Chapter 59
What Would Really Happen?
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Today's Empowering Quote
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"Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something.
Where are your choices taking your life? What do your
behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no to in life?"
- Eric Allenbaugh
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Today's Empowering Question
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"The thing I'm doing right now... is it bringing me closer or
farther away from my goal?"
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Today's Fast Session
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What would happen if...?
Now THAT is a great question.
It's one that can lead you in creative directions when asked
constantly.
It can also be used strategically to keep you on the right path -
away from bad decisions.
This question is asked constantly in the design of software,
buildings, automobiles... in fact it's probably the most asked
question in the world.
What would happen if...?
But in our personal lives, in our every day decisions concerning
our health, our career, our relationships, this question is often
shelved, locked away, hidden from.
Most people are terrified of it.
Because when we ask it, if we're honest, we usually get the
truth.
We get the "consequences" that we can't ignore.
That's why it's avoided like the plague.
More promising ideas have died quick, horrible deaths by avoiding
this question than maybe any other reason.
What would happen if I ate that piece of chocolate cake?
What would happen if I cheated on my husband?
What would happen if we tested the new software for only two
weeks instead of the usual four weeks?
What would happen if I tried to remember all my appointments this
week without writing them down?
You see, if we don't ask, we can't fully consider the
consequences. And when we don't think about what would happen as a
result of our thoughts and actions, we can't be smart.
We lose opportunities by the boatload.
In the sports world, it's known as putting yourself in a position
to win. Great managers know that if you can stay close, you
have a chance.
Because if an unlucky bounce occurs, you've killed your chances
to win if you'd made a bunch of dumb errors, unwise decisions or if
a referee's call goes against you.
Achieving great victories, or simply getting any long-term
project done on time, on budget and done correctly doesn't usually
happen because of one great decision or one spectacular action.
It's done by making a lot of good decisions, which, added up, can
be a great, great outcome.
People like "home runs," but success at anything isn't about
having a great 30 seconds a week ago.
When a person loses 30 - 50 - 80 po'unds or more, for example, it
isn't because they said no to the cheesecake at the Christmas party.
It was literally thousands of individual decisions made each day
guided by an overriding purpose, and great questions asked
constantly.
When someone builds a company to a million, then tens of millions
and hundreds of millions in sales, it's not only because they're so
"smart" - many big companies have been built by people with less
than average intelligence,
average memory, less than average grades in school, no people
skills.
But the ability to ask...
"Is this the best use of my time and resources?"
"What would happen if we changed this feature?"
"What would happen if we changed directions completely?"
"Is this product still going to be needed in the next
year, two, twenty?"
...is the one of the single most critical abilities you can
develop in yourself and in your team.
What could happen if I have one more drink? Could I get pulled
over - get into an accident? What would happen then? How much would
that cost in insurance, fines, attorneys and lost wages? What else
could I lose? Do I want to risk all that?
Companies in the vinyl record pressing industry that didn't ask,
"What is the next opportunity?" missed out on CDs and were gone
almost overnight.
People who never consider all the consequences of eating "just
one" brownie will always be looking for the "diet that works,"
hiding from the questions.
Asking forces you to see what you may not want to face.
But wouldn't it be better to have the answers?
Wouldn't it make it easier to reach your goals? More fun?
Would success come faster?
Wouldn't you be happier -after weighing the negative consequences
with the positive ones- making the decisions that will send you in
the right directions? Wouldn't you find it easier to say no to the
"tempting" but bad decisions if you focused on the ultimate
consequences instead of turning away from them?
You know the answer!!
Don't you?
Man, I hope you feel more empowered now. You should...
Because the habit of asking empowering "what if" questions
is one shared by successful people in all areas of life.
Make this a part of your every waking moment, and the
opinion you hold of yourself will grow by multiples, due to
your better decisions and better outcomes.
You'll probably gain one or two more productive hours
every single day.
And you'll be less scared of life... able to smile even
during the many important and impactful decisions you must
make every hour of every day.
So, what else could happen if this became an "always on"
unconscious habit?
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Today's Winning Beliefs
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-- I have the courage to ask myself tough questions
-- I ask questions because I can live with the answers
-- I make good decisions because I get the facts I need
-- Opportunities are all around me and I am finding them
-- My decisions are getting better and better every day
-- I consider all factors when I make important decisions
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