When I was in high school a “normal” Friday night was renting a movie at Blockbuster and hanging out at a friend’s house.  Blockbuster doesn’t exist anymore.  That normal is over.  Teenagers today can download the latest movie onto a phone they carry in their back pocket.  That possibility didn’t exist when I was a teenager.

It was normal to have to pull over your car, pull out a dime and put it in a pay phone to tell someone you’d be late, now it’s normal to make a call on our cell phone while we are still driving.  Tomorrow it may be normal to beam ourselves over the traffic and be on time.

It was normal to meet someone at their gate when their flight arrived.  Now you can’t get past security without a ticket and you can’t get through security without taking off your shoes.

It was normal to treat breast cancer after the diagnosis, now women are able to undergo genetic testing to determine their risk and they can treat the disease before they ever get sick.

What about striving for “The New World” instead of trying to recreate a new normal?  The New World was exciting for the explorers.  The New World brought with it the promise of a better life, more opportunities, more adventures, more possibilities.  When explorers set out in search of The New World they were moving toward something better.  They were not trying to create a new normal new world, just a new world.

They recreated this new world from scratch.  Let’s stop wasting energy and effort trying to get back to new normal and be thrilled that we now have opportunities to break out of that rut and go for a new world.  A new world filled with endless possibilities, new opportunities and results unimaginable in a new normal, but routine in the new world.

Stop trying to get back to what was and start going for what can be.  Stop trying to get back what you had and start creating what you can now have.  Stop visiting where you’ve been and start envisioning what you can become.

It is time to challenge your thinking and revisit your current assumptions.  With the economic downturn of 2008-2009, most of the business leaders I interviewed by 2010 just wanted to get back to business as usual.  Their goal was to get revenues, sales or profits back to pre-recession normal levels.

That could be a worthy goal, but you can only hope to go as far as you reach.  Is that all you can see as a possibility to reach for?  Do you really want what you already once had or do you want more?

When Apple creates a new product or an improved version of an existing product, they do it because they want more market share, but often times they are creating a new market to own.  When they introduced the iPhone, it was a new possibility in the market.  They improved on the normal, but in the process they created a new world.

How can you do that in your business?

What makes you the go to product or service provider?  Do you offer something above and beyond that sets you apart?  Until others catch on to what you are doing that gives you the competitive edge you have created a new world.  The game is that you have to keep creating the new world because eventually what you initiated under the title “The New World” becomes normal.  Once it’s normal you need to have moved on.

Nobody fights for normal.  Normal does not inspire.  Normal does not thrill.  Normal does not foster loyalty or camaraderie.  Normal is boring.  Boring is not a worthy goal to strive for, it’s what you need in small doses between big accomplishments to catch your breath and pause long enough for the next big idea to present itself to you as a possibility.

The secret to creating a new world is to become more in today’s normal.  If you want to give world class service, you must first experience it for yourself.  Your new normal can only be as good as your old normal.  If you want a new world you have to seek out new possibilities that you have yet to discover.

Many women business owners are more optimistic about the future with 65% predicting an increase in revenue, compared with 52% in 2010 and 46% in 2009. (WIPP report)

Imagine the possibilities that can be turned into opportunities and finally into results with that level of optimism leading the way.  Here’s what I know for certain… the future is bright to those willing and able to see it from an optimistic standpoint.  Women owned business or not, if you don’t see greater things as you imagine your future, you won’t see greater things in your actual future either.  It’s as simple as that.

As a woman business owner myself, I’m thrilled to hear of the optimism among my fellow women business owner sorority.  Having said that I wonder why we are not at 85% prediction in increased revenue.  I have not seen a breakdown of male business owner’s economic outlook, but according to Vistage CEO Confidence Index from Q4 2010, 75% of CEOs who responded to the survey expected revenues to go up in 2011.

Now some of you will attribute the optimism to politics, but I prefer to think of it in a different way.  I believe we are just tired of “getting by” and “staying the course.”  I believe we are ready to grow, expand and create new possibilities that lead to new opportunities that lead to better results.

Those who are optimistic about future revenues are finding new ways, creating new possibilities, to generate revenue.  It’s time to start thinking about how we do what we do in new ways to invent new revenue sources.  Any person in any level of any size business can do it.

How will you do it?

AT & T: Rethink Possible

Hyundai: New Thinking New Possibility

What is going on?  What is possibility and why do we want it?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, possibility is potential or prospective value.  Is that what we want… potential?  What about results?  Opportunities?  Action?  Goals attained?

I would assert that what we want is opportunity because opportunity is the gateway to results.

But guess what… possibility is the gateway to opportunity.

If you don’t think more is possible then opportunity could roll out the red carped, pound on the door and it wouldn’t even phase you.  Madison Avenue advertising agencies understand that and are telling us to rethink what’s possible so we are open to new opportunities that give us the results we’re striving for.

At the end of the day, it’s about results.  If I unlock possibilities, results will be there right?  If I rethink what’s possible then I’ll get better results right?  If I use new thinking I’ll create new possibilities that will get me more and better results right?

Right.  Results are the name of the game.

Challenging assumptions and rewriting the rules of the game open up new possibilities.  When that happens you win.

Are you entitled to any of those things? No.

Can you earn all of them and more… YES.

It used to be called “paying your dues” and it’s what made our country a superpower.  You worked hard, came in early, stayed late, got training, went back to school, studied with a mentor or coach, asked for help, talked with your spouse, listened to your kids.  You put in the time, put in the effort, paid the price.

Whether building a business relationship, effective team, sports franchise, professional designation, loving marriage, healthy body, close friendship or trusting connections with a child you must be willing to pay the price and earn the right to enjoy the results.

In our drive thru/ microwave society, have we forgotten what it takes to earn success?

For those willing to pay the price, here are three places to start:

1. Get clear about what’s important to you and why so you can make better decisions about how you invest your time and effort.
2. Create openings for new possibilities by challenging your assumptions about what you can and can not be, do and have.
3. Get into action and quit doing anything that is not aligned with the results you want.

Successful people make it look easy, but don’t fall for it.  You admire them not because of what they achieved, but because of what they did to earn the achievement.

Strive to earn results, it’s the sweetest success there is.

Now that I am an adult, and the parent of a seven-year old who thinks he is a teenager, I’m forced to use everything I’ve learned about effective communications and the power of persuasion to just get him to eat a veggie and brush his teeth.  I can only imagine what’s in store for me when he is an actual teenager.

There are three things every teenager knows.

1. Their face won’t freeze like that.
2. Being cool is a big deal.
3. They don’t have to listen to you once they hit their 18^th birthday.

So, how do you talk to a teenager so they know you care and, more importantly, how do you talk to them so they want to tell you what’s really going on in their complicated lives?

Our relationships are the key to our success in every area of our lives.  Teenagers need to know they can trust us, not unlike people in companies need to know their manager has their back.  One of the most important Emotional Intelligence attributes separating highly successful people in all fields is emotional self-awareness.

Emotionally self-aware people recognize their own emotions as well as the impact they have on others.  If I yell at my son to not touch the hot stove, I may scare him with my shouting, but my intention is to keep him safe.  My impact is different from my intent.

In talking to teenagers it is important to remain emotionally self-aware.  The tonality and intent of your communication is infinitely more important than the words you choose.

Merit Gest teaches people how to become Possibility Thinkers at conferences around the globe.  To book Merit for your next event, please call 720-980-1286, or visit ]]> http://meritgest.com/how-to-talk-to-a-teenager/feed 0 http://meritgest.com/join-the-possibility-thinking-movement http://meritgest.com/join-the-possibility-thinking-movement#comments Fri, 01 Apr 2011 14:00:30 +0000 Merit Gest http://meritgest.com/?p=250 April 1st seems like the most appropriate day to launch The Possibility Thinking Movement. Now, it may be that I am the only one reading the post on the very first day, but I’m clear about my vision and what’s driving me to create the movement. I’m optimistic that the movement can grow beyond my wildest dreams and I’m taking initiative to make it happen.