Question Assumptions

Often, it will lead you to new edges, to new ideas, to creativity. It’s funny, because the answers you get by questioning assumptions are things you already know, but are either afraid to do, or consider impossible. It’s because assumptions are often phrased negatively (like rules).

I don’t want to overwrite this; it’s really a simple concept. Instead I’ll leave you with a few examples.

Questions:

• You can’t draw on your clothes, can you?
• Can you win a golf tournament down 5 strokes on Sunday?
• Nobody can run a 150 miles straight, can they?
• You’d be crazy to start a company during a recession, right?

Answers:

• Of course you can, chalk has worked pretty well for me.
• I’m pretty sure Tiger didn’t think that way.
• Ultramarathoner David Goggins can do it, fast. And he doesn’t even like running.
• Microsoft, Burger King, and MTV “defied the odds.” Can you?

To feel something new, you have to do something new. What assumptions are blocking you from potential opportunities?

-Barry