Are you open or closed?

I think there are two kinds of people in the world.

 

There are open people and closed people.  And I venture to say there are more closed than open.

 

Closed people live within themselves. They are inner focused and concerned with things like looking foolish, making mistakes or doing the wrong thing. They are the people who can spend two hours on an airplane and never say hello to their seatmate. They are the people that are tied to traditional thinking and the belief that they know what they are doing. They are satisfied.

 

Open people are just the opposite. They believe life is a contact sport. That you have to engage and learn at every opportunity. They’re convinced that there is a better way to do pretty much everything and are intent on finding it and then sharing it. For open people, new experiences and knowledge are as essential as air, water and food.

 

So they put themselves out there by creating content, saying hello to strangers and trying new things or approaches. They invite criticism understanding that even in the most idiotic critique, there is a nugget of knowledge. They’re ok with failure as long as it includes learning. Open people understand that change is inevitable and hope to simply stay ahead of it and maybe leverage it for new opportunity, fame or fortune. 

 

Open people create open companies. Closed people create closed ones.

 

And I’m guessing that in the not so far away future, we’re going to see a lot of those closed companies close and open companies well, stay open.

 

So what about you? Are you open or closed? What do you think I am – open or closed? Let me know… Please.