Never Tell Me The Odds
Last week I wrote about one’s ability to SEE as a leader or entrepreneur, and how I feel I’m seeing better than ever before. Which is very exciting for me, but to be completely transparent… it’s also scary.
Once you see a way to take a big (potentially risky) step forward and you commit to it, then you’re in it.
The path to turn back no longer exists.
That’s when self-doubt, second-guessing, and the multitude of things working against you fogs your vision.
But that’s the reason why people love the Han Solo character in Star Wars.
He feels fear, he sees the risks, but when his back is to the wall he doesn’t want to be reminded of what the odds of failure are, who chooses to believe there is a way to succeed.
Sometimes I feel the need to channel some Han Solo courage when jumping into new challenges.
http://IMPACTCLUB.com is a good example of that.
It’s a fair amount of work and investment to pull off each quarterly event, not to mention all the work that happens in between each event to continue to strengthen and improve the organization.
It has been so thrilling to see the Boise club grow from 1 to over 200 members and donate over $100,000 to the community in a short period of time.
But I’ve stated publicly that I want to help grow the club to over 500 members.
I’ve committed myself to that goal. A goal that often feels daunting.
We’ve plateaued at around 200 members for a while now.
Which is still amazing, don’t get me wrong, but when I try to do things to help it grow beyond that, they often fall flat time and time again. It can be discouraging.
A fellow business owner and friend said to me recently, “Why would you want to grow the club to be any bigger? If you grow any bigger it’s just going to be more expensive to host each event?”
He had a point.
But my response was simply, “Because it’s the right thing to do and because I know I can.”
I just believe there is a way.
I know others in the club feel the same as I do.
Some days I feel full of courage and confidence. Other days I feel the weight of everything stacked against me. My guess is you have days like these too.
That is when we have a choice to make.
You can either focus on negative and all that could go wrong (ie. like C3P character), or choose to believe in yourself (ie. Han Solo).
Last night when I tucked my daughter into bed she expressed her worry about all things that could go wrong at her basketball game the next day.
Her fears were real. She was very upset by her thoughts.
As I listened, it got me thinking about how I have fallen in the same negative pattern at times.
It’s an easy trap to get caught in. A trap that virtually guarantees a negative outcome.
We all know this.
Yet we’ve all done it.
I’ve found that when I feel “overwhelm” creeping in, I try to visualize and channel our inner Han Solo, and not focus on the odds against me.
The last thing I want to do is focus on all the things that “could” go wrong.
If I did that,
I would never take my kids on adventures around the world. (see our new youtube channel)
I would have never have started Impact Club Boise. (join the club, it’s awesome!)
I would have never achieved the successes in my life that I hold most dear to me.
Rather, I would be still waiting for the “best time” or a “better time” to do anything meaningful.
My daughter is a big star wars fan, so when I told her this C3PO vs Hon Solo analogy I’m sharing with you, she got it.
She said, “It’s kind of like glass half full vs half empty story you told me.”
“Yep”, I said, “just go do your best tomorrow, no matter what that ends up being, just go for it. Like Han Solo.”
Her smile was priceless.
My daughter is no different than the rest of us, in that we can all get caught in a negative thought pattern.
It can become paralyzing.
It’s like quicksand.
The more you dwell in the negative the deeper you go down.
The question you can ask yourself when your feeling paralyzed with indecision or sick with worry.
Am I “C3PO” or “Han Solo”?
You can focus on…
All that could go wrong [like C3PO]
OR
Finding a path forward [like Han Solo].
I know what my answer is.
Happy Friday, and may the force be with you.
Mike T.
Mike Turner
Co-Founder: Impact Club Boise
Host: Idaho Speakeasy
Collaborator: Value Drive Approach
Founder: Front Street Brokers
Author: Agent Entrepreneurs
Voice: 208-340-8399