In my GoTo Academy: Tools for the GoTo Guy and Gal class exercises, I ask my students to do the following:
- First week, I ask my students to list three heroes (dead or alive) that they would like to meet (and why).
- Every week thereafter, I give my students a problem or scenario to solve or improve.
- I then ask them to pretend to be one of their previously listed heroes. They are to redo the previous exercise with their new mindset.
They are often surprised how their answers differed — even though their knowledge set, their environment, and their resources did not change. They only thing they changed was their mindset or perspective.
Putting on the robe or attributes of your favorite heroes makes it easier to take that leap.
Your homework, if you choose to accept it: When faced with a challenge, pretend to be one of your most admired mentors or Brainiacs. What would they do? How would they react or respond? Pretending to be someone else makes it easier to think out of our default ‘box’ and take that leap. And since we gravitate toward heroes that exhibit more of who we really want to be — we can’t lose.
p.s. The best part is that no one needs to know that you are doing it.
Let me know what you think.