Lean Into the Doors That Are Open

When I first met Max Nelson, founder and CEO of Hood, I remember getting off the phone with a big, big smile on my face.  I just loved this guy.  He was so interested in what I was doing and so passionate about sharing his story.  He gave off so much energy that it made me want to elevate my game and help him however I could.

Max has a lot of fans.  Today, as the founder of Hood, Max builds custom merino wool ball caps that can be personalized with a stitched insignia for any neighborhood that you want to associate with.  The idea is that our “hood” has a lot of emotional connection and for many, it’s a source of pride.  Max scratched his own itch to build the company and things are happening!

And so rather than pushing against all the resistance that is going to make it hard for Hood to get more traction in the market, Max takes a more stoic approach.  He finds the doors that are open to him and he pushes on those.  He shares with us in the book the following:

When I finally stopped trying to bang down the doors that were closed and lean into the doors that were open, things started to improve for me. I began to look at rejection as protection. It is as it is supposed to be. For the entrepreneur, there is this expectation that we’re supposed to do whatever it takes, that celebrities need to wear my hats, and they need to get photographed so it can go viral as quickly as possible. I’m not saying that I’m not aggressive, but I’m clear on why I’m doing HOOD. The company is aligned with my belief systems. One is an extreme commitment to service, and the other is a patience that everything will unfold exactly as it should, when it should. I don’t know what it’s going to be exactly, but every day, something happens.

I have a process orientation, not a results orientation. I made hats for LeBron James and his son. I haven’t seen either of them wearing them yet, and that’s fine. Maybe they didn’t fit well or they gifted them to someone else. Who knows? That’s not my business. My business is making the best hats out there that I can.

I talk in One Life to Lead about getting into the design mindset.   And one way to get into the design mindset is to acknowledge that you’re a lucky person.  Luck is a state of mind.  And Max exemplifies that state of mind in building his business and also in leading his life.  

To learn more about Max and the other life designers in One Life to Lead, you can order today. 

Russell Benaroya is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker and author of One Life to Lead and Free Yourself to Work on Your Business.  To learn more, visit www.russellbenaroya.com.