Assume Success
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When you are about to embark on a new task, do you "assume success" or do you "assume failure"?
I was recently working with my friend Mike to help him devise a plan to build his film and TV music composing business (http://www.MikeWorthMusic.com). Breaking into the huge entertainment field can seem like a daunting task, especially when you don't live in Los Angeles. We came up with a plan where he would do two things: 1) Call every local advertising agency to inquire about writing music for commercial spots and 2) email a list of top composers who were actively working in the industry and ask for their advice on how to "break-in". The plan was simple, but had the potential to lead to great things.
What is amazing is that one to two months went by and nothing had gotten done. At my weekly meetings with Mike we tried to figure out why he was procrastinating. In between two of these meetings, I happened to re-read David Schwartz's book, "The Magic of Thinking Big!" It is considered a classic work in the self-improvement field, and, not surprisingly, the point of the book is that you must "think big." In applying this to our situation, I interpreted this as "assuming success."
At our next meeting we realized that while there were many logical reasons for the procrastination, underneath it all was the simple belief that the plan probably wouldn't work. This was evident from comments such as, "do you really think these composers will email me back?" and "if the ad agencies all say ‘no' then what will I do?"
This was classic small thinking and "assuming failure." We managed to refocus on thinking big, and we also started with little steps just to get going. On the first day, he just emailed three composers and called three ad agencies. The results were amazing! Of the three ad agencies, one asked him to send in his demo so they could review it. Of the three composers, two emailed him back that day and that they would be happy to chat and give him some advice.
Two weeks later he had sent information to five ad agencies and had phone conversations with eight working television and movie composers (including composers who worked on "Charmed," "Yu-gi-oh!" "Battlestar Galactica," and the upcoming Transformers movie)! An even more amazing result is that of the eight composers he spoke to, four told him to send them his demo so they could offer feedback to him and keep it on hand in case they had a need in the future.
Will you get the exact same results? Maybe, maybe not. But the point is that thinking small was keeping him paralyzed, but by thinking big he not only took action but also started to see real results.
Are there areas and activities in your own life that you are assuming failure? Areas where you are not even taking the first step because you are thinking very small? Would those areas be better if you assumed success?
There are a few things to keep in mind when you think big and assume success:
The more certain you are of failure, the harder it is – If you have spent years thinking small assuming that you are bad at something, then it will be hard to instantly switch your thinking. For example, if you have spent the last 10 years just knowing that you are an awful public speaker, then a few minutes of thinking big will not make all your fear go away. Work the technique though! When you find yourself saying negative things to yourself, switch immediately to assuming success. Ask yourself, "what if this goes perfectly?" Say to yourself, "I know this audience will love what I do." You may not believe it at first, but keep at it and you will start to think big.
Don't be stupid – Thinking big and assuming success does not give you "carte blanche" to be stupid. Don't quit your job tomorrow with no savings by assuming that within a few days you will land a ton of business. Do adequate research and preparation, but keep your thinking positive.
One way to prepare is to really consider the worst case scenario and decide whether you can live with it. If you can, then you are ready to take action. If you can't, then you need to take steps to create a better worst case scenario (saving up more money, studying more, etc). Once you can accept the worst case you should still take actions to minimize the probability that it occurs, but it's also time to think big and get started.
You have no idea in advance – If there is one failing we as a species have it's that we assume that we can read each others' minds. We may not know anything about a person, but we will still be 100% sure that they will have no interest in talking to us. If someone doesn't return our phone calls then we know it is because they don't like us (not because they have been too busy or it slipped their mind).
You have no idea whether you will succeed or fail in advance. Amazingly, when we don't know, most of us assume negative. That is, when we are uncertain about whether something will work or not, we assume it won't. This assumption grows stronger the more important the thing is to us. Always remember, you can not predict the future and you can not read other people's minds. You only find out after trying. By thinking big, at least you take the needed actions to find out.
Big thought, little steps – Thinking big is tough, especially at first, because it may seem overwhelming. The key to making this work is to think big, but take small steps. Assume success, don't short change your dreams, but when you think about what you need to do right now to make that dream a reality, break the dream down to a small enough step that you feel comfortable taking the action. And, when you take the action, assume you will be successful!
I encourage you to try this. For the next week, pick one task that you have been procrastinating or are nervous about because you are assuming failure. Take a few minutes and shift yourself to big thinking. Ask yourself, "what would happen if this went super well?" and say to yourself, "this is going to work great." See how that changes your nerves, and, if you feel up for it, take some action.
This may just lead to some "big" results…
Avish Parashar is a dynamic professional speaker who shows organizations and individuals how to get what they want using the Art and Science of improv comedy. He weaves together humorous stories, witty observations, and interactive exercises from improvisational comedy to get people laughing, learning, and motivated! Avish is most commonly called upon to deliver programs on Motivation, Sales, and Communication
For more free articles, downloads, and resources, visit http://www.AvishParashar.com
To learn how to apply the powerful principles of improv comedy to your own business or life visit http://www.ImprovforEveryone.com
