I haven’t written about this topic in a while but thought today would be appropriate. Today begins another week long event that happens twice a year. The John Maxwell Team Live Certification event is like no other that I have ever been involved in.
There is huge added value for an incredible team, and of course teaching from John himself. This will be my fifth trip to the event and I will be joining about 200 of my returning friends and colleagues. In addition to them will be over 400 that will be attending for the first time.
I have been watching the posts over the last month reading about the excitement, anticipation and even a little bit of fear. John Maxwell has taught is that if you want to do something you’ve never done before, you need to become someone you’ve never been before. (Tweet This / Post to LinkedIn)
That’s a pretty powerful statement if you ask me. Many of my teammates were already coaches, speakers, or trainers when they joined the team. For many others, these are areas they may have never explored before and were simply drawn to the team because of the focus on leadership and access to John’s wealth of knowledge on the subject.
You know I love questions! As my own level of awareness has increased over the last few years, I have become much more intrigued with the answers as well. There are always many questions at the live training event and I want to take a look at three of the answers that cover a multitude of those questions.
YES, AND …
Life is not black and white. It’s not yes or no either. I have experienced the value of taking a yes or no question a step further. Let’s face it – yes might be the right answer, but is it the best answer? I have found that yes can almost always be followed up with “and.” The “and” is the opportunity to add clarity.
And as far as I am concerned, we can always use more clarity. So the next time you answer “yes” – see if putting an “and” after it can get a better answer.
IT DEPENDS
Well many times it does depend. “It depends” is a way to force a better question. It forces you to add some clarity in the question itself. A better question will always result in a better answer.
Our culture has put us into an immediate gratification mindset and when you think about it, all this has done is create an environment in which we grab the first response that moves us forward. The problem is, that sometimes that forward is in the wrong direction. Make sure you know what it “depends on” before moving on.
JUMP, AND BUILD YOUR WINGS ON THE WAY DOWN!
I love this one. It has all but become the mantra of the John Maxwell Team. So many of us let fear hold us back, and not only from the things we want to do, but from the things we were meant to do. I’m not suggesting we be irresponsible and take action without thinking first. I’m suggesting that you think first and then take action, even when it scares you. Like I said earlier, the only way we can do things sometimes, is to DO IT AFRAID!
Dieter Jansen, one of my teammates that I recently took through our 90 Day Success Roadmap program, posted this earlier today as he prepared to head north from Capetown, South Africa:
“Never been to a live event, never been to a think tank. I have so many questions. But being confused is OK once you get used to it. You meet such nice people along the way…”
How beautiful is that! What a great attitude! Isn’t amazing how things can change just from adding a little positive perspective and suspending the need to know how. Those are the words from someone willing to step outside their comfort zone. My prediction for Dieter … Success!
The Question: What question did you answer recently with “yes” and yes was only the right answer?
The Challenge: Re-visit that answer and add the “AND”
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Barry Smith 2/17/14 image by author © Building What Matters 2014
