I HAD NO IDEA WHAT I WAS DOING

For seven years, I ran a retail start-up that I founded

Both before and after, I worked at large +$1 Billion brands

Early on in my corporate work, I learned and excelled at buying, planning, and merchandising

Then I learned product design and development

Then visual merchandising and marketing

And eventually learned to lead and manage teams

When I founded The Lodge, my startup

I realized that I didn’t actually know what I thought I knew

I knew how to direct business strategies and lead teams for very large businesses

None of that mattered in a startup

I had to forget what I knew and instead learn about real estate, ecommerce, operations, brand marketing, performance marketing, and hiring and coaching retail staff all at a Day One level

It taught me that knowledge is a tricky thing, powered by memories

If I remember something, it is because I learned it

But what if I learned the wrong thing?

What if the world changed and I still remember how it was, thinking that it still applies?

A simple example- I travel a lot and love to travel around the world

I had been to Bangkok a few times and always hated it

It’s a convenient travel hub for Southeast Asia and each time I landed in the city, I couldn’t wait to get out of there

Recently I went, explored more, and found that I really like it

The city had changed and also I had changed

My perspective had shifted and I was open to learning and creating new memories

I formed new knowledge about Bangkok and it’s now a place I look forward to visiting again

My limiting beliefs were holding me back about travel to Bangkok

My limiting beliefs were holding me back about retail when I founded a startup

I share this in case it might be helpful for you to think about

What limiting beliefs might be keeping you from progress, from change, from achieving your goals?

Beliefs that have been shaped by your memories, your knowledge, how you’ve experienced things in the past

Identifying and recognizing them can unlock your potential

CHAD’S ROUND-UP

📚 What I read: The Trillion Dollar Coach- before leadership coaching was even a thing, former football coach Bill Campbell coached America’s technology leaders. Famous names like Steve Jobs, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Eric Schmidt, Sheryl Sandberg, and many others were guided by Coach Campbell. This book shares his approach and principles as told by execs that worked directly with him for many years. It gives great perspective on what matters as a leader.

🎞️ What I watched: The Beanie Bubble- once upon a time, we were obsessed. We had to have, to own, to collect tiny stuffed animals. Beanie Babies were a global craze, powered by the early rise of the internet. This entertaining movie covers the rise and fall of toy wizard Ty Warner. An incredible product and marketing story.

🕵🏻‍♂️ An interesting discovery: Skipcut- Youtube is my go-to media platform for discovery, learning, entertainment. The part that sucks- the ads. If you’re as much of as a Youtube user as I am, you will appreciate this site. Skipcut lets you watch any YT video without the ads (sorry marketers!)

That’s all for today

I’m rooting for you!

Chad