characteristics of vision that he showed me, and I’ll never forget it, is look for the good in what other

people are doing and apply it.

It doesn’t take a genius IQ or twenty years of experience to find the possibility in every situation. All it takes

is the right attitude, and anybody can cultivate that.

4. Dream One Size Bigger

One of the best ways to cultivate a possibility mind-set is to prompt yourself to dream one size bigger than
you normally do. Let’s face it: most people dream too small. They don’t think big enough. Henry Curtis advises,
“Make your plans as fantastic as you like, because twenty-five years from now, they will seem mediocre. Make
your plans ten times as great as you first planned, and twenty-five years from now you will wonder why you did
not make them fifty times as great.”
If you push yourself to dream more expansively, to imagine your organization one size bigger, to make your
goals at least a step beyond what makes you comfortable, you will be forced to grow. And it will set you up to
believe in greater possibilities.

5. Question the Status Quo

Most people want their lives to keep improving, yet they value peace and stability at the same time. People
often forget that you can’t improve and still stay the same. Growth means change. Change requires challenging
the status quo. If you want greater possibilities, you can’t settle for what you have now. When you become a
possibility thinker, you will face many people who will want you to give up your dreams and embrace the status
quo. Achievers refuse to accept the status quo.
As you begin to explore greater possibilities for yourself, your organization, or your family—and others
challenge you for it—take comfort in knowing that right now as you read this, other possibility thinkers across
the country and around the world are thinking about curing cancer, developing new energy sources, feeding
hungry people, and improving quality of life. They are challenging the status quo against the odds—and you
should, too.

6. Find Inspiration from Great Achievers

You can learn a lot about possibility thinking by studying great achievers. I mentioned George Lucas in this
chapter. Perhaps he doesn’t appeal to you, or you don’t like the movie industry. (Personally, I’m not a big
science fiction fan, but I admire Lucas as a thinker, creative visionary, and businessperson.) Find some
achievers you admire and study them. Look for people with the attitude of Robert F. Kennedy, who popularized
George Bernard Shaw’s stirring statement: “Some men see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I dream of
things that never were and say, ‘Why not?’”

I know possibility thinking isn’t in style with many people. So call it what you like: the will to succeed, belief in

yourself, confidence in your ability, faith. It’s really true: people who believe they can’t, don’t. But if you believe

you can, you can! That’s the power of possibility thinking.

Thinking Question

Am I unleashing the enthusiasm of possibility thinking to find solutions for even seemingly

impossible situations?