What do I do with old thought patterns?

I had a meeting this week with a very dear friend. I wanted to get some feedback from him about a new thing that I'm working on, and some old thought patterns came up.

This friend is a very successful person, and it occurred to me that he had the resources, team and experience. Tiny voice in my head said that he would take this idea and build it without me. This brought forth the thought that I shouldn't share this with him.

What if he takes this idea and runs with it? What if he someone works it into one of the companies that he's running? What if he's able to execute better and faster than I can? A lot of the wrong kind of what ifs.

It was scarcity mindset at the most basic level.

So what if he runs with this idea? Great. That means that it'll get built and I won't have to build it.

I had this internal dialogue before the meeting, recognized this old pattern and share the new thing anyways.

To take it one step further, I shared with him the entire internal dialogue and old thought pattern of scarcity along with a brief moment of not wanting to share it. We shared a beautiful moment, had a good laugh and it ultimately brought us closer together.

Of course I was meant to share this with him as he's been kicking around similar ideas. He mentioned a few investors he has lined up. And he we as far to suggest that we explore the idea of me transforming one his companies to build this internally there. Pretty incredible to see the abundance flow when we move past scarcity.

Recognize the old patterns. Flip it and reverse it. Instead of not sharing something, share the old thought pattern as well.

How do I get started?

I can't tell you how many times I've answered this questions for entrepreneurs at the earliest stage of building something, so I find it quite comical that I asked my friend the exact same question this morning.

"How do I get started?"

In my case, my friend is a content marketing gangster working with super high profile people. When people ask me, it's normally in regards to how do I take this idea that I can't stop thinking about and make it real.

It could be about starting anything, and the answer is almost always the same.

So I had to laugh when my friend gave me the exact same advice that I've passed along so many times.

"Who are the people and companies who have already done this?"

We are this beautiful time in human history where no matter what we want to do or accomplish, there's almost always someone who has done something similar enough already. And even better, that origin story is available somewhere on the internet.

Find the people who have already done what you want to do and learn everything you can about what they did when they were at the stage you are at now. No need to reinvent the wheel. It's all out there waiting for you.

If you want to get started and you're not sure where to begin, look to those who have been there and done that.

What if I don't have anything to say?

I love this question. I've talked to many people early in the process who have asked this, and I've also been the one asking it at various points in my life.

When starting something new, there's a certain type advice that directs people to become influencers or thought leaders, to start a blog or get active on social media, look for speaking engagements and join the conversation. Get your message out there to as many people as possible. This inevitably leads to the question:

"What if I don't have anything to say?"

The answer is simple.

If you don't have anything to say, listen.

Study. Find a teacher. Be patient. Get super curious. Observe. Ask questions. Hone your craft. Learn from the masters. Get better. Put your head down and put in the work. For weeks, months, or years if you need to.

And then, after of listening, learning and putting in the work, there's no doubt that you'll have something interesting to say and the world will want to hear it.