I was having a conversation with a couple of my Fraternity brothers and brothers from my church about some of the new cars. One brother asked the group “has anyone seen the new Hyundai’s?”, but before anyone else could chime in, another brother scoffed at his question and loudly stated “FOR WHAT? man, I ain’t buying a Hyundai!”. We all looked at him and asked why. He replied “I’m not buying a cheap car. It will break down and will probably be a piece of junk”. As we pressed him a little more about whether he had even seen any of the new models, he admitted that he hadn’t even given them a second look. One of the brothers surveyed the situation and summed it up succinctly saying, “Bruh, these aren’t the Hyundai’s we grew up with, when they came out and were cheaply made. They make some real quality cars so you might wanna let go of that mindset.”
Change or Get Left Behind
Just like the brother whose views of Hyundai were stuck in the 80s, we often lose out because we don’t change what we see. Many times it goes beyond our views to how we act and react. Change is an integral part of growth and success. For individuals and companies that properly plan and adjust to the times, success is obtained. For others that are stuck in their ways and reluctant to change, success is limited and often not obtained. Think about it, 4 years ago companies frowned upon social media and viewed it as an unproductive waste of time. Now most major companies have a social media presence, schools are teaching classes and creating certifications on it, and there a jobs where a person’s sole function is to manage and maintain a company’s social media presence. Any company that said “we’re not getting into the social media thing” is one step behind.
In the case of Hyundai, they’ve completely reinvented themselves and went from a company known for producing “junk” to a top car maker and one of the leaders in sales, customer service, and widely known for revolutionizing the way car warranties are done.
Three Tips to Decide Whether It’s Time For Reinvention
1. Take a look at where you are today and compare it to where you want to be.
2. Ask someone you trust to be honest (accountability partner) whether they see growth in you.
3. Look at your goals (short term and long term) and see if you are on track to accomplish them.
Changing or reinventing yourself can be a difficult task. In addition to the struggles you will have trying to adjust to everything that is new; you will have to adjust to other people’s perception of your change. Taking the steps to change and be better may cause you to leave some things and people behind. Quite honestly, there will be some that aren’t receptive to your changes and will always view you the way you used to be, just like the brother in the story above. I wouldn’t worry about that, just like a good friend always says “everyone’s an ex something”… Don’t let what you used to be or what someone else perceives you to be, hinder you from being everything you can be!