Misdirectional Compass Point 1 - Not Probable Means Not Possible
The latest Outstanding Club newsletter encouraged us to ignore the misdirectional compass points others would have us steer toward, and instead focus on unearthing the clues to answers which already exist within us. During the next eight weeks, eight common misdirections will be explored in an effort to help us all find a better path through life, regardless of where in the journey we might be at the moment.
This week’s Misdirectional Compass point:
Not Probable Means Not Possible
“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” - George Bernard Shaw
Winning a multi-million dollar lottery is improbable, but many people clearly perceive it is not impossible to do so (lotteries could not exist if this were not the case). We all have dreams we would pursue, things we imagine we’d do just as soon as we bought the winning Powerball ticket. Yet if we took the context of lottery tickets out of the conversation and I simply asked you if you’re pursuing those dreams, the answer all too often is some form of “that’s impossible”.
The way to take dreams and turn them into actionable goals with the potential for outstanding results is simply the choice to take a deep leap of faith (often, actually, a series of them). Once you realize what is improbable rather than impossible, you need only take that deep leap of faith no one else is willing to do - that’s how the improbable dreams you have become your successes, your victories.
I couldn’t even name one person who won the lottery and turned their dreams into reality as a result. I could, however, provide you with a book of the names of people who took deep, improbable leaps and created reality from their dreams, changing the world in profoundly powerful ways.
You never know what taking one courageous leap of faith can do for your life. In the summer of 1999 I worked on my very first website, covering all things entertainment related (movie reviews, concert and music reviews, and so on). I began downloading songs from a website that had a bunch of emerging artists featured, and through a great deal of trial and error, I found a band I really enjoyed and wanted to review. More than that, I wanted to see if I could even get an interview. My first instinct was “What is the lead singer of a rock band going to want with a no one she has never met, I’ll never hear back.” But I took a leap of faith, and shot off an e-mail letting her know I really liked the music and wanted to interview her for the new website.
She wrote back, and agreed to an interview. Over time, we started writing back and forth and became pen pals. Soon we chatted on the phone, and by the following summer when I went out to California for a convention, we decided to meet up for coffee. I sat down with her, we chatted for over three hours, and it was as though we had just always been the best of friends, meeting for just another of our big discussions about life and the world and our little spots in it. The next night I met her husband and the rest of her band, and hung out most of the evening chatting. The last day of the trip, I went to see them play a concert in San Diego’s Balboa Park.
Now, keep following this, and remember - this all started with the decision to send that first e-mail even though I doubted I’d ever hear back. I had a feeling come over me on the drive back home to Arizona, and I shared with this new friend of mine that I felt like I was going to meet the girl I’d marry soon. A few weeks later, I did in fact meet the person I ended up marrying. You’ll think perhaps it was some sort of self-fulfilled prophecy, but I genuinely knew instinctively she was the one. I’ve been married blissfully to a woman who is a perfect compliment to me for several years now.
That singer I e-mailed so many years ago for an interview is still whom I consider, outside of my wife and family, to be my best friend. Every time I get off the phone with her I’m inspired to do good things in life, and I have definitely learned a great deal of wisdom from her sharing her experience with me. (Lately she’s been spending her time on another passion of hers, the science and philosophy of quantum physics.) I gained so much by that simple e-mail, that decision, that leap of faith. So when you see a chance, an opportunity, even when the odds are stacked somewhat against you or it seems like a long shot, think about what the worst that is likely to happen would be. Often, the worst is that nothing happens. The question, then, becomes “What have you got to lose?” Or the way I prefer to think of it, is to envision “What have I got to win?” The truth is, what you stand to gain from taking those little leaps of faith in life can be huge and literally catapult you to achieving your dreams.
For another perspective on the topic and a great example of the power of improbable leaps, here are some words shared by Michael Evans, one of the other founding members of the Outstanding Club:
I live by a set of simple philosophies that I let guide the decisions I make in life. One such philosophy is to leave no stone unturned. When looking at a task or decision it is very easy to convince one’s self to not attempt something due to what you believe to be the probable outcome. The reasoning may even appear to be very sound as the outcome of success looks minimal or nonexistent. The problem is that we can often trick our own senses into perceiving things in a way that they really are not or, worse yet, miss an opportunity that is not clearly visible.
Here is an example of something that happened to me that illustrates this point. I was looking for a new job, and was using a staffing agency to help with my quest. They had found a possible position for me and sent me over the information. Upon reading the description, it quickly became apparent that the agency had no real concept of what I was looking for, as this job was not at all something I was interested in. Nothing really wrong with the position, it was just an entry level support position, something that would have been great some 8 or so years ago.
However I was job hunting, so I set up an interview. I did this even though the probability of me taking the position was close to zero. I arrived at the interview and waited to see the guy I was supposed to meet with. There was a series of blunders that followed, resulting in me waiting for almost an hour and a half. I was tempted to leave but I figured I might as well see this through. When I finally got to the interview I discovered that the position originally sent to me was not at all the position this individual now wanted to speak with me about. Rather, this position was exactly in line with my experience and what I wanted to do. What originally looked completely improbable turned out to be a great new possibility.
This is a dramatic, although completely real, example of this concept. The overall message here is that far too often we limit our own success by placing constraints that do not need to be there.
Do you have a story about an improbable leap you or someone you know took which lead to amazing results? If so, the Outstanding Club and its readers would greatly appreciate and benefit from you sharing it here in the comments section of this post!
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