SIX STEPS TOWARDS CHANGE

Six Steps for Thriving on Change and Mastering the Art of Self-Reinvention

How Good Could We Make It?

1. Never underestimate the power of a vision. The only really important question to ask yourself – whether you’re leading a company, a country or a family is,”How good could we make it?” As Walt Disney directed whenever he built a new theme park, “Build the Castle First.” When you feel the magic you can go the distance.

2. Master the art of listening. Listen to discover what doesn’t fit with what you already know – about the world, your business, yourself, the people you love. Keep a list of your discoveries. Add to it everyday.

3. Let go. Let go of being right about how wrong it is. Let go of how you’ve always done it, of the old view of yourself, of your old limitations, of the “type” person you think you are. Throw out 50 things. Remember what Michelangelo said: “David was always there in the marble. I just took away everything that was not David.”

4. Take the ground you’ve already traveled. Remember, celebrate and own your “defining moments.” Always lead from your highest point. Use your greatest accomplishments as a springboard to the next challenge.

5. Learn to distinguish between fact and interpretation in your work and your life. We live in a sea of interpretations which we treat like facts. Einstein said, “Ultimately, there are very few facts.” Make up interpretations for the things (the facts) that happen in your life that propel you forward towards your “castle.”

6. Embrace flexibility. Stay light on your feet and ready to re-invent, improvise and adapt. Darwin said, “It’s not the strongest of the species who survives, or even the smartest; it’s the one who can adapt to change.”

“There is no way it is.

There’s only the way you say it is.

The Universe hasn’t made up its mind about you.

It only knows what you show it today.

You are the Inventor.

Your life is the Invention.

You get to make it up.

So make it up good.”

–Gail Blanke