Richard Branson has a mantra: Always Be Connecting Dots (ABCDs). The pace of change around us continues to accelerate. More to keep up with. More to understand. More to consider and evaluate. With constant new insights for our mind to take in, one skillset that continues to be amplified is the ability to connect the dots of all the new insights popping up.
Connecting the dots represents the ability to take the information your mind is exposed to piece together how to progress forward most effectively. Family, career, health and fitness, any other aspect of your life continues to present new insights. The effective path forward takes connecting both old and new insights to excel ahead.
One key piece that gets lost in the shuffle of this concept is the “dots” that exist. The dots typically don’t magically appear. Before we’re able to connect the dots, we must first generate those dots. The more dots we find, the more we can connect. So how do we generate more dots to connect?
It’s certainly not a one size fits all discussion. We all have our own unique experiences that lead to our own unique ways of generating our own dots but consider the following key concepts:
- Learner mindset – have an open mind to inviting in new and diverse perspectives.
- Connect – bring in diversity of thought into your conversations.
- Read – be a sponge and leverage diversity of experiences memorialized in books, articles, etc.
- Take action – be willing to dive into challenges to create opportunity for both wins and failures.
The more you’re willing to invest in generating “dots”, the more opportunity that will present itself to start connecting on more and more of how this fast-paced world continues to change. Please drop in the comments additional key attributes for us to consider on the quest to generating more dots to connect.
Take your step: take 5-10 minutes this week reflecting on how you’re generating more dots for yourself. Is it diverse enough? Should reading become more consistent? Are you surrounding yourself with people that help with your growth? Where there’s time for reflection, there comes time to tweak our approach to identify more ways to generate dots to connect.
Throw comments below on other ways for the Be An Accelerator community can connect more dots in the future.