Episode 112: Accomplishments Hold You Back

Welcome to the Soul of Innovation podcast. I am Thomas Anglero, and I want to share with you a conversation I had the other night on Clubhouse with an older Norwegian man who was telling me stories of how proud he was that back in the late '60s, when Norway found oil in the North Sea, the city of Stavanger, a small fishing village, farming village, was open to bringing in these Americans who have all the experience on oil, knowledge on oil. Their culture was different, you know, Americans, especially from Texas, they brought in their cowboy hats and all that good stuff, and they brought in their different culture, and the Norwegians absorbed it all because they were in a position that they didn't know anything, and they were so hungry to learn. They were so hungry to grow, and of course they were so hungry to improve the lives of everybody, not only in Stavanger, but eventually to improve the entire life of the nation of Norway, who today in 2021 is the 7th largest producer of oil worldwide with an oil fund in cash worth, I think, $1,000 billion. That's insane. Um, maybe even more than that today. Here's the reflection today. People who are so confident, and I'm not just picking on Norwegian, I'm picking on everybody. I'm picking on you specifically. Once you know something, once you're comfortable with something, once you become number 1, number 2, hey, even in this case, number 7, how open are you? Are you learning a lot? Just because you know what you know, why are you not in that modus of learning? And that's what I want to get to. That's the reflection I had. It was really, really powerful. It was that An entire nation, think about that, an entire nation went from poverty to having, I think Norway today is number 1 or number 2 wealthiest country in the world per capita. And we turn the clock back to the late '60s, they were broke, third world. Today the wealthiest country in the world. And why was that? Because the people were open to learn from whoever the teacher was. It just so happened to be a bunch of Texans who understood oil. But when people, when you are open to learn from whoever, whomever, excuse me, whomever your teacher is, you will excel. That power of being open, that power of not being prejudiced, that power of not being closed-minded about being closed ears, It's— there's the answer, there's the proof. It established a nation to be a powerhouse. It brought people from poverty to excess. God is their excess in Norway today. And what was it that did it? Openness. The love of the people that we could do better, that we're going to do better. That was it. So let me ask you a question. When was the last time you were so completely open to learn? Without any hindrances, without judging who the teacher would be, without thinking about yourself and whether you'll be embarrassed if you say something wrong, you raise your hand or say something stupid? Because I'm sure the Norwegians were back in the '60s. They didn't know a damn thing. What do a bunch of farmers and fishermen know about oil? And offshore rigs and pressures, valves. Jesus Christ, complicated. They didn't care. It wasn't about humility. It wasn't about saving face. It was about, I'm going to do whatever it takes to put food on my plate. I'm going to do whatever it takes to take care of my family and my community. That we all can relate. You can relate to that, can't you? You'll do whatever it takes to make sure your kids, your wife, your husband, your family, your mother, your father, people you love eat, that they have a good life, that they have a roof over their head, that when it rains that it doesn't drop, drip on them while they sleep. Let's not take these things for granted. When was the last time you were in such an open mode to learn? Do you know how often it is that you're exposed to things all the time? That could shift you and change you. Do you, or are you in this moment open to anything, to the words, to the experience of others, to me? All it takes is us to listen and learn and not be judgmental and not think about ourselves. Forget about yourself. Think about the opportunities that come when you learn by listening. You learn by asking and not being embarrassed. Who cares? The beauty of the question is that you asked a question. That's a gift to the person that you're asking, that you actually say indirectly, you are my teacher and I need to learn from you. How the hell is your question stupid? What are you, nuts? Come on, stop being insecure and be great. When was the last time you were open? So many of us, maybe you are in a job or have a position of power. You have a nice business card, great title. You made it. Congratulations. But what was that moment when you were younger, when you were a kid? Maybe you are a kid now. How come you're not open? When was the last time you were open? It was that moment when you were open and you was just like a human sponge that changed you, that someone looked at you and said, you know what, you're the one. You know what, let me give you this opportunity. It was that moment that changed and shifted and may put you out of— took you out of poverty, took you out of the fields of farming, took you out of the boats of fishing and raised you up above to be a super global powerhouse. It is openness and the lack of prejudice and judgmental. Why don't you walk around the street that way? Think about it. How many riches and how much beauty is coming to you that awaits you? And all you got to do is shift your mind from, yeah, I made it, to, oh man, I can't wait to get it. I can't wait to have that moment. I can't wait to have that conversation. I can't wait to watch that YouTube video. I can't wait to just listen, maybe on Clubhouse, all these wonderful people are talking for free. I can't wait to go on Udemy udemy.com. Great online school. And learn from all these people who have master classes. I can't wait to listen to podcasts. I can't wait to listen to another audiobook. There are all these teachers out there, and I'm not going to judge them. I'm just going to suck them all in. Do you see how many opportunities you have? To be greater than you are and have fun in the process and have people be magnetized to you. When you do that, when you do that, you're gonna find that kid inside of you again. Oh yeah, that moment when you— that, remember that moment when you got new knowledge and you're like, oh wow, Oh yeah. Oh wow. Yeah. Your eyes lit up. Your head lit up. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Man, the possibilities. That should be every day for you. It's not about making it. It's not about I made it. That's so sad. It should be about one thing. I can't wait for the next moment like that. Ding, ding, ding. Oh my God, this is a great moment. Imagine every day being like that. That's a hell of a lot better life than the life of, "I made it. I have a hot car or boat. My husband or my wife is very happy." It'd be interesting if a woman actually said that, "My husband's very happy." That would be interesting. You get my point. Go forth and spread beauty and light. Be a kid. Be open. Absorb. Let people see you. Let people feel you. Let people see that you're just hungry. They'll be so envious. Let go of that "I've made it." Let go of that "I'm this." Let go of "I'm that." If you have kids, sit down with them when they're doing their homework. Sit beside them if they let you and listen to them read. They will love it. You get to learn again. Listen to a podcast. Listen to audiobooks. Listen. Just listen. Go outside and listen to nothing and ask yourself, when's the last time I spent time with myself? There's so much you can do, and there's so much you're going to do. Be nice to you. I love you. Until next time. Thank you for listening to that episode. If you want to contact me, you can contact me on my website at anglero.com. And you can also subscribe to the newsletter, or you can find me anywhere on social media with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. Thank you so much, and I hope to hear from you very soon.