The Next Play Mindset: 5 Ways to Lead Yourself When You're Wearing Multiple Hats

🎙️ Listen to the episode: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Connect with Kacy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kacy_small_realtor

Most of us aren't short on ambition. We're short on bandwidth. Between the job, the side business, the family, the volunteer role, and everything else on the calendar, it's easy to assume the people who handle it all have more hours than we do.

They don't. They think differently about the hours they have.

I saw this up close on a recent podcast episode with Kacy Small, a real estate agent, varsity lacrosse coach, lacrosse business founder, and now co-owner of an apparel company. Kacy is a business-owning beast, no question. His mindset is the strongest asset of all, and the best part about mindset is that it's something any of us can practice. Here are five shifts you can start using this week.

1. Plan Backwards From the Finish Line

When something feels overwhelming, it's usually because you're staring at the whole thing at once. The fix is to define the end result first, then work backwards until you find a first step small enough to take today.

Kacy coaches this way. His season goal is a championship run in May, so every practice plan feeds a game plan, and every game plan feeds the season. He works with real estate clients the same way. A buyer who isn't sure they can afford to move doesn't need a showing. They need a first conversation about mortgages, then a lender call, then online browsing, then tours.

Try this: Pick one goal that feels too big. Write the end result at the top of a page. Then write what has to happen right before that, and right before that, until you land on something you can do this week. Expect the plan to change along the way, all while understanding you still need one.

2. Find the Thread That Runs Through Every Role

Switching between roles drains energy when each one feels like a different person. It gets easier when you identify the principles that stay the same no matter which hat you're wearing.

Kacy described a core foundation that carries from the field to the listing appointment to the apparel shop. The tasks change, but the question underneath stays the same: what's in front of me, and what does the person I'm serving need?

Try this: List your roles. For each one, write down what "doing it well" looks like. Circle the words that show up more than once. Those are your foundation. Next time you switch roles, remind yourself of them before you walk in.

3. Stop Replaying the Last Play

A missed opportunity, a bad meeting, a deal that fell apart. It's tempting to keep replaying it. The problem is that every minute spent on the last play is a minute you're not ready for the next one.

When Kacy and his business partner named their new company, his wife asked what he always tells his players. His answer: focus on the next play. The company itself came from that mindset. He walked in to reorder T-shirts, listened to the owner talk about wanting more time with his grandkids, and instead of moving on, he stayed curious and asked what he could do next. A few conversations later, he was the buyer.

Try this: The next time something goes sideways, give yourself a set window to process it, then ask one question out loud: "What's my next play?" Then go run it.

4. Treat Overwhelm as a Signal, Not a Stop Sign

Feeling overloaded isn't proof you're failing. Often it's proof you're growing. What matters is what you do with that feeling.

Kacy admitted it gets to be too much sometimes. His response is to tighten up and hyper focus, not complain. He pointed out that being busy with clients is a problem plenty of people would love to have. He leans on schedule discipline and on trusting the right people, like a coaching staff that's stayed with him for ten years, so he isn't carrying everything alone.

Try this: When you feel buried, do three things. Reframe the load as evidence of demand, not failure. Name the one thing that matters most today. Then hand off one task to someone you trust, and let them own it.

5. Decide That Other People's Opinions Don't Get a Vote

Fear of judgment keeps more people stuck than lack of skill ever will. Whether it's posting on social media, pitching an idea, or asking for the business, the hesitation usually comes down to "what will people think?"

Kacy's advice was blunt: you can't care. He compares putting out content to door knocking. You'll hear a lot of no's before you hear a yes, and that's the point. Every no makes you more comfortable, and the people who connect with you will do so because you were authentic enough to show up.

Try this: Think of one thing you've been holding back on because of how it might look. Do it this week. Then notice how little the critics matter compared to the people who respond.

Lead Yourself First

None of these shifts require a title, a bigger budget, or more hours in the day. They require deciding how you'll show up for yourself, so you can show up for everyone else. That's the core of building culture, too. Your team, your clients, and your family catch the mindset you practice, not the one you talk about.

So pick one of these five and put it to work this week. And the next time you're stuck on what already happened, ask yourself the question Kacy asks his players: what's the next play?

Watch or listen to the full episode with Kacy Small:

🎙️ YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Connect with Kacy on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kacy_small_realtor