Change vs Transformation

Hello, VUC. My name is Fred all the way from the Resulum Tanzania and I would like to say thank you so much for the wonderful episode of Unstuck. That episode hits to the core. I resonated with it very much because it came at the perfect time where I was feeling so stuck. Everything was going under. I was feeling overwhelmed. So I do thoughts where kicking in from left to right. Everything just felt so hard. And listening to that episode just gave me this sense of hope. And it means so much to just listen to somebody and it just hits you to the core. I literally shed a tear just listening to it because I know that I face a lot of problems every single day. And every single day it just happens like one problem comes and then it just goes off. Or I just find a way and I come throughout every heart of that I come across. And it's exactly the same way you say it. Like there is no problem that comes to us in life that we cannot handle or our gift cannot handle. So that gave me that sense of hope and encouragement to keep on moving, keep on doing what I'm doing and change what I was doing wrong and actually improve myself. So I would like to say thank you so much for the episode. You inspired me so much. And with this episode it just gives me much much better hope to keep on moving. Thank you so much. Stay blessed. I'm praying for everything that you do goes well. Cheers. And thank you for the whole team at the VT Podcast. Bye bye. Hi, Vussi. I'm Johnny. You are speaking to Lindo from South Africa. I've just listened to getting unstuck and I have to say man, thank you. Thank you for reminding us of your humanity. Because we constantly see on these stages killing it on your podcast, killing it, it just looks like every aspect of your life is a win. You can do no wrong. Thank you for reminding us that you two are human. You are not immune to pain. You are not immune to loss. You go through stuff just like everybody else. And well thank you for that. And I'd just like to add that I've been listening to you since I was like 16. Since I've started listening to you, I have literally seen progress in my life and not only have I seen progress, but I have transformed from the person I was to who I am now. So I would truly appreciate it if you were to make a podcast on the difference between progress and transformation. And the mindset shift that takes place from when you are progressing and moving into transformation and how to accommodate that transformation mentally. Thank you. Keep up the good work man. We appreciate you so much. Much love from Hese. It's time to take your seat at the table. Find out how with Fositembe Guaigo, as we discuss ideas that matter. A catalyst for bold action. Hello family. Ha ha. Hello family and welcome to another episode of the VT podcast. And here we talk about these crazy ideas that matter. Love, love, love. Lindo's question. Lindo. It's almost as if you were in my keynote probably about eight years ago. There was a keynote I used to do and I had a slide where I would talk about the difference between change and transformation or as you call it progress and transformation and what the difference are between those and what they mean for our lives. Now for most people listening to this, to the average person listening to this conversation, you perhaps might not be yet at the stage where you're asking yourself these questions. For those of you where you are asking yourself these questions, you perhaps might not be at the point in your journey where you have framed the question correctly. And so I recognize going into this that we are talking to a percent of a percent. However, that notwithstanding, let's talk to the percent of the percent. How do you first ask the question about progress versus transformation? I mean, you've got to have some serious things happening in your life to even be asking those questions in the first place. The reason is that most people think that life and the timeline of life tends to be linear that you started a point and ended another. And as you're moving through that process, there are linear gains that you're making every single day. Any of you here who did what is year nine, great nine mathematics would remember that little thing you learned in mathematics algebra called compounding. This was the idea that a percent added on to the next percent isn't a two percent grain, but rather a marginally higher percent gain because it compounds over time. If you've ever invested money and just left it somewhere for a period of time, they say compounding as the math, right? In fact, compounding is the magic. One of the greatest investors of all time, the man who loves the long only equities game, Warren Buffett talks about this. He talks about the magic power of compounding over time. So there are some then who understands that things can move at a rather linear rate or at an exponential rate. Understanding that to be true is often or to help you frame the question, how do I not just make progress, but how do I transform? How do I transition my life from transforming into an actual exponential transformation of the self? So here's how I like to do this. I like looking at nature to inspiration and as examples. And let's take for instance, how a tadpole becomes the frog. So a frog's life cycle is the one in my mind that demonstrates change. See, frogs begin life as aquatic, gill breathing tadpoles. Over time, they undergo a series of changes where they develop limbs, lungs, and even lose their tails. But they end of this process is always something that starts in form as what started the process. In other words, by the end of this process, they have changed into an air breathing land dwelling adult frog. The key word I want you to highlight there is changed because they started a point, make a series of adaptations or changes and ended another point. A lot of us do this every day. You started a point, you make a series of adaptations and changes and you ended another point. You attend that program, attend that course, you move to that new city, you take that new job and all of those are changes in your life. So change. A scene of the frog then is a series. Listen to this because it's important. A series of modifications or shifts from one state to another within the same framework. While the frog evolves and looks different from its initial tadpole stage, it's still fundamentally the same organism going through different life changes. Fundamentally, the same organism. That's what changes, that's what progress is. What does transformation look like? Well, in my mind butterflies beautifully exemplify what a transformation is. You see, they start out as this thing called a caterpillar. Then they encase themselves undergoing a profound metamorphosis. When they emerge, come out of the encasement, that is to say, they are no longer caterpillars, but they have transformed into the butterfly with wings and a completely different anatomy and get this even a completely different behavior. So transformation involves a complete overhaul resulting in something distinctly different from the original form. It's not just a shift or modification. It's a totally different reconfiguration that yields a new identity or a new form. So you can have change and you can have transformation, but the end product is different to the beginning product. So you might be sitting here going, what might these actually look like? Think about it this way. So here's the difference between change and transformation. If I give you actual lived example, think about moving countries. The change element of moving countries is adapting to a different time zone, a different currency, or even a different climate in the new country. These are modifications to your daily life. Stuff that is necessary, all right, but you don't have to shift your core identity. You just exist in a different space. You are the same organism. Even though the space you're existing in, you have made shifts and modifications for you to thrive in that environment, the tadpole in the water, the frog on land. What would transformation look like? Well, transformation might involve embracing and adopting a different culture. It might involve embracing adopting learning and embedding in your life a difference of of values. It might involve adopting different traditions and the traditions of the new country. They might lead to a profound shift in your worldview, your beliefs, and your identity. So even though outside you might look like the same person inside, you are fundamentally shifted. You just don't see the world the same way. And that's why one of the things I often advise people to do is to travel and see the world and see other cultures because the space you're in frames the mind space you're off. You are of the mind space that is a reflection of your physical environment. When you change your physical environment, it forces you to question some of the beliefs that you have. Beliefs that you just never bothered to question before. Beliefs, like for instance, crime is a natural part of every single society. You tend to really believe that until you find yourself in a society where there is no crime. And I mean zero. Racism is a fundamental part of every single society until you find yourself in an environment where there is none. And by the way, for those of you here listening thinking that environment doesn't exist, Hellier does. Of course it does. Now, those environments might suffer other prejudices, but I've been in an environment where there is no racism. And it's not until you experience it that you realize that there are certain things we expect to be part of everyday life like gravity is that are actually a reflection of our own beliefs. Think about another example. Let's imagine changing careers. What would change look like in the changing careers context? Well, that won't mean acquiring a new skill, adjusting it to a different work environment. It might mean shifting from one department to to another, but within the same industry. It's a modification of the self, right? It's redefining of the self, but it's fundamentally the same space. Transformation in the career space might mean transitioning from the field like finance and moving toward being a professional artist. A completely different you. It's not just about acquiring new skills. It's about redefining your professional identity, your purpose, and how you perceive your contribution towards society. It's the person who gives up a incredible career as a corporate lawyer working in an investment bank to start a career as a cheater in a early childhood development center, literally going from sitting in the boardroom in air conditioned offices to suddenly spending time with five-year-olds trying to teach them their ABCs. It's a transition from one form to the next, a transformation from the old to the new. Let's do a last example. I'm a business guy. Wouldn't be a VT podcast. I wouldn't have a business example. Let's find a business example. So what does change look like in, let's say, starting a new business or founding a new venture? Well, if you kind of had your business and you're expanding your current business by perhaps adding a new product line, that's a shift. It's a modification to your business operations. You might add a new line to your factory and that's a modification of sorts, but the fundamental core, the vision and the purpose of your company are the same. Transformation might look like, imagine pivoting from a brick and mortar business to a full-time tech startup completely online. Here, you are modifying everything about your business and even then, you are modifying the reason why your business exists. You're starting from a different platform. You come out with a set of different values, a different mission and even a fundamentally different model. Now, why did I choose to answer this question and turn it into a podcast? Because I think we live in an era, frankly, where most of us misunderstand transformations that we need to be making for changes we need to be making. There is an area in your life today where you are called to make a transformation, where you are called to rebirth yourself and come out and you, but what you're doing is you're making small incremental changes rather than the substantial, massively been change that becomes a transformation that you need to make right now. It's that old habit that you won't let go of. You'd rather make simple modifications. It's that old friends that you still hang out with and all you're doing is you're just spending a little bit less time with them. It's that old hangout spot you still go to. I'll be at less frequently. A transformed you is the person who might not hang with those friends will not go to that hangout spot and won't live by the old habits. What we are called on to do in the season and for those of you here who want to be the best version of yourself, not just your next self, but your next best self, you are called on in this season to be the person with a transformative mindset, not just a changed mindset to be the person who's willing to unlearn who they were and learn who they hope to be. That my friends, that's the biggest challenge of our lives. That is my thought for this week's podcast. Change versus transformation. Sign up. Hello family, we love to hear from you here the VT podcast and we've made it even easier for you to do so. 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