The Blind Spot That Could Be Costing You Opportunities

Sometimes it’s hard to see the big picture when we’re living inside our own little world.

I’ve seen this many times in the radio business.

I’ll talk with a business owner about advertising, and they’ll say, “I don’t listen to the radio.”

And I understand what they’re saying. But there’s a problem with that reasoning.

They aren’t their customer.

Just because they don’t listen to the radio doesn’t mean the people who need their product or service don’t. When we make decisions based solely on our own habits and preferences, we can unintentionally limit our opportunities.

But recently, I realized I’ve been guilty of doing the very same thing.

Before I started VoiceRise, I didn’t spend much time creating content for social media. And I’ll be transparent: I used to look at people who posted every day and sometimes wonder if their main goal was simply to become well-known or get attention.

I also didn’t really think of creating content on social media as “real work.”

Then I started doing it.

And my perspective changed.

I had no idea how much work goes into building a business and platform through social media.

Creating content that actually helps people takes thought, planning and creativity. It requires consistency when the views are low, persistence when something you worked hard on barely gets noticed, and flexibility when the platforms seem to change the rules just about the time you figure them out.

Most of all, I’ve learned that if your only goal is to become famous or get attention, that probably isn’t enough to sustain you.

You have to have a bigger reason for showing up.

You have to want to serve people.

I now have a much greater respect for people who have built successful businesses and platforms through social media.

And it made me realize something about myself.

I had formed an opinion about something I didn't fully understand because I was looking at it through the lens of my own experience.

Isn’t that easy to do?

We think:

“I wouldn’t do that, so why would anyone else?”

“That wouldn’t work for me.”

“I don’t understand why she does that.”

“Nobody would be interested in that.”

But sometimes we’re making some pretty big conclusions based on a sample size of one:

ourselves.

That can become a dangerous blind spot.

And it doesn't just happen in business.

Maybe you’ve dismissed an opportunity because it doesn’t look like anything you’ve done before.

Maybe you’ve decided you couldn’t start something because you’ve never seen someone like you do it.

Maybe you assume no one would care about your story because it seems ordinary to you.

Or maybe you’ve misunderstood someone simply because you've never walked in her shoes.

Sometimes growth requires us to step outside the boundaries of our own experience and admit:

There may be something here I don't see yet.

I still believe businesses are wise to consider multiple ways of reaching people rather than assuming one method is all they need. Radio, social media, websites, email, television, print and other forms of marketing can work together to reach people in different places and different ways.

But I've learned something even more important through all of this.

Our world gets pretty small when we assume everyone sees it the way we do.

There’s a biblical reminder in this, too. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Our own understanding will always be limited. We see through the lens of our experiences, preferences and assumptions. Sometimes wisdom begins with having the humility to admit that there may be something we don’t see yet.

So maybe the question isn't simply, “What do I think about this?”

Maybe we should also ask:

“What might I be missing?”

Because sometimes the opportunity we need is sitting just beyond the boundaries of what we already know.

Speak Life. Rise Higher.

—Cathy Jewell