Creating opportunity
Early in The Art of Possibility the authors, couple Rosamund Stone & Benjamin Zander, share a parable of about two marketing scouts who visit an African region to analyze their business expansion opportunities (pg. 9). Each scout sends back a telegram:
One says: SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NO ONE WEARS SHOES
And the other one says: GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO SHOES
I love this example of perspective – one is a lost-cause, “hopeless,” let’s-pack-it-in-and-head-home mindset. The other is triumphant, excited, a jackpot opportunity. Perspective can be the difference between success & ingenuity and a return to the drawing board.
Being willing to look for opportunities vs. dead ends is a tough – but necessary – job to facilitate progress. A mindset that caters to seeking opportunities is strong positioning 1) for when great opportunities come knocking and 2) to ensure you don’t waste time and energy staring at dead-ends.
And it really is about willingness. When I’m nursing a negative attention bias and determined to have a bad day, I don’t wanna see the opportunity in anything. I want to stay upset, I want to find reasons why it won’t work, I want to not have to face fear, self-doubt, and discomfort. So I can ask myself some questions instead: Despite all my protestations, am I willing to entertain an alternate ending here? Could this turn out differently than I’m so certain it will? How would Ned Flanders see this? Flanders is way outside my zone, but the more I stretch the spectrum of options the more likely I am to settle on something more neutral, more realistic, more helpful to me.
Maybe we’d call this the Flanders filter: an attitude that allows you to make lemonade out of lemons, see a region of feet that need shoes, position yourself in a way that provides options rather than shuts the door on them. This is cheesy, sure, and you want to be grounded in reality, but maybe the cheese isn’t without merit. Find a perspective that serves you and put yourself in a position to move forward instead of staying stuck.
Feeling stuck? Looking for a Flanders filter that feels more realistic, personal, and meaningful to you? That’s the bulk of what my coaching does. The outcomes are geared toward wherever you need the help – finding a career that excites, improving your engagement with your current job, navigating challenging relationships, limiting the negative self-talk. Schedule a free, 1:1 consultation with me to discuss your goals or keep learning about coaching on my site.
Go get ‘em this week.