43. |
Remove the Obstacles Blocking Your Success |
Often the obstacle that’s standing in our way is the result of our asking ourselves the wrong question. Simply changing the question you are asking about a situation will dramatically change the outcome. For example, many years ago I was struggling to figure out how to fund an idea I had for a made-for-TV movie. The problem was that, at the time, producing a broadcast-quality television program required a lot more money than I had, and I did not know how to find funding sources.
I was stuck. I had my story treatment, a proposal, and the necessary knowledge and skills to produce the program, but I lacked the funds.
At the time, I was listening to an audio program by Brian Tracy. The audio narrator asked what we refer to in the coaching profession as a “powerful question.” The question was something like, “Starting from where you are, with the resources and information you have, what action might you take to move toward your greatest goal?” Talk about a life-changing question! When I applied this to my dream of producing a video program, I immediately realized that something needed to change if I was to ever accomplish my goal.
In looking at the resources I did have, instead of the obstacles, I saw that I could accomplish my true outcome — which was and always has been to communicate ideas and information that would help people, by simply changing the medium I was planning to work in.
While I had little chance of mounting a video production, I did have the necessary skills and equipment to write and publish a book. I began writing the story immediately. While that particular story has not been and probably never will be published, writing it was the step that started me on the path to becoming a published author. This has radically altered my life and enabled me to touch the lives of more than a million people throughout the world. It has given me a life beyond anything I could have ever imagined and a personal satisfaction that goes beyond what words can describe.
All this began as a result of simply changing my original question from, “How can I find the funds?” to “With the resources and information I have, what action might I take to move toward my greatest goal?”
• What is the one obstacle standing in your way that if you were to remove it, would enable you to move toward your ultimate goal at work?
• What could you change in this situation in order to move forward?
• When will you begin?