In times like these, there are huge opportunities and they often exist with absolutely no road maps. That’s because we’ve never seen economic time quite like this.
Still I’ve got clients adapting and moving quickly in these new economic times. I’ve also got others who are stuck with great ideas but can’t seem to get moving.
The difference is the questions they ask.
There is a 5 stage process every business owner (or successful person in general) follows:
Idea - Plan - Action - Assess Results - Adjust
The faster you roll through the process, the faster your wealth will grow. You’ll get rid of losers quick and identify the hidden gold quick.
But you can’t do any of this if you ask “the most expensive question.”
What question is that? ”What if…”
First of all, there is no end to “what if” questions. If you’ve got someone “what if’ing” you, you know that no matter how much you answer you can never fully answer everything. And, it doesn’t matter anyway, because NONE OF IT IS TRUE! That’s because a “what if” may or may not happen. Most likely it won’t happen. So a “what iffer” wastes your time and theirs. And that’s the point.
That’s because “what if” is seductive. You never have to take action. You never to deal with the fear of failure or the pain of success. You bounce back and forth between “idea” and “plan”. It’s impossible to have a plan that takes into account every eventuality and so you never move.
If you have this expensive habit, take one leap of faith today. Get an idea and visualize the result. Create a short plan and then just do it. Don’t think about it. Follow the plan. Do it. If you’re a long-term What If user, it’s going to be harder to detox. So, you’ll have to start with simple plans. Keep them down to one or two steps and make sure it’s something you can complete within a few hours.
Then when you have successfully imagined, planned and executed your plan - celebrate! You are creating new habits here. Make sure you take the time to plan it all!
March 17th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Interesting perspective Diane.
I use “what if” questions a lot, specially in the brainstorming phase of a project. Your post makes me think if I may be using it too much.
In any case, I wanted to mention that, in my opinion, there is a place and time for this question, and once the idea and plan have been shaped then it is time to stop asking questions and start executing.
What do you think about this?
March 17th, 2009 at 11:00 am
When I start a new venture, I do three cash flow and income projections. (Note: Those are two different things - CF AND income)
Best, most likely and worst.
The problem people get stuck in is they keep “what-if’ing’ to death.
One of the techniques to get past that doom and gloom thinking is to use it to your advantage. One of the things we do when my Private Clients and I get together every quarter is something call an Opportunity BLOCK Buster.
Write down what you want. Write down why you want it.
Then write down 10 problems or reasons or concerns - whatever is stopping you. DO NOT STOP until you have 10. Most people max out at 5 or 6 and they still need to get to 10. There are some people that go way over the 10. Those are the people who lack positive experience in overcoming obstacles. They’ve gotten beaten down a bit by past failures. So for them, if it’s more than 10, then write them all down.
After that is done, write down a solution to each problem. This is usually where you want to work with a mastermind group.
My experience is if you do this every single time there is a block, you will break the bad habit of stopping and worrying.
Andres, not saying you do that - just venting a little because I’m 2 years later hearing more and more problems about why someone can’t do something. After a while, you want to give up and just way “You’re right! That will never work. You should stop trying.”
But I think that’s what they want. A reason to not take action.