In today’s episode of the Leader Fluent Podcast, I’m sharing a lesson that comes straight from my new book, Stop Chasing Easy. In today’s episode I’ll talk about “Developing an Opportunity Mindset. Plus, in this episode I’ll share how you can get a copy of Stop Chasing Easy, along with several FREE BONUS RESOURCES including the “Stop Chasing Easy Masterclass for Leaders.” 

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Samuel Truett Cathy is remembered as the successful entrepreneur and founder of Chick-fil-A. Cathy died in 2014, but his quick-service restaurants continue to thrive today. In fact, each Chick-fil-A makes more money per store than McDonalds, Starbucks, and Subway combined. While the success of Chick-fil-A is obvious, what you may not know about is the struggle that Truett Cathy experienced along the way. 

He grew up in the Great Depression. As a child he had a speech impediment so bad that he couldn’t even pronounce his own name.In 1949, Truett’s brothers, Ben and Horace (both licensed pilots), tragically died in a plane crash as they flew to Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1960, one of his restaurants burned to the ground. The worst part? Truett only had $25,000 worth of insurance, not near enough to cover his loss.Not long after, Truett discovered he had polyps in his colon. As a result he had two surgeries, and had to have twelve inches of his colon removed. 

While we admire his success, the hardships made Truett Cathy. He later said:

“The history of Chick-fil-A, in fact, is a series of unexpected opportunities. When we responded to them, we often found ourselves richly blessed. The Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich itself was born in the wake of an unexpected opportunity. When one of my first two restaurants burned to the ground, I found myself with time on my hands and the availability to develop a new recipe.”

Cathy could have wallowed in defeat—most people would if they watched so many hours of hard work burn up in flames. Instead, Truett discovered a billion-dollar idea in the ashes. What enabled Truett Cathy to successfully navigate his setbacks? The right perspective. He exchanged pessimism for possibility. He looked for the right opportunities in the uncomfortable and the unexpected. Truett once said, “We change the world, and ourselves, by our response to unexpected opportunities.” 

So, how do you develop an opportunity mindset in the face of problems and hardship? It begins by taking four steps.

1. Embrace the Problem

Problems can be difficult, discouraging, and even downright painful. That’s why we like to ignore them. In fact, our tendency is to only address problems in two situations—when they’re easy to solve or when they’ve become a crisis too big to ignore. It’s in the messy middle that we pretend problems don’t exist. But here’s the problem in ignoring your problems. When you ignore your problems, you simultaneously ignore the opportunities buried within them. 

2. Examine the Problem 

To discover possibilities in your problems, you have to diagnose the problem. Embracing the problem forces you to deal with the problem, but examining the problem gets to the root cause. Sakichi Toyoda, founder of Toyota, developed a diagnostic approach which became popular in the 1970s, and is still used by Toyota today. The strategy is simply this—define a problem and then ask “Why?” five times until you get to the root cause of the issue.

3. Explore the Possibilities 

Once you’ve uncovered the root cause of your problem, start exploring the possible solution (or opportunity) hidden within your problem. That’s exactly what Truett Cathy did. After his restaurant burned to the ground (which I think we would all agree was certainly a problem),