities I had developed in medical school

Mindset bests skill set.

Final Thoughts

Skills are important.  Training and education are priceless.  Yet, they are not enough.

Success comes from having the right mindset.

Mindset bests skill set.