“Rivalry causes us to overemphasize old opportunities and slavishly copy what has worked in the past.”
-Peter Thiel
Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird. Tiger Woods vs. Phil Mickelson. Alabama vs. LSU. The three examples I just provided have been or continue to be rivals. Granted these are only sports figures or sports teams but they like in any field are competing for the same objective or for superiority in the same area. We see this rivalry even between businesses like Apple or Microsoft. Rivalries have been and will be always in play. But as Entrepreneur Peter Thiel cautions us in today’s quote if we are not careful rivalries will cause us to fall prey on what may have worked in the past thus preventing us from truly growing. The bottom line is this: we cannot revert to the past to overcome the future.
Times are constantly changing. We know this. What happened today will look different tomorrow. If we do not learn to face this and adjust our mindsets and actions accordingly this can negatively impact our relationships we have with others and damage our social awareness as a whole. The best example of this I can think of us is what happened to Blockbuster Video. At one time they were the most dominant business as it pertained to videos in the world. Instead of trying to evolve they got set in their ways and reverted to back to what had always worked that made them successful. They even had the opportunity to purchase Netflix which was an up and coming business but didn’t as they were two fixated on collecting late fees and not wanting a DVD by mail rental service. Fast forward a few years later Netflix overtook Blockbuster as the dominant business and by the time Blockbuster realized this it was too late causing them to close shop.
Remember to not get stuck in your ways. Always look for opportunities to grow and think outside the box. It will have major benefits for you both personally and professionally in the long run.
What does this quote mean to you and how can you apply today’s message towards developing your relationship skills and becoming more socially aware?
Becoming The Change 