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Posts Tagged Possibility
We live in a very noisy world. Audible noise and visual noise.
Seems that we are constantly surrounded these days by messages - all vying for our attention. Standing in line at the bank or supermarket, surfing the Web, driving, at the movie theatre, watching tv, listening to the radio. . . everywhere we look there are businesses of some sort talking to us.
No, most of that’s not really new, and we’ve learned to tune most of it out. Yet it has has become more and more prevalent with technological advances.
And even more of this noise is being created since just about everyone we know has started a business of some sort. Starting a few years ago when many of us realized our “jobs” were not as secure as we had hoped, the “side” or “home-based” business has been growing exponentially. And on top of that, many people have recently become involuntary entrepreneurs. Friends, relatives, people we meet on the street ~ all of them want us to pay attention to their enterprise.
On top of all that, we have our own enterprise ~ whatever that may be. Even if it’s going really well, it is mostly likely requiring more of our attention. We’re having to learn new skills, apply new creativity, and generally keep ourselves visible among all the Noise.
Whew!
Where do we find the time?
Well, using our incredible adaptability, we’ve developed internal screening methods that keep us from feeling totally overwhelmed. We’ve learned how to “tune out” most of the noise. It’s necessary for us to train our focus on the things that are most relevant among the multitude of choices we have.
No longer do we go searching for new things. So many messages are coming at us, most of the time we simply screen the incoming for what grabs our attention.
This makes life a bit easier for us in our role as consumers.
 As business people, it can present challenges. How do we become heard above all the Noise?
How do we set ourselves apart so we are one of the voices that our prospects and clients actually hear instead of tune out?
We have to do something different. We have to make our message more compelling than the others ~ to the people we want to hear us.
Sounds like a job for Creative Man!! Or, Imagination Woman!!
Join us this week for some thoughts on how to get more innovative in your offerings, your presence, and your marketing, so you will stand out from the crowd.
Just Imagine That!
Tags: Business Relationships, Possibility
Words are one of the most powerful tools we have in interacting with other people.
We can make someone’s day brighter by giving them a sincere compliment. Or crush them with unkind words. This is an inherent power that we use whether we’re consciously aware of it or not.
And, at least sometimes, we all use language purposefully. During interactions that are important to us, we are usually very deliberate about the words we choose – doing our best to convey just the thought and feeling that we intend.
In our marketing and sales communications, for example, we often labor over just the right words for some time.
Much of our casual communication, though, is more spontaneous, and comes more from habit than careful thought.
You may think that this is not a big deal. You say the things you say, and other people will interpret them however they will.
That’s true.
When you speak, though, there are always two people who hear you, and two people who get a message from your words. The person you are talking to, and YOU.
And you hear yourself much more often than anyone else does.
Have you ever “talked yourself into” feeling something simply by saying it over and over? I know I have.
This week we’re going to explore how your language reflects your inner thoughts, and give you some examples of ways you can make small changes in your daily communications that can open possibilities and change your perspective.
Here’s a simple one:
When someone invites you to do something and you decide to decline, what do you say first?
Most people respond with some version of “no”, usually followed by “thanks.”
What happens if you simply reverse the order of your words – expressing your gratitude for the invitation before turning it down? It’s a small thing that can have a big effect on how your words are perceived. And, it reminds you that you are grateful for their thought!
Just Imagine That!
Tags: Awareness, Awareness Exercise, Possibility, Possibility Exercise
Everything in life – and business – is ultimately about relationships. We have lots and lots of them, some close, some distant, some strong, some tentative, etc, etc.
It’s therefore a huge subject, and not one to be fully explored in a few blogs. I came face to face with an experience last week that made me think of relationship as it relates to building a business. And this brought me to some very interesting observations.
First, a quick summary of the event that spurred this train of thought:
I was invited to join another social networking site by a friend. I get these often, and have made it a practice to focus my efforts on only a few networks, so to get the most from them, without spending my whole day in the process.
For some reason, and a bit reluctantly, I accepted this particular invitation. I signed up. Easy, simple process. So far, so good. The moment I arrived at the front page of the site, I was immediately asked to upgrade…and recommend everyone I know. (They talked about inviting hundreds of people.)
Now, I don’t recommend things I don’t find useful myself, so I started looking around the site, adding some information, seeing what they offer, etc.
Every page I visited shouted at me: UPGRADE!! INVITE PEOPLE!! And, without much searching I discovered that these two things are necessary to access the functions of the site I might be interested in.
After leaving the site (and not planning to return), I started thinking about why I decided in very short order that this is not for me.
Over the course of the next few days, it took me a bit of searching to figure out was behind my negative reaction, and what I could learn from that. (And one of the reasons it kept coming up was the 10 or so emails I received from this site every day!)
I won’t bore you with my process (sometimes I “percolate” things for a long time before the coffee is ready to drink) – just the realizations that came from it:
This company is attempting to create a business relationship with me – they want me to be a client.
Before I enter into a new relationship, I evaluate my new partner:
- What do they have to offer that I value?
- What do they want in return?
- Is it a fair exchange (are the two values roughly equal)?
- Do they seem truly intent on providing value for me, or is it just about them?
This last question is where this new potential relationship fell down. Almost all of their communications center around what I can do for them.
OK, I understand business models, and totally appreciate that the owners of this site are not doing it just for fun. I have to wonder, though, if this is the best way to court a new relationship partner.
All of this led me to a deeper understanding of business relationships – how to start them, how to build them, how to make them strong…and we’ll explore those areas this week in our blog.
Tune in each day this week for some insights and creative ideas you may be able to use.
Just Imagine That!
Tags: Imagination, Perspective, Possibility, Relationship
When faced with making a decision, there are usually three choices we think we have: YES. NO. MAYBE.
Oddly, YES and NO have a lot in common. Both are definitive and indicate the decision-making process is over. YES opens a door, while NO closes one. Either way, you have eliminated possibilities and made a decision. No need for creativity or imagination…the decision has been made.
MAYBE is a bit more open to possibility. Unless you are just using it to be polite, MAYBE usually means you are still sorting out the pros and cons of one thing compared to another. Yet, ultimately the decision you feel you need to make is YES or NO. When the choice is finally made, your creativity and imagination are no longer needed for this particular issue.
But what if there is another choice you can make that actually creates possibilities? What if there is another answer that doesn’t force you to decide in favor of one thing and against another? What if there is a choice that supports creative thinking?
Is that even possible?
Yes, it is.
And that choice option is ……AND and BOTH.
What? That doesn’t sound like a choice!
Hold on a minute and let me give you an example of what using AND and BOTH as a choice looks like.
Fifteen years after I graduated from college, I decided I wanted to get a Masters Degree. At the time, I was single, 10 years into a career and 100% responsible for my livelihood. When I applied to graduate school, I was advised that I would not be able to meet some of the time requirements of the program unless I quit my job.
I really wanted that degree, and I did not want to give up my career/job and tube my finances in order to get it. My choices seemed to be to choose my career or go for the degree. Neither solution appealed to me.
I was stuck there until I chose AND and BOTH. When I did, I figured out a way to keep my job, career and finances intact AND also get my degree!
Putting my creativity and imagination to work, I opened up the possibility, and found a way to do it. When I graduated, I was still employed with the same company and in good shape financially. All because I was willing to make my decision AND and BOTH.
So, are you willing to give AND and BOTH a try? Here we go…
Think of decision you want to make but you have not yet been able to come up with a clear YES or NO. (Hint: Take a look at your MAYBE list and pick something that has been on it for a while.)
Now, summarize the issue into its two opposing options (i.e. I can do this or I can do that.)
Read over the issue and the two choices and then say, “How about AND and BOTH?”
Then let your imagination go to work, and see if you can come up with a possible solution you haven’t thought of before.
You just may be able to have your cake…and eat it, too!
Just Imagine That!
Tags: Perspective, Possibility, Possibility Exercise
So…how did it go yesterday? How many times did you automatically reach for the object you chose, expecting to find it in its old location? (For those of you who are going HUH?…please read over yesterday’s blog.) Have you already moved it back to where it was originally and re-assigned it to its old function? How many times did you notice or think about the object when it was in its new place and doing its new job? How did you feel about having something “misplaced” in your immediate environment? Did you find out that the new location and function worked for you? What else did you experience?
Why am I asking so many questions?
Because the way you responded to this small change will give us some clues about how you respond to change. What you choose and how you respond to change have a direct relationship. And being willing to try new things is tied to creativity and possibility.
How so? We humans, for the most part, are creatures of habit. Once we decide what something is, we remove our attention from it and let it be. This allows us to be organized and efficient and, well, predictable.
But, let’s look at this from another angle. Every time we decide something is a coffee cup, we also decide what it is not (i.e. a plant holder) When we get into habitual patterns of thinking (about things, people, events, etc.), we often decide what they are without really taking a look at them…sort of like deciding on autopilot. We also call this deciding by default.
When you make a decision by default, you are still making a decision.< It’s just that you are unconsciously making the same decision – over and over again out of habit - rather than choosing consciously.
When you decide by default, you are making a decision based on history – what worked, what got you what you wanted, what was most comfortable at that time. When you make a conscious decision, you are taking into consideration your history and what feels right and best and possible for you right now.
As you go through your day today, when you are faced with decisions, check in with yourself to see if you are deciding by default or deciding based on who you are now and what you want now. Just by being aware that you are making choices and that you have choice, you will become more conscious of your decisions. Cool. Huh?
How we make decisions is just as important as the decisions we make..because how we make decisions creates or eliminates possibilities.
Just Imagine That!
“When patterns are broken, new worlds emerge.”
- Tuli Kupferberg
Tags: Perspective, Possibility
All day, every day, our minds are busy serving up thoughts. Sometimes we can’t sleep because it doesn’t want to take a break. And clearing our minds of all thought can be a challenge – as you well know if you’ve ever tried it.
Depending upon whose numbers you use, there are anywhere from 12,000 to 50,000 thoughts running through your head every single day. That’s a lot of thinking!
And most of it is repetitive.
The same thoughts play over and over in your head. (Not to mention the songs that get stuck there - but that’s another story.)
Anyway, today, let’s observe those thoughts. Let’s find out what’s on your mind.
As you go about your day, stop every now and then and notice the thoughts that are repeating themselves. Which ones keep coming up again and again?
Write them down.
At the end of the day, you’ll have a good overview of what’s on your mind…and perhaps some insights into what you’re focusing on.
How can this information help you? That depends upon what you want to do with it. Are there recurring thoughts that seem like worry about the future, or regret over the past? Are you going over and over your to-do list?
First, by writing them down, you have given them attention, and this act alone may slow or stop some of them.
You might also gain some insight into where your mental energy is being focused, which can be quite different from where you focus your actions.
We’ll get more into using / modifying your thoughts later.
For now, just pay attention, and see what you can see.
Just Imagine That!
Tags: Awareness, Awareness Exercise, Possibility
For many of us in the US, today is one of those special days that heralds the beginnning of a LONG weekend! A FREE day sitting at the official beginning of summer - the Memorial Day weekend. So, what are you planning to do with your extra day?
Let’s see… why don’t we compare lists…chores, errands, yard work, maybe a little bar-be-que, browse the sales….So far not very exciting, huh? A free day .. and, if you are sticking around the old homestead instead of travelling, you have probably filled it up with the “usual” two-day weekend stuff.
I don’t know about you..but I am in the mood to do something different. I am not sure what “different” means at the moment, but different certainly feels better to me than “chores”…So, what to you think? Are you willing to experiment with your extra day? What if we create some truely free, open, unscheduled time and see what happens?
I have an idea…let’s declare a Possibility Day! Let’s clear the decks for one whole day and make room for magic to show up!
First, let’s grab our “to do” list for this weekend and look it over. Take all the tasks for one day and move them to another day. When you are finished, you will have one day with NOTHING on the list. Imagine - a day with nothing planned and nothing that has to get done!
Now, at the top, write one sentence…”I hereby declare that this day will be filled with unlimited possibilites, surprises and magic!”
That’s it ! You now have an official possibility day. Do whatever you feel like doing all day long and keep your eyes, ears and energy open. When you make room for unlimited possibilities to show up…incredible things happen…
Just Imagine That!
Tags: Possibility, Possibility Exercise
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