Breaking the Scarcity Soundtrack

Our society is rapidly evolving as we transition from COVID confinement to freedom. In some business leaders, I’m noticing a residual effect of the Pandemic: scarcity mentality.

I get it. We’ve been through a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, openings, and closures. It’s created anxiety. I have felt this, too. Some of us are now concerned that the other shoe is going to drop at any moment.

This scarcity loop is a self-perpetuation soundtrack, that if left unchecked, will only get louder. It’s a lurking concern that the world will again go back into confinement, limitation, and anxiety. 

Here’s the rub. Our scarcity soundtrack is holding us back. We can’t control what the world will do, but we can control how we respond.

The scarcity mentality grips too tightly to opportunity as if we’ll never realize prosperity again. As if you don’t deserve to bring in new customers, attract great new employees, or realize a fruitful, profitable business. As if the flow of new customers and team members can be easily turned off.  

It’s critical to cease this line of thinking because it effects all that we do. And, it’s contagious to those around us.

Here a some of the ways our scarcity soundtrack shows up in action:

• We say “yes” to things we have no business doing.
• We defer investing in our company’s long-term strategy and vitality, like improving our people, our brand, our market reputation, our culture, and our strategic execution.
• We hold off investing in our people, our training, our team building, and strategic planning retreats.
• We cease to hire vital team members who are the company’s best fit with values, integrity, intelligence, and initiative. 
• We stop marketing with heart and humanity and fall back on urgent promotions and discounts.
• We say “yes” to business opportunities we normally wouldn’t because we’re afraid that the prospective customer will find another resource.

Of course, a wiser part of us knows the opposite scarcity mentality is one of abundance. I’m not talking about magical thinking, but rather the deeply seated confidence that comes from all that you’ve earned in the past. You’ve done this work for years; why wouldn’t things improve?

Here’s what you can do.

The abundance mindset knows that there are many ways to succeed and that you get to define what success looks like. 

Remember and apply these lessons from some of my past published articles:

• All In.  “I’m not sure what’s more powerful, someone who’s got everything or someone who’s all in with nothing to lose. I wouldn’t bet against all in. I have benefited from recognizing the critical and exhilarating moments in my life—the ones where not hesitating to go all in pays big dividends. How great could you, your company, your brand, your culture be if you fully committed and went all in? Who would bet against such commitment? Not me. I’d be all in for you, too.”
• Bold Moves for Brands. “Bold actions inspire those around you. It creates a gravitational pull toward courage—attracting more of the right people to your work, your business, your cause. When you’ve set out to do some serious good in the world, to make positive changes, to move people, you tap into the wellspring of others who are trying to do similar things. Here, your efforts shift into the collaborative game of business.“
• Worth Fighting For. “The long-game, where all the best business strategies reside, is a game of “wins” one step at a time. To me, this is worth fighting for.”
• Courage and Leadership. “Leading ourselves and others with courage is to live up to and into the things that matter most to us, despite their degree of difficulty. To live and work courageously is to stay true to the manner we are made—and how we are made to meet the world.”
• Keep Moving Forward. “The secret weapon for all this success: keep moving forward! The lesson here is that you will hit obstacles in your life and work, so keep moving. Where you stumble, you’ll find your treasure. But you have to keep moving forward.”
• What We Tell Ourselves. “We all have the power to make a difference with what we think and do. This begins with reclamation of our previously shaped identity by believing in the stories that create our aspirational future self. … I’m talking about stepping into a future self that we earn both through the stories that we buy into and to do the work, mostly on ourselves, that creates that future. How we see ourselves plays a large role in defining our future.”
• The Few, the Rare. “Businesses can make their biggest strides forward when they risk doing what a rare few will do. And sometimes it feels like a real risk to be true to yourself. This is an underrated rarity.”

Stepping out of your comfort zone is one path to breaking scarcity soundtrack. The edge of your comfort zone is the place where you can realize more success than you’ve ever experienced.

It’s your birthright as a human and business to thrive. And it’s a choice. Breaking the scarcity soundtrack leads to the world of abundance.

I’m here, rooting for you, cheering you on, believing in you, serving you. There’s a world of people out there that need just what you can provide. Go find and serve them.