What does being a Game Changer mean to you? For the last fourteen years, our Torch Talk speaker Brooke Crosley has focused her attention on the human part of business. She believes that business opportunities to improve, change, and grow start with the mindset of the people within it. She has removed challenges and changed perspectives for her clients from all walks of life by helping them identify how to be their own game changers.

Right at the start of this week’s virtual Torch Talk, Brooke told us that we are going to have some work to do during her talk. This fell right in line with the topic of the talk itself – after all, how would we become Game Changers without a little effort?

What Is A Game Changer?

Brooke didn’t set out to be trainer/coach/speaker/motivator she is today. In fact, she had wanted to be a dancer. When that did not pan out – as Brooke puts it, she “didn’t have the guts for it” – she bounced around in various business positions, generally looking to find her way. She came upon opening Crosley Inc because she found her why, which she explained to us how to do a little later.

Brooke believes that it is a choice to become a game changer. It takes commitment. She advises us to start where you are, not where you think you should be. Too many of us fall into the trap of projecting where we think we should be “by now,” even though that, in essence, is meaningless. If we can’t be honest about where we are right now, how can we improve? With that in mind, being a Game Changer does not have to mean solving world hunger or saving the ice caps – it can be as simple as waking up fifteen minutes earlier every day. It is okay to meet yourself exactly where you are.

The official definition of a game changer is an event, idea, or procedure that affects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something. But how do we become that?

 

Have you identified how you can be a Game Changer in 2020? If not, is that because you do not know how?

It is a new year! A new decade! And whether we like it or not, 2020 is part of that. Of course, it brings its own unique challenges. As Brooke defines being a Game Changer for herself, she emphasizes flexibility – something 2020 has required a lot of. She breaks her large, intimidating goals up into micro-strategies. She advises that the goal is able to tweaked – and that it be revisited every three months. If you’re working toward the goal and it is not making you happy, change something! Just because you wrote it down does not mean you owe yourself a year of misery.

How Do You Become A Game Changer?

“It’s a thinking thing,” Brooke reminds us. Being a Game Changer is not passive. It takes work. It is a conscious decision we make. It takes work.

But it can definitely feel overwhelming. Brooke suggests starting by getting more specific; developing those micro-strategies. Breaking down those lofty Game Changers into smaller parts makes them more attainable.

But what if you don’t even know what is a Game Changer to you? Well, Brooke says to give yourself the green light. Set aside some time for yourself to brainstorm with zero limitations, zero doubt, zero self-editing. This time is to think about anything and everything that could be possible. This is the best, and arguably only, way to find what makes your game change.

Now that you have your game changer – why did you pick that? Does it light you up? It should. That is how you know you’ve found the Game Changer – the one that deserves your conscious effort. Your Game Changer should speak to your hear (the things you care about), your mind (the things that make you think), and your core values (the ideals you believe in). If you doubt your Game Changer fulfills these three things, then take a look at your “why.” It should address all these components.

But why do so many of us struggle with this green light time? It’s simple: we are afraid. It is commonly said that people hate change. Brooke posits that it is not change humans hate – it is the fear that comes with that change. And that fear can effectively stop change in its tracks. Fear can negatively affect our mindset, our behavior, even our skill.

Overcoming Challenges

So ask yourself, what is getting in your way? Brooke gives us the tools to trouble shoot various common roadblocks: if it’s your why, revisit your analysis of yourself and make sure you develop a Game Changer for you – not for someone else. If it’s your mindset, revisit your green light time. If it’s your behavior, and you feel stuck in a rut, force yourself away from the comfort of familiarity. “If you change nothing, nothing will change.” If it’s your skill, then it’s time to admit that you don’t know. That admission can be uncomfortable, but is ultimately the only way to begin learning.

Brooke brought her Torch Talk to a close by reminding us to celebrate the whole journey. Did you achieve a micro-goal two days in a row? Celebrate. Did you feel yourself grow from discomfort? Celebrate. Celebrate each and every part. After all, “If your head’s not in it, nothing will change.”