How Thinkers, Not If Thinkers

When I first arrived in Texas from New Hampshire, courtesy of the U.S. Navy, I was convinced I’d landed on another planet. Flatter than I’d ever seen, hotter than seemed reasonable, and filled with people who carried themselves like they knew exactly who they were. 

What I didn’t understand at first—but came to admire—was a mindset Texans share. I started calling it the T chromosome. Not a real gene, but a very real way of thinking. Texans aren’t if thinkers. They’re how thinkers. 

In today’s episode of The Texan Edge, we unpack where that mindset comes from, how history shaped it, and how you can borrow it for your own life—no matter where you live. One small word swap can turn hesitation into momentum. 

That’s today’s edge.  

Show Notes 

• First impressions of Texas from a New Englander’s point of view
• Life lessons learned after arriving in Kingsville, Texas with the Navy
• What lies beneath the boots, hats, and swagger
• Defining the “T chromosome” mindset
• Why Texans ask how instead of if
• How early Texas history trained problem-solvers, not permission-seekers
• The difference between boldness and reckless bravado
• Turning courage into something productive and purposeful
• A simple word swap that can unlock progress in your own life
• Why asking “how” turns ideas into action

If this episode helped reframe something for you, consider sharing it with someone else who could use a little forward momentum today.
 
We’ll be back tomorrow on The Texan Edge.
 
 

This isn't just a podcast, it's a Texas state of mind.

Chapters

• 0:03 Landing In Texas Culture Shock
• 0:20 Discovering The Texan Mindset
• 1:12 History That Forged How Thinking
• 2:00 Aim Boldness At Worthy Goals
• 2:44 Turn If Into How
• 3:13 Share The Texan Edge

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:03

Well, hello there, Tween Scott here with the Texan Edge. Thanks for sharing a few minutes with me today. You know, when I first landed in Kingsville, Texas, as a kid from New Hampshire when I first got into the Navy, I thought I'd been dropped off on another darn planet. Texas was flatter than anything I'd ever seen before. It was hotter than I thought was legal, and a whole lot of folks who acted like they knew exactly who they were. But you know what? Pretty quickly I noticed something underneath the boots and the hats. You could tell a Texan that, oh, that'll never work, and you better get out of the way because something was about to happen. Now it might not always be smart, especially if there was alcohol involved, but I gotta tell you, it was never passive. In fact, over time I started calling that attitude the T chromosome. Now, it's not a real gene, and you can find it under a microscope. You can't cut it with a laser, but let me tell you something. That's a mindset that you can spot in a heartbeat and from a mile away. It shows up in one simple way. Texans are how thinkers, not if thinkers. Most people will look at a hard problem and say, you know, I don't know if we can even do this. Texans look at the same problem and say, well, hell, that didn't work. Now, how do we make it happen? If never enters into the equation, never makes the guest list. But you know what? You can trace that back to those early days when Texas was a brutally tough place to live. The weather tried to kill you, the land fought you, the Comanches might show up, the Mexican government just might change its mind again, and when things got quiet, well, folks would fight each other just to stay in practice. You see, you either solved problems or you didn't survive. It's that kind of environment. That kind of living trains a mindset. You don't wait for perfect conditions. You can't. You don't sit around asking permission from the universe. You look at what you've got and you ask, how? And you move your boots and your butt. Now, let's be honest. Sometimes that energy shows up as here, hold my beer and watch this. Those stories don't always hold up and end well, but every Texan knows at least one of those fellas. Now, so the trick isn't to just be bold, it's to aim that boldness at something worth doing. Now, here's where you can borrow that T chromosome for your own life. Next time you catch yourself saying, I don't know if I can do this, stop right there and swap one word. Not if how. How can I get started with what I've got? How can I make this just 10% better today? It sounds small, but that one word can turn a wish into a plan. That's your Texan Edge for today. Retire the word if and start living like a how thinker. If this episode struck a chord with you today and you think it helped someone else, be sure and share it with them and tell them how to catch up with us here on the Texan Edge. I'm Tweed Scott, and we'll see you tomorrow.