Get Out Of Your Own Way

Get Out Of Your Own Way guides you through the process of overcoming what’s holding you back from being your best self and reaching success you’ve never dreamed of by identifying how Dave Hollis came to realize his limiting beliefs and beat them.

One day, Dave’s son Jackson decided that he’d like to run for class president. Knowing this was a learning opportunity no matter how Jackson did, Dave encouraged him to do it.

He knew because he’d failed twice at the same dream. And when Jackson failed, Dave could teach him that losing doesn’t make someone a failure and that it won’t kill you.

This was all happening while Dave was having his work crisis. He’d gotten to a point where he could put in little effort and see a lot of success. Which meant he wasn’t very fulfilled. But anything new scared him because of the chances it could fail.

The problem was that dave had a fixed mindset, as Carol Dweck explains in her book Mindset. He’d been stuck believing that he couldn’t change his skills or talents.

Contrast this with the growth mindset that he later developed. People with this attitude toward life know that they can change anything about themselves they want. Having this outlook makes them more likely to take chances because they know that failure isn’t permanent.

Dweck’s book also taught Dave that he could choose his mindset. He realized that just like Jackson, failure wouldn’t kill him.

You can choose to have a growth mindset too. It is possible to break your social conditioning and uncover skills you never knew you had.

Dave and his wife Rachel have three biological sons. Feeling their family was incomplete without a daughter, however, they decided to adopt in 2013. It took three years, but eventually, they got the call about twin girls they could adopt. After saying yes, the couple was excited to finally have the girls they wanted. Five weeks later, however, another call came in that devastated them. Although the biological mother didn’t want them, the father decided that he did. With tears and frustration, they gave up the little girls. Dave felt determined to persist and make an adoption happen. The chance of going through the pain again was scary, but he understood how much they’d regret giving up. They had to keep going. Things were looking good after a meeting with their adoption attorney one day when the couple was at lunch. After learning that the father didn’t want the Hollis’s to see the twins ever again, Rachel broke down and wanted to give up. Miraculously, a man sitting near them overheard and let them know he was adopted. He told…