Adapting to Change vs Creating Change

I hear a lot of talk about all the changes that are occurring in business today and how that may negatively impact our careers. Will AI make our jobs obsolete? Will remote work disappear? Will we need to find new and different ways of doing business?

Well I’ve looked into my crystal ball and all I can tell you is this: what worked well last year may not work well next year. Pretty bold prediction, huh?

Reacting to Change VS Creating Change

The pace of change is accelerating so how you think about it will make a big difference in your business and career. Will you wait until it occurs and then adapt to it? Or will you become a part of making it happen?

Adapting to change is by definition reactive. At best, it allows you to manage outside forces impacting your business and career. But what if, instead of adapting to change, or managing change, or learning to live with change, we actually decided to create change??

That’s a big difference, right? It takes you from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. And all it requires is a shift in mindset.?

When I Created Massive Change In My Career

Looking back on my own career in the entertainment business, I can see that the most growth occurred when I was willing to let go of what had been working in order to make the space for something new.?

I remember the day I decided to leave behind my successful career as a voice actor in order to go on tour with my stage show. It was one of the toughest career decisions I ever had to make.?

I’d spent years building up my voice acting career in Hollywood. From my early training in film school, to moving from NYC to LA, to building up my network of contacts and honing my craft, to finally landing the starring role on a hugely popular animated series.

I’d invested a lot and been rewarded many times over. But after a few years I started to feel stuck in one place. There was no growth. Only work.?

There was really nowhere else to go except to keep doing more of the same. And if you’re not constantly building and growing and exploring new opportunities in your business then that business is dying. I could feel it happening. I was working but I wasn’t passionate about it anymore.?

And then one day I realized, it was that very success that was holding me back from being able to take the next step in my performing career because there was no room in my schedule to go on the road and start touring and playing bigger.?

So I had to make a choice. I had to let go of something that was working if I wanted to create something bigger. Only I didn’t know if it would work. I only knew that to go from good to great requires making changes that will allow that to happen.

Let Go Of What's Working So You Can Find Out What's Possible

Creativity cannot occur if you stick with the sure thing. You have to let go of what is certain so you can find out what’s possible.?

People tend not to like that very much. I think that’s because they overvalue what they already have and undervalue what they could get. And it keeps them stuck in old thinking and old ways of doing things.?

But consider this, what you’ve been doing that got your here may be exactly why you haven’t gone further than that.

That idea runs into a lot of resistance. Because people fear change. Why? Why do they fear change? Because it’s unknown. And if somethings working pretty good now, then why stop doing it??

Well then you have to ask yourself, are you satisfied with just being good? Or do you want to go for great? Do you even believe it’s possible? Because I can tell you, anything is possible, but you first have to decide to make it happen.

It takes a certain amount of courage to see that big changes are coming and decide to be a part of them. To help make change happen instead of to resist.?

Peter Drucker once said, “Show me a successful business and I’ll show you a business where people are making courageous decisions”.?

The problem is, in the moment when those decisions are being made, we don’t know if it’s courage or folly. If it turns out well, then that was courageous! But if doesn’t? Well, at least you took the shot. And probably learned a thing or two in the process.?

Be The Change

I can tell you this. Don’t get stuck doing something you’re good at. I was good at voice acting. Really good. But my success in that field was keeping me from expanding onto other areas where I could have more of an impact. Success was making me play too small. I had to let go of what made me successful in order to play bigger.?

So what is there in your business or career that’s working now but will stop working in the future if you don’t innovate something new? That’s the area where you have the most potential for change, growth, and renewal. You just have to decide to create that change instead of waiting to adapt to it.

Joshua Seth is a celebrity voice actor and award-winning mentalist turned inspirational keynote speaker on change, creativity, and peak performance.?

For information on Joshua’s keynote speeches or to schedule a discovery call, visit https://www.joshuaseth.com/keynote-speaker