From the CEO’s Desk: 2020 Learnings
By: Edward Gorbis
Tags: Mindset, Mindset Shift, Learning, Reflections, Coaching

Starting a coaching business in 2020 has been exhilarating, challenging, and the greatest learning lessons of my life. I had the opportunity to test out new ideas, talk to different markets, refine my messaging, and more importantly, connect with so many incredible humans from so many different backgrounds.

And through that process and as the year 2020 is coming to an end, I want to share 10 things I have scribbled in my journal (in a more systemic way).

Here are the 10 learnings from 2020 (#6 sticks with me the most).

We spend too much time doing nothing and when we realize it, it’s already too late. There is so much to learn and explore but we spend so much time on things that aren’t worth it. Social media, the internet, etc… can be used to acquire so much knowledge, but why it seems that when we have all the tools in our hands we aren’t interested in them anymore? Centuries ago, people would kill to have access to the amount of information that we have DAILY. If there is something that was made clear this year, was that time is very, very limited. Are we really using it or just spending? You can’t do everything in this world and it’s okay. As someone who has a very varied taste and wants to do everything and every hobby in this world, it’s very easy to get overloaded and don’t do anything at all. Even if our time is limited, we need to be patient and focused. We can’t change everything in ourselves at the same time. There is a path that you need to go through and you have to take one step at a time. You also can’t just disappear into a cave and come back whenever you want. This year, I realized that even if I don’t talk too much daily with my friends, it’s good to at least call them to ask if they are okay sometimes, to check out on them. They will certainly remember. If you don’t get out of the comfort zone, you’re not going to get better. This year, I adopted a Career Meets World, a coaching practice to help immigrants and first-generation professionals thrive in their careers and life. And it took me out of my comfort zone brutally. I balanced my time between being a CEO, CMO, CPO, CSO, COO, etc. I reached out to the furthest part of my network circle and beyond. I even launched the Career Meets World podcast and challenged myself to continually seek out some of the most successful leaders and share their stories. By doing all of this work, I feel stronger, I feel more capable, and I feel more driven to serve more people next year. Don’t care about what people say without foundation, just be yourself. I’ve always known that, actually, but this is more about a path than one-time learning. You have to let yourself be, don’t ask what they’re going to think about it, just do it if you want. Sometimes, your only obstacle is yourself. We often create excuses, procrastinating to do things that don’t give us a return, and why? We don’t have time? We don’t have recourses? Sometimes, yes, we don’t and I understand that. But not always. There are times where we are just throwing excuses to make us feel better or not so guilty. In this situation, you’re being a rock in your own way! Be resourceful and you will change your life. My free book — Unbreakable Mindset — expands greatly on this single idea. Finish what you start. As I said in the 2nd lesson, I am a person who wants to do a lot but end up doing nothing. So my rule for next year is going to be this one: Don’t start something if you didn’t end what you were doing before. Not everyone on your side wants the best for you. You have to be careful with the people you listen to. It’s important to seek out advice but analyze the situation for yourself. Don’t follow people blindly. The people you give and receive energy from are very important, they affect your mental state directly. Have you ever hung out with someone who is constantly complaining? After hanging out with that person, you feel drained that you want to go to sleep immediately to recharge. Be careful of those people who suck the energy out of you. Try to talk with them and tell them what kind of effect their complaining (for example) has on your energy level. Things happen, plans change, you can’t control what happens but you can control how you react accordingly. We all are dealing with it at the moment. The COVID-19 outbreak. Some of us had vacations planned, wanted to get married, and other plans got canceled due to lockdown. COVID-19 is something no one saw coming and so plans/lives changed for a lot of people. Do not live in self-pity that your life is now different than it was before. Instead, try to see some positive sides to this pandemic. I like to believe that every perceived negative situation has a positive side too. On the other hand, there are also a lot of people who are so motivating to others that you just want to start things right away. These are the kind of people that will lift you up.

What are the things that you have learned in 2020? Comment below.

Shout out to some of my followers — I hope this read finds you well and this can help you figure out what you learned in 2020.