The Driver’s Seat: Why One Person’s Crisis is Another’s Opportunity
What does it actually mean to have "perspective"?
Many people think perspective is something that just happens to us based on our circumstances. We look at the economy, the news, or our bank accounts, and we let those outside forces dictate how we feel.
But true perspective isn't a reaction—it’s a choice, and within that choice lies the opportunity.
Have you ever felt like everything in your day is working against you? The jar you open while making breakfast spills, causing you to be late for work. Every stop-light turns red just as you approach them. That important document on your computer isn’t in the folder you could swear you put it in. All the “little” irritating things that go wrong throughout the day compound to make you feel like “nothing ever goes my way.”
Sound familiar? Maybe it’s time for a perspective reset.
Interestingly, Robert Kiyosaki, entrepreneur and author underscores the difference one’s perspective makes when viewing a situation from an “owner” mentality versus an “employee” mentality.
Here’s a brief recap of a recent survey:
Guidant Financial surveyed thousands of small business owners.
74.6% said they were happy.
Not coping. Not in denial. Happy. In this economy.
In contrast, “corporate employees are attending mandatory mindfulness workshops that are somehow making everyone more anxious... doomscrolling LinkedIn before their own job posts them as "former employee."
Same economy. Completely different lives.
Kiyosaki’s explanation? Employees are passengers. Owners are drivers.
Same Economy. Completely Different Realities.
How can two people look at the exact same economic landscape and experience two entirely different lives? One is filled with anxiety, waiting for the other shoe to drop. The other is filled with happiness, growth, and purpose.
The difference isn't the economy. The difference is perspective.
When you operate with a "passenger" mindset, your perspective is rooted in effect. You are at the mercy of the driver, the weather, and the traffic. You feel powerless because you believe your results are being caused by things outside of you.
But when you switch to a "driver" mindset, your perspective shifts to cause. You realize that you may not be able to control circumstances, but you can always control your thoughts about the circumstances.
When a devastating hurricane hit my city a couple of years ago, my retail business closed temporarily while electricity, water, and other basic services were restored to the building. I couldn’t even get into the store’s parking lot because of downed trees. It was a challenging time to say the least.
As time passed and my store was still closed, I started to worry if I would ever be able to reopen. Was life ever going to return to “normal?” So many small businesses closed permanently due to the storm which felt extremely unsettling. I wondered if my business would eventually fall into that category. At times it felt like an overwhelming predicament.
Then something shifted.
I took some time to quiet the outside influences and started to think more clearly, which allowed me to open my thought up to possibilities I had not considered in the frenzy of the aftermath of the hurricane. I redirected my thought from my problem to how I could support those in my community who needed more help than I did.
I started to hear about people…whole families…who were stranded and who lost their homes and all their belongings. They were heart-wrenching stories, but I realized in that moment that I didn’t have to be a passenger. I could be a driver! I could help, even in a small way, by giving families in need, clothes from my store.
Then I started to hear from friends and other store owners in places not affected by the storm. They said they were sending clothes, shoes, blankets, and towels for me to give to anyone in need. It was an incredible outpouring of man’s humanity toward man, and I was at the center of it.
How grateful I was once my store reopened two weeks later and I was able to give away items to over 750 individuals who needed clothes, shoes, and bedding supplies! People would look at me as they filled bags and boxes with free items, and with the most sincere look in their eyes, say, “Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me and my family.”
I still tear up when I think of it.
Napoleon Bonaparte is attributed with saying, “Circumstances, I create my own.”
I’m grateful I created my own circumstance out of a harrowing one. It has given me a new perspective when challenges hit.
Keep in mind, drivers don't have fewer problems than passengers; they just have a different relationship with the problem or circumstance.
They don’t see a challenge as a stop sign, but as a turn in the road that requires them to shift into a new gear and step out of their comfort zone.
Shifting Your Internal Blueprint
This is where the true mechanics of mindset come into play. Your perspective is entirely dictated by your subconscious programming—the internal blueprint you carry about who you are and what you are capable of.
If your blueprint says, "I am at the mercy of the world," you will look for evidence of scarcity and danger everywhere. You will doomscroll. You will worry.
But if you consciously choose to rewrite that blueprint and align with a solution-oriented, abundant mindset, your perspective transforms. You begin to look at the exact same world and see opportunities where others see obstacles.
You don't wait for things to get better; you decide to become better.
Grab the Wheel
Living an abundant, happy life requires an act of self-respect: the willingness to pause, question the noise around you, and choose your own point of view.
You don't have to be a passenger to your circumstances, your history, or the collective anxiety of the crowd. You can choose right now to step into the driver's seat of your own life.
The view from the driver’s seat is always a completely different view than the passenger’s seat and will take you in the direction you decide to go in!
Ann Brown is thrilled to be part of the growing HHJ Community of adventure seekers, independent thinkers, and fun-loving women!
Ann is a small business owner and "Prosperity Coach" with over 4 decades of diverse professional experience. She thoroughly enjoys working with her clients to help them ‘see what they can’t see,’ and give them the direction they need to allow them to live the life they truly want to live. To her, there’s simply nothing more exciting and rewarding!
Join her LIVE in her online discussions on ‘Abundant Living’!
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