The Most Important Mindset You Need to Succeed

[Music] hey Welcome to our YouTube leadership Community I would love to know where you're watching from just drop it in the comments section I'm watching from wherever and as you're telling us that I want to intro our talk for today and tell you if you're leading anything this will be one of the most important talks that you ever hear but I promise you you're not going to want to hear it the title of today's message is the one mindset you need to succeed now no matter where you are you're going to feel like I'm stepping on your toes and just so you know I'm stepping on my toes too what I want to do is preface this by telling you that some of what I'm going to say today may sound critical or judgmental but I promise you I am not criticizing or judging I'm just addressing one of the biggest problems that every leader in every organization faces over time so first I'm going to show you the problem then we're going to look at the solution the problem one of the biggest problems with the problem is that most leaders don't know it's a problem I kind of sound like Dr Seuss but this is true the big problem is people don't know this is a problem and if they do recognize a problem they usually don't care until it's almost too late or too difficult to solve so what is the problem here is the problem and it's a big problem the problem is the odds are low that what you're leading will last let me say it again the odds they're very low that whatever you're leading now will last for years and years to come now how's that for a downer uh way to start a podcast it's not fun but it's absolutely true whatever you're doing now that's working it is less likely to work in the hands of future generations and this is well documented in business and in families who've worked hard to create wealth let's talk about it today in terms of what I'm going to call Generations gen 1 Gen 2 and gen 3. we're going to talk about it in terms of generations I'm not referring to gen Z and Millennials and Gen X and Boomers and such I'm not talking about age what I'm talking about is mindset and we're going to look at three different Generations when it comes to Leading an organization let's talk first of all about gen one who is Gen one gen one would be the leaders who build the business from the ground up build the church start the non-profit they are the first generation leaders that build something special that's gen one then there are some of you your Gen 2 you entered the business or you entered the non-profit relatively early and you got to see some of what it took to build it you contributed to it but you didn't start it you're not gen one you're gen two then there's gen 3. over time most people in most older organizations are gen 3 or Gen 4 they entered late and they didn't have the blessings of seeing what it took to actually build the organization gen 1 starts it Gen 2 comes in a little later and appreciates it gen 3 comes in even later and doesn't necessarily understand what it took to get there but they come in with a lot of Blessings Now why are we talking about this what is the problem well the bad news is that only 12 of businesses make it to the third generation I want you to think about this whatever you're building today the odds are very very low that your business will even survive to the third generation of leaders and it gets even worse in the fourth generation only four percent of businesses make it to the fourth generation and that's why I'm not happy to tell you but I'm telling you the odds are low that what you're leading will last the same is true with families that create wealth generally speaking wealth disappears by the third generation and is gone forever now I'm a pastor I don't lead a business I lead a church and the good news for those of you that are pastors is that churches tend to last they're really hard to kill even someone that probably should be gone they're just going to hang on forever that's the good news the bad news is that most don't tend to thrive for multiple Generations they don't what typically happens is a church will start and it will Thrive under a founding leader for 10 or 12 years and that it tends to flatten out or even decline over time so if if the odds are against us what are we going to do to defeat the odds what I want to do to give you kind of a foundation is I'm going to ask you two questions and then we're going to go into depth to increase our understanding two questions question number one is this what generation are you what gen are you question number two is what generation do you want to be because I'm going to try to help you understand that you actually get to decide I'll try to illustrate it from a family perspective you might say as a gross shell wish gen are you and I would say it depends on my starting point of measurement for example my name groschel it's actually German name it should be pronounced gresel and uh if you said what gender you will of all the greshals I've known I'm gen 3. I knew my dad and I knew his dad and so I'm gen 3 of those that are living now because my dad recently passed away I'm gen one so which gen am I well it depends on your starting point and what I want to show you and I hope that you'll become gen one in several areas of life you might be gen 1 as a Christian you might be the first committed follower of Jesus in your family creating a spiritual Legacy and so you're gen 1 believer or you might be the first one in your family to go into Ministry so your gen 1 uh in Ministry or you might be the first one to graduate from college or gen one in education or you might be the first not to divorce in your family you're a gen 1 marriage creating a marriage Legacy you might be the first to break a long line of addictions in your family your gen 1 sober you might be the first to be debt free in your family your gen 1 in wealth creation and distribution uh creating a culture of generosity you might be gen 1 somewhere and I'm honored by the grace of God to be gen 1 in all those areas that I just mentioned and this is what I want you to understand there's a great thing about gen 1 is that you get to decide you get to choose which gen you are because it's not just about when you enter but it's about how you think so what I want to just talk about how you you think let's talk about the qualities or I might say the mindsets of the different generations and I just want to say that these are not absolutes they're not absolute rules but they are generally true and their strengths of all gens and there's weaknesses of all gen gens and so let's talk about it to be frank gen 1 has more strengths than gen 3 and it's not Jin's three fault if you're gen 3 I'm not throwing stones at you the reason why gen 3 has fewer strengths is because it's the natural trajectory of those who have an experience the blessings of knowing why or how something grows another reason why gen 3 has fewer strengths and honestly it's a failure of gen one gen 1 fails to empower and instruct gen 3 and that often is a great detriment to gen 3. so let's talk about the qualities of all three gems we're going to start with Gen one I'm going to give you three descriptives gen one leaders they're Overcomers they're disruptors and their owners they're Overcomers they're disruptors and they are owners first of all they're Overcomers they always have a story gen 1 almost always starts with almost nothing and they see a problem and they overcome the problem and this creates strength and they lead against the odds and they start a creative business or they some sort of ministry that becomes a global Ministry or they create generational wealth or they create a spiritual Legacy or whatever they start with almost nothing and they build something special this is the story of our church in 1996 Amy and I started with no people no money no building no resources and over years uh by the grace of God we created and the help of other people as special Ministry now we visited one of our campus launches just to give you context we now have 45 different churches in different states around the U.S and so we went to the first week in grand opening weekend of a new church launch and they were meeting in a building that was already built it was debt free there was a full staff seven staff members on the first weekend that all had full benefits and there were tons of people from other life churches in other cities there to help them and they had 1500 people on the very first weekend and a gen 3 staff member came up to Amy and me and said oh my gosh we're so glad you're here to see what it's like to start from the ground up and we looked at that third gen staff member and just smiled and said bless your heart because I'm thinking to myself you have no idea what it's really like to start with nothing and here they are really excited we get to see what it's like from the ground up this is just the way we are in gen one we're we're Overcomers we accomplished a lot started a lot took a lot of risk and often are maybe more proud of it than we should be that's just kind of the downside of it they are Overcomers and they're also disruptors gen 1 disrupted the status quo they are Mavericks they're innovators in the church world that sounds kind of crazy but back in 1996 when I didn't wear a tie to preach I was a Maverick when we had drums in the church we were Heretics when we did dramas and videos in the church that was unheard of in the 1990s when we went to church services on Saturday night that was crazy multi-site hadn't been done before video teaching was outlandish free resource in Church online was mind-blowing to people back then Jen won their Overcomers and their disruptors and they are owners gen 1 Embraces in ownership mindset now this is almost like a whole nother podcast we might talk about a whole other time the difference between an owner and an employee mindset but there are so many if I were going to try to summarize it I'd say it this way that owners think higher see broader and Care deeper they think higher they see broader and they care deeper and I can give you a hundred examples of the differences between an owner mindset and an employee mindset perhaps the best and most simple one would be this that employees tend to think about what's best for them and owners obsess about what's best for the organization it's a totally different mindset now we know the upside their innovators disruptors Overcomers and their owners the downside of gen 1 is this gen 1 is vulnerable to getting stuck in the past for example by Pastor churches and I might go see a church that's like a 40 year old church and they say the worship is amazing Gladys tells me this and Gladys is on the tambourine the worship is amazing and I'm thinking actually Gladys loves it and nobody else like they're so stuck in the past but they loved what they were doing 40 years ago and so they love it day and gen 1 leaders of which I am one we can be slow to change because in our mind we earned the success and we can be very confident and sometimes to a fault so two downsides of gen 1 gen 1 is vulnerable to getting stuck in the past and the second thing is this that gen 1 has a hard time letting go and we don't even need to explain this because we've all seen it too many times and one creates it and then holds on to it and doesn't know how to let go this is important for Gen 1 leaders and I wanted to say this to gen 1 leaders what gen 1 does or doesn't do determines the potential success of future Generations let me just say it again whatever gen 1 does or doesn't do if we trust if we Empower if we educate uh if we delegate if we believe in those coming behind us then we could help them be successful but if we don't if we think we know it all and hold on to it and do it the way it's always been done then we will undermine the potential for success in future Generations what gen 1 does or doesn't do determines the potential success of future Generations why why do we end up here well gen 1 create something worthy of success and gen 1 inadvertently makes it more difficult to continue on we tend to try to hold on too tight so let's summarize gen 1 they're Overcomers they're disruptors and they're owners the best quality of Gen 2 is that Gen 2 they are protectors they're protectors what do we know about Gen 2 well they didn't start the organization but they generally entered early enough to appreciate the sacrifices and the price the Gen 1 page so I'd say it this way Gen 2 appreciates and respects the sacrifices of gen 1 they saw it firsthand and they admire what it took to build so because they respect it Gen 2 feels responsible to preserve and protect what's built let me say it again because they respect it they're going to try to protect it now why do they feel responsible well gen 1 when Gen 1 created something gen 1 had nothing to lose and so they took all these kind of risks but Gen 2 actually has something to lose because there's something very very special and they didn't build it so Gen 2 is generally afraid they're going to mess it up Gen 2 is generally they're typically more risk adverse and this can be a problem because the fastest way to kill success is to try not to fail and too often Gen 2 tries not to fail so quick summary gen 1 they're Overcomers they're disruptors they're owners Gen 2 they are protectors and this isn't going to sound kind and it's really not but it's true gen 3 they're squanderers this is the norm gen 3 usually blows it but I want to say very very clearly it doesn't have to be this way and if gen 1 and Gen 2 leaves well gen 3 Generation 3 can exceed all that gen 1 and Jen did two did and that is our goal so the qualities of gen 3 to uh to no fault of their own they started on third base they came in when the organization was built they always had the benefits they always had the resources and here's the downside gym 3 has always had the benefits of success without creating the success they didn't develop the muscles and they didn't have the failures and they didn't learn all of the good lessons through all of the hard times now there's an upside and the upside is that gen 3 has massive opportunities for example at our church right now like if you're on staff and you're gen 3 and you want to create something there's almost no excuses like you've got resources and You've Got Talent you've got people with experience like you can do something special the downside is the trajectory of gen 3 drifts toward entitlement the trajectory just because the way it is they think well this is mine and I deserve it and the trajectory of gen 3 tends to drift toward entitlement and again I just want to say it doesn't have to be this way and I'll give you kind of a personal example to help you see how this might play out in your organization when it comes to vacations you know I was the guy that grew up and had to walk uphill Barefoot in the snow both ways whatever so that's one of these stories but I'm gonna tell you one of those stories when it came to vacations as a kid I remember one that my family took and I loved it we stayed in this cheap motel that had a trampoline and we floated the river um which was free it was it was a blast and I remember telling myself as a kid um I'm going to always take my family on vacation so I promised one day I would do that and so we did it and in the early years our family didn't have much we had six kids and there was a family from the church that blessed us with a free condo in Steamboat Colorado and so every year I'd preach on Sunday and we'd get all six kids in the van we'd Drive 14 hours to Colorado we have to stay in a hotel so we'd get one hotel with one bed and quite honest sleep we'd put one kid in a drawer one kid would be in a bathtubs kids would be sleeping on the ground and we had a budget of 100 a day and would stay there all week long for under a thousand dollars and that was our budget well if you fast forward to today things are different and humbly I'd say that we've been blessed now I have several married children I've got five grandchildren and my grandchildren Kenneth Cole Spencer Jace and Halen this year all went to an all-inclusive resort in Cancun and here's what they call me they call me pops I'm pops and to them pops pays in other words to no fault of their own they just assume that families go on vacations every year and this is what tends to happen when Gen 3 comes along gen 3 just thinks this is the way things have always been so I'm gen one when we started the church we had nothing and so I obsess about keeping costs down and I'm thrilled beyond measure that we can now pay well and give benefits in retirement and reimburse mileage and generous time off and such and on on and on but to be honest a couple of years ago when a few staff members complained about the gifts that we gave them at a staff retreat you're going to have to hold me back because it's gen one I'm thinking that is the most entitled crazy thing I've ever heard and it's honestly to no fault of their own it doesn't have to be that way and the truth of the matter is if I blame gen 3 without taking responsibility then I'm a part of the problem so let's try to bring some perspective to this and I'm going to give you a big thought that is very very important what gen are you and what gen do you want to be because you can decide if you build something special you're gen 1 if you take what's built and you protect it that's a Gen 2 mindset if you take whatever's built and you enjoy it or you squander it that's a gen 3 mindset if on the other hand you may be gen 3 and you can take what's built and you can see it as a foundation to do so much more way more and you're willing to sacrifice and take risks and defy the odds suddenly you have gen 3 resources with a gen 1 mindset you're a owner and I've taken a long journey to get to this one big thought and I want to give you this thought this is so so so important are you ready you can't change when you enter but you can change how you think it doesn't matter at what point in the organization you enter if you think like a builder you can be at any point with a builder a gen 1 mindset gen one the question is do you want to keep it and control it or do you want to continue to build it Gen 2 the question is do you want to guard it and protect it or do you want to continue to build it gen 3 do you want to enjoy it and squander it or do you want to continue to build it the one mindset you need for success is a gen one Builder's mindset problem is the odds are still low that what you're leading will last unless you pass this mindset on to Future Generations I want to say it one more time the bad news I want you to hear it and feel it because what you're leading matters to you so much and the odds are against you the odds are low that what you're leading will last but here's the good news you're a leader and leaders don't follow the odds what kind of leader are you you're an odd breaking gin one thinking future building leader that's what you are you're an odd breaker you don't need to let other people tell you what the odds are you defy the odds you're a gen one thinking future building leader you're not preserving you're not squandering you're building because that's what leaders do no matter where you enter I want to encourage you to think gen 1 take risks be bold be daring defy the odds innovate create do more than other believe or possible when you get criticized just realize that's part of the battle and keep on building because that's what great leaders do what are you you're an odd breaking gen one thinking future building leader now I want to say sincerely thank you for listening and being a part of our leadership Community get the leader guide go to live.leadership podcast and I want to tell you if you post um and invite others to be a part of our community it would mean so much to me we'll be back on the first Thursday of every month continue getting better because we know that everyone wins when the leader gets better [Music]

Channel: Craig Groeschel

Views: 57,746

Keywords: Craig Groeschel Leadership podcast Life.Church, Craig Groeschel leadership podcast, leadership training, podcast, how to be a great leader, leadership skills, business, leadership qualities, craig groeschel, craig groeschel leadership, craig groeschel podcast, leadership podcast, generational wealth, first generation business, innovative leadership, business that lasts, build business from ground up, overcome in business

Id: WLgbjT0WpBo

Length: 22min 21sec (1341 seconds)

Published: Wed May 03 2023