Lesson 60: Perspective

Coach Koch drew a coordinate plane on his whiteboard with a dry erase marker. My teammates sat around the room focused on the wisdom he shared before our high school football game. We were 16 years old and he was teaching us about perspective:

Along the x-axis is time. If you move to the right, it means your mind is in the future. To the left, your mind is in the past. Along the y-axis is mood. If you move up, it means your mind is only on the positive. Move down, your mind is on the negative. During the game, I want your mind centered. Do not linger on past mistakes nor anticipate future milestones. Keep your perspective on the center, right now.

Coach Koch’s lesson on perspective taught me to maintain a balanced emotional state and to remain grounded in the current moment. This lesson is useful for a searcher because our first deal frequently fails. That is what happened to Logan Leslie, whose first business failed: “I think getting a fail on the board is helpful.” Think Big Buy Small is a podcast about Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition. In Logan’s episode, he described how failing with his first business motivated him to succeed with the next opportunity. In fact, he found another great business to acquire and his previous investors provided capital again. Logan would have never closed if he had been too discouraged by past failure or intimidated by future risks.

While searchers must examine past performance and future risks of a business, their perspective remains neutral as they gather facts. Today, I continue to gather facts about the skilled trade education industry. This week, a classmate shared an interesting announcement from the state of Illinois: Governor Pritzker Awards More Than $19 Million Through the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program. The Illinois Pre-Apprenticeship Program launched in 2021 with the goal of increasing diversity and access to apprenticeship programs in well-paying fields. The state's investment in pre-apprenticeship programs is a sign of growth for skilled trade programs in the near future. Coincidentally, one of the organizations awarded funding is Hire360, a workforce development program in Chicago, whose Manager of Youth Engagement met with me in March to share about his work at the organization. This research continues to reveal key findings and relationships as a searcher in this space.

My values are to act with love, humility, and wisdom. Perspective ultimately provides the searcher with wisdom to make the most of each moment. We might encounter setbacks or promising developments, but like Coach Koch’s guidance on the field, maintaining a centered perspective allows for clear analysis and decisive action. I need to keep digging into my research to broaden my perspective without fixating on the negative or the positive. With my values in hand, one day I will meaningfully contribute to the skilled trade industry.

This is Lesson 60: Perspective. Next week is Lesson 61: Conflict.