Possibility in Business: 5 Astounding Ways to Make Possibility Real Even for the Biggest Skeptic

Skeptics are a dime a dozen. But the person who sees possibility in business — and everywhere else — unlocks the keys to self-awareness and freedom.

1 :  the condition or fact of being possible

2 archaic:  one’s utmost power, capacity, or ability

3 :  something that is possible

4 :  potential or prospective value —usually used in plural <the house had great possibilities>

Possibility – Merriam Webster

Finding possibility in business when all you see is doom and gloom

There are dark, wintry days when a business owner feels like everything is against him.  

Then there are the days when everything is up and smelling roses.  It feels just like ups and downs rule us.

Even the best of us experience both of these swings.

What if we could create possibilities and keep putting attention on a longer-term build for a bright future?  

“Sounds fantasy-like,” says the skeptic. I have no trouble with skeptics.

You should be skeptical and ask questions. I want you to be skeptical so we can break the mold of fantasy and start creating concrete movements and breakthroughs in your life.

Possibility in Business: How you can make this way of being alive and real for you:

1.  Possibility in business: begins with self-awareness

As a skeptic, you should question what specific awareness one would need to bring to the game that moves life forward – rather than leaving you scratching your head in wonder.  There are a few specifics:

a.  Pay attention to your thoughts – the questions to ask:

• Was the thought or question I just had moving me forward to my vision (assuming you have one) or not?  
• Was what I just thought an opinion or a fact (something that actually can be measured or verified)?

b.  Pay attention to your body sensations.  Your body betrays hidden stress points and other information about your current state:

• Are your neck muscles feeling tight?
• Are you breathing shallowly?  
• Are you getting enough rest – are your eyes feeling ruddy?
• Are you feeling parched from lack of hydration?

c.  Pay attention to the visions or images that come up in your mind, e.g. colors, people looking angry or sad, etc.

d.  Pay attention to the feelings coming up: e.g. I am feeling sad, I am feeling angry, I am feeling very happy

e.  Try to gauge if you are over-challenged as compared to your skill set in a particular domain, e.g. marketing

f.  Gauge (if you have a vision or mission statement) if that vision or mission is still sufficiently inspiring you into action OR if you are not sufficiently in action to fulfill it.

2. Possibility in business: Freedom comes from normalization and choice

Notice if you are making yourself, someone else, or something wrong and choose to either

• Continue making it wrong (and thus giving up possibility-based thinking); or
• Engage in creating a vision or game that will step outside of the wrong/right game.

Choose also to live a life based on debates (you, something, or someone is wrong) or based on moving towards a vision.  

Make either choice okay to have because if you invalidate either choice.. guess what – you are back into the debating game. Do not fall into that trap!

3. Possibility in business: Visioning and future-based thinking

List out 20 words or phrases that depict what the future could look like for you or that call to you or inspire you right now. e.g. Integrity, e.g. An abundant life for my employees and my family.  

Cut it down to the best 10 and then put together a draft vision statement. Ask yourself if you are willing to give up your resignation and comfort levels to create such a world even if you really do not know how to do that now.

The people who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 had no idea how they were going to make it happen; they had a clear notion of what they were willing to give up to get their (including their lives and their property).

This does not make the vision useless – the vision is more of an organizing principle than a how-to-manual.

4. Possibility in business: Solid structure and action

Start drafting out the how-to manual. Request people to support you and let them support you in the critique and creation of a solid, no-joke plan to make it happen with clear milestones, team, and personal objectives, and scheduled items in your calendar, etc.

5.  Possibility in business: Mature accountability

Differentiate between immature and mature accountability.

Immature accountability: past-based accountability only: did you get this done or not? Well, why not!? etc.

Mature accountability: Future-based accountability: What specific steps will you take to stay on track or get back on track to fulfilling the specific objectives and timeline?

Have I oversimplified again? Yes! Of course, I have.

It is the best I can do in a short article that my blogging coach insists has to be short and concise. I have already pissed him off by going over the minimum length for an article, but I also wanted to make sure that you got some decent value here.

If you got value in this article, please email me or message me to let me know what value you received with specifics.

Are you ready to up-level your business? Contact me or follow me on LinkedIn.