Banning Words for Fun and Profit (Part 2)

Posted: Monday September 26, 2011 under Lead Myself

If you haven’t read Part I, go do that. I’ll wait.

Done? Fantastic! Now, get out your homework, because today you’re going to take the next steps toward doing what you want to do.

Those fleshed out reasons why you can’t do your thing contain the seeds that will help you blow the roadblocks away, because what you’ve just done by answering ‘Why?’ is explain that you can’t do your thing at this moment, with your current resources.

Question 2: What if?

Take your I can’t and rephrase it as I can, if… The goal is to list ways around the obstacles, and it doesn’t matter if the workaround is plausible. This is brainstorming mode, so every possibility goes on the list.

I can be Miss America if…

• I can remove the age restriction, or
• I can convince people that plump, middle-aged women are the epitome of sex appeal, or
• I can travel back in time and enter the pageant circuit when I was young and lovely.

I can survive unprotected at the bottom of the Mariana Trench if…

• I can genetically modify myself with gills to extract air from seawater, and reinforce my cell structure to survive in the pressure.

I can grow to 6 feet tall if…

• I start growing again, or
• I pay a surgeon to perform bone-lengthening surgery.

I can live forever if…

• I discover a way to salvage my brain without having to keep the rest of my body alive (hey, if they can do it on Futurama, why can’t I?), or
• I design artificial organs that work effectively and don’t cause rejection.

I can quit my job and start a business if…

• I save enough money to pay the bills while I work on building a business, or
• I move the family into my sister’s house while I build a business, or
• I’m willing to downgrade my standard of living while I build a business.

I can change the world if…

• I find other people who think like I do, and we band together to do something big, or
• I come up with an enormous idea that will change the way people go about their daily lives.

Question 3: When?

The next step is to change if to when. This is important, because you’re taking a group of nebulous possibilities and funneling them down into tasks you could conceivably complete. Using the same examples:

• I can be Miss America when I remove the age restriction.
• I can survive unprotected at the bottom of the Mariana Trench when I genetically modify myself with gills to extract air from seawater, and reinforce my cell structure to survive in the pressure.
• I can grow to 6 feet tall when I pay a surgeon to perform bone-lengthening surgery.
• I can live forever when I design artificial organs that work effectively and don’t cause rejection.
• I can quit my job and start a business when I downgrade my standard of living while I build a business.
• I can change the world when I find other people who think like I do, and we band together to do something big.

But wait!

When you review your I can, when… list, you may find there are still things you think you can’t do. This could lead you to think that my premise is flawed. It’s not, and I’ll show you why in Part III. Today’s homework: Answer questions 2 and 3 for the thing you want to do but think you can’t.

(Contributed by CYMer, Kathleen Jaffe. Twitter: http://twitter.com/kathleenjaffe)