How a tomato will change your perspective in a winning way!

Who is to say that the way you originally learned something is the best way? How many people grow up learning one way of thinking or one way of doing things, but it might not necessarily be the best way for them? I once read that 78% of America does not move farther than 15 miles from the house they grew up in. That means most of America is following similar traditions and perspectives they learned from their parents, who learned from their parents, and so on. I love tradition and family, but at the same time I have moved and travelled the country and learnt a lot from viewing things in different perspectives and from different viewpoints of others.

I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin…less than 10,000 people. Growing up my parents bought cars and shopped at the same stores their parents did and you followed a tradition with most everything you did from shopping to following the same sports teams, and getting the same education as everyone else.

If you don’t expose yourself to different perspectives you become consumed with your old beliefs and without even realizing it you rarely switch your mindset. We adopt a philosophy or strategy based on simply what we have been exposed to without knowing if it’s the optimal way to do things.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being a fan of the Green Bay Packers since I was a young kid and still believe they can win every game they play, but that could hurt me if I was betting money on them if they are playing the top team in the league or I was trying to convince someone they are the best team in the world…..as they may not necessarily agree with me or see things from the same perspective.

I once read a theory called shoshin, which means “beginner’s mind. Shoshin refers to the idea of letting go of your preconceptions and having an attitude of openness when learning something. Kids learn stuff much faster than we do as adults because they don’t have as much of a preconceived notion on something. How many times do we as adults not try something because we don’t want to and nobody is forcing us to try anything now that we are free and living outside our parents’ home? I still to this day cannot stand fresh tomatoes…I don’t know why and I even try to force myself to eat some on a sandwich but I never ate them as a…