Talane’s Blog of the Week, July 17, 2006

I was thinking about the challenge of creating a future bigger than your past. I like Stephen Covey’s question “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” I like it because fear of failure seems to be a big stopping point for people. I wrote down that I’d be a glamorous movie star. I opted out of acting at a young age knowing I was hopeless at remembering lines, but if I couldn’t fail, it would be fun!

My husband thought much bigger and said he’d be President of the United States (a good trick as he is English). I thought, well hey, I’ll be the next Oprah. Now that is a bigger future!

Another trick for creating a future bigger than your past is to think of someone you envy. Envy can be a great thing. It shows you what you want. If you envy your neighbor’s car, it means you’d like a nice car yourself. If you envy a colleague’s success, you want the same. The only “bad” part is that, at some level, you think you can’t have it. Perhaps you believe there isn’t enough to go around, or you don’t deserve it or have the talent to get it. Sometimes it’s true, there is a scarcity. If ten people are vying for one promotion, nine will be disappointed. But often, scarcity is an illusion. The huge demand for Oprah means there is room for more like her. McDonald’s success led to Burger King, Wendy’s and all the rest.

Years ago when I was writing my book, I went into a book store and picked up the bestselling Simple Abundance. I took it home, started to read and began to cry because I thought everything I was working on had already been done. What was the point of writing further? Then my coach pointed out that I had my own voice and my own view of life which was worthy of expression. I carried on and now Coach Yourself to Success is an international bestseller. Just because it has already been done doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you!

A client admitted to wanting to be a famous singer, and I said why not? She said she wasn’t sure she had the talent. I asked if she thought Madonna had a particularly beautiful voice. She laughed and said, “No.” While talent is great to have, it isn’t always necessary for success.

Who do you envy? What would you like for yourself? What would you do if you could not fail? Make that your bigger future.

Have fun with this!
Talane