Saying “yes” to the possibilities

One of the first things I had to unlearn when I became an entrepreneur was how to say “yes” to the possibilities when everything in me wanted to say no.

That kind of learning - working only within our constraints - is reinforced in corporate culture. Sure, there are a lot of meetings and calls and emails about what we can do, but those conversations are inevitably pushed back by what we can’t do. I remember once, a senior executive giving a mid-year speech saying something like “we’ve got to build the airplane while we’re flying it.” 🙄

And truth be told, how many times in your career have you been asked to solve a problem “creatively?” Maybe it’s different at your company, but this is code for “stop asking questions and push yourself and the team to the limit until the problem is so massive we actually do have to fund the solution.”

I’ll try not to get too cynical here; I know you still have to show up and play the game so I digress. Playing the game is going to get you out of here, by the way, in case you’re thinking about marching into your boss’ office just so you can slam the door on your way out.

If you do nothing else, practice this one skill while you’re ruminating on your escape route. Practice being open to the “yeses” in your life - all the avenues that a single decision can go, in the ways that benefit you and everyone around you. Practice seeing the possibility in every problem you encounter and ask yourself what the solution would be if everyone could win.

Being able to see all the options - the ones that get you as close as possible to your preferred solution, anyway - being able to see those paths in sharp focus is going to serve you in wild ways beyond your corporate years.

The first being that it’ll help you open a door in your brain that’ll lead you to what your escape route might be, or the steps you’ll need to take to start making it a reality.

Try it out this week and let me know how it works for you. You’re the one that’s going to get you out of this trap, so one way or another, something about you has got to change.