...PING!
Are you a solo entrepreneur who loves to achieve goals? Do you manage a team who look to you to solve problems? Do you have a Board of Collaborators? This month I shine a light on the power of the “We”.
I love learning and experiencing that "Lightbulb Moment" you may recognize as "ah-ha". I'd like to share my latest one with you.
Do you try to get stuff done and focus on what you know to make it happen? How often do you reach out to your community or friends and family to help solve a problem? Two, or many, heads are better than one, right?
I have long believed that I am not the smartest person in the room, but I do know a lot of smart people. I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to move around, building new networks and communities around me. They are one of my greatest successes. (My kids are the greatest, obviously!)
Teamwork, or collaboration is my happy place which means, I don’t have to worry about having all the answers. I know the people around me will be the best resource I could ever need. But there is a trick in making this work to its full potential.
You have to set up and follow through. This is what I mean.
Set the scene – Gather people you know will be best placed to help, and this doesn’t mean having a room full of experts. If you have people who are interested in you and your situation, they will be willing to support you. Find people with similar experiences and those with creative minds, and most importantly, those who don’t judge others for their ideas and contributions.
Step out of your comfort zone – Ask for help. This is one of the most difficult things for people to do, although weirdly, offering help is something most people love to do. So let people help. Be honest about the situation and say what you need help with. Maybe you just need confirmation that your ideas and next steps are sound, or maybe you need to start from the beginning with no idea what to do. Whichever it is, there is someone out there who knows.
Be open and listen deeply – this is the next hardest thing. When you hear a suggestion, don’t judge it, it may sound crazy, but sometimes those are the ideas that work best, right?
Steve Jobs said “ The ones who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”. So maybe, embrace the crazy?
Allow it to sit for a while – unless you need to take immediate action, then allow all the ideas to sit and let your unconscious mind take over. My love of lightbulb moments come from this. The belief that you already know the answer you just need a little help seeing it. Sleep on it, meditate on it, take a walk, a shower and drive, whatever you do to clear you mind. Then it will come, the answer will be there, trust yourself and the power of the cooperation.
Make them proud – the best compliment you can give is to take action and be successful. Imagine if you will, your kid is stepping up to the podium to give their Valedictorian speech, or acceptance speech at the Oscars, whatever you like. And they say, “My parent helped me find the solutions I needed, they supported me and were there for me when I didn’t know which direction to go in” That’s better than being on stage yourself. Now you may not make it to the Oscars, (don’t’ rule it out) but for your team of collaborators that’s the joy. Give them the honor of switching on that lightbulb for you.
Find your Board of Collaborators, solve problems and take great strides on achieving your goals. Let me know how you get on?
Thanks for reading, I hope this has given you some things to think about and you have some of your own Lightbulb Moments.
I'd love to hear about them.
If you would like some help experiencing them, I'd love to help.
Please share this with anyone you know who loves experiencing Lightbulb Moments.
Enjoy the Ping!
Viki Johnston