Reality is largely negotiable
According to Tim Ferris if you stress-test the boundaries of reality and experiment with the “impossibles,” you’ll quickly discover that most limitations are a fragile collection of socially reinforced rules you can choose to break at any time.
Making difficult decisions is challenging. Coming up with uninspiring solutions is frustrating. Ask different questions to go beyond perceived limitations and create your better reality.
8 Different Questions to Ask
- What if we did the opposite?: competition is greatest when you do the same thing as every other guy
- If I could only work 2 hours on this, what would I do to still get the outcome I want?: busy-ness hijacks achieving outcomes, just as doing something well doesn’t make it important
- What if I let others make decisions up to $100? $500? $1000?: people’s IQ can seemingly double as soon as you give them responsibility and indicate you trust them
- Do we need to make it back the way we lost it?: get back in the black from lost revenue in any way possible; there is no rule that says it has to be done via the same market/channel/product line
- What if we could only subtract to solve problems?: the natural inclination to add more options/features/benefits often buries an elegant simple inexpensive solution
- Could it be that everything is fine and complete as is?: want what you already have before you risk it in your quest for more
- What would this look like if it were easy?: the legacy of other projects/decisions/scenarios are not a framework for limiting the future
- How can we throw money at this problem?: if you have enough money to solve the problem, you don’t have a problem
Courtesy of The Tim Ferris Show