I heard a successful entrepreneur tell about starting her company. She was so dynamic and smart that she made it sound like a snap. Then she dropped a bomb: “By the way, someone probably already has your first idea. And your second. So, just keep going!”
Whoops! That was when the whole room fell silent, including me.
You may have the same problem with your 2020 goals, where you’re realizing the How you thought was a slam dunk may not work. That problem is more common than you think. In fact, MJ Ryan says that “unwilling to go through the awkward phase” is one of Ten Resolution Pitfalls. People get stumped, take a time out, but never go back. But that doesn’t have to be your experience. You can follow the lead of a multi-millionaire who had to reinvent.
Barbara Corcoran had an a-ha moment when her business was in a lull back in the ‘90s: She would have her real estate staff videotape their listings and then send the compilations to their clients. The stakes were high because she used most of her cash on hand to produce the videos, but she figured it would be worth the gamble. Clients would be eager to review the tapes to pick out their next apartment, and bang—offers would roll in. Except that didn’t happen.
Barbara’s What was solid, but her marketing tactic—her How—failed to generate the big bucks. When she remembers her plan, she shakes her head, calling it “dead on arrival.” Awkward!
But then Barbara’s husband, Bill, returned from a Navy reserve training exercise raving about the internet, which was just launching. When Barbara put the videos online, her intention went from a false start to taking off. Today, video listings are the norm.
The old way of setting intentions is to abandon goals without quick results. But you can turn the corner by using Skill #5, “Handle Operations Wisely,” from my book, Light it Up—7 Skills for Setting Intentions that Work. You’re not alone if you’re stressed—stress is natural whenever you enter the unknown. However, you can lighten that stress by viewing the How as an iterative process. So, keep your What, but if your first tactic didn’t work, refine it using the soft skill of creativity. As Maya Angelou said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”
Everyone goes through an awkward phase growing up—you may have had braces, felt self-conscious around others, or grew out of your clothes too fast. But as you look back, you can see that the awkward phase was just one stage of your development (and probably a short one!).
Take the same viewpoint about your 2020 goals. You may not have the results you want the second week of January, but that won’t be forever. Refine your How with these three ideas:
Don’t allow a temporary awkward phase to cause frustration and be the boss of you. Turn the corner and exchange awkward for inventive!