Your Impossible Dream is Possible

3 things are for certain for every thinking human on the planet.

We know what we know.
We know what we don’t know.

AND

We don’t know what we don’t know..

and there is one of the most valuable insights to personal growth and success that I have ever been shown.

You see, what we know is created from what we have been taught by authorities, studies and our experience (whether the experiences were good or bad).

The catch is, some of what we “know” may not actually be true.

For instance, a business owner “knows” that she will blow her media interview because she has always gotten nervous when speaking publicly.
A man with a criminal record “knows” he will never be a millionaire because the odds are stacked against him.
A woman “knows” she could never run her own business because her mother told her she wasn’t smart enough to even balance her books.

For each scenario above the individual feels certain of the expected outcome.

Unfortunately, the only outcome they perceive as possible will most likely happen. Because they don’t know what they don’t know. But true possibilities often exist beyond what we can perceive at this moment.

Impossible happens…

For years scientists were assured that the weight of a bumblebee’s body verses its comparatively small wings and the haphazard way in which they moved them meant flight was impossible. And yet, the little buggers kept defying science, and buzzing around our confounded heads. Turns out, we didn’t know what we didn’t know. (Decades of studies finally proved the haphazard way in which the bees move their wings is, in fact, how they create lift.)

Could you imagine if the bees were like some humans and when told flight was impossible they succumbed to walking from plant to plant? Obviously that would not be best for the survival of bees, or, the rest of us in fact, since bees are so crucial to the ecosystem.

Likewise, we won’t reach our full potential if we believe only in what we think we know, or what we have experienced before.

Just because you have not been able to save money well in the past, it is still true that with some new skills and support it is possible for you to build wealth now.
Our man with the criminal record could be one introduction away from the person who can offer the opportunity to open doors for him and change his world against the “odds!” It is possible he could become a millionaire, or better!

Where are you relying on your past to determine your future? Where might you be listening to “stinking thinking” that did not originate from you, but is a lie someone told you years ago about your worth and capabilities?

I was recently honored with the cover of a women’s leadership magazine, and in the article I share how that limited thinking affected my behavior and decisions. While I regret nothing and value my journey, I must say I’ve learned that at every point in our growth as a human on this planet we are well-served to look at our self-imposed limitations and seek to learn where our blind spots are. What do we not know that we don’t know?