The Rookie Mindset (3 Min Read) | Vol. 168

FYI – My new book, Rookie Real Estate Agent, is out now. I wrote this book to give you the blueprint for navigating those rookie seasons with confidence and building a career that endures.

September 12, 2025

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki

The Rookie Mindset

Nobody’s great when they start, but you have to start to be great. If you have any doubts, go watch the first season of Seinfeld. In 1989, when NBC aired the pilot for a test audience, the verdict was “WEAK.” (Yes, the verdict was written in all-caps.) No one understood it. Nothing happened. And, for most, it wasn’t funny.

All the characters were there (George, Kramer, Elaine, and Jerry), but they needed time to gel. NBC originally passed before an executive intervened to order four more episodes. Modest success earned the team a budget for a 12-episode  second season. Seinfeld hardly arrived with a bang. 

Yet this “show about nothing” became one of TV’s biggest success stories. The lesson? Awkward beginnings don’t predict endings.

The hard part about starting anything is that you don’t know what you’re doing, and you can’t do anything well. That is also where the most growth happens. Unbearably, awkwardly outside our comfort zone. 

I recently coached an established founder. He was struggling in his transition from star salesperson to CEO. He described some of the PR work as “cringy.” He was being asked to leave his comfort zone. He was a veteran of the industry but a rookie in this new role. 

Success isn’t static. If you’re committed to growth, you hit ceilings of achievement that force you to evolve. It will be uncomfortable. And it will happen again and again. You just have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s growth. 

In The ONE Thing, we shared the story of Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo. At the end of his life, he gathered his best students and asked to be buried in his white belt. The lesson he imparted was about “shoshin,” the Zen Buddhist concept of the beginner’s mind. Kano understood that even masters must always be learning, open to new ideas, and humble. He would go into eternity with a “rookie mindset.” 

One question to ponder in your thinking time: Where in my life do I need to trade my expertise for curiosity and get comfortable being uncomfortable again? 

Make an Impact!
Jay Papasan
Co-author of The ONE Thing & The Millionaire Real Estate Agent