Lines, Move Them, Now — Start3Things

“The visionary starts with a clean sheet of paper, and re-imagines the world.” — Malcolm Gladwell

Lines harness, shape, capture, catch, organize, focus and provide a lens to see the world. They create the blueprint from which we build our house both literally and figuratively. They define constructs and boundaries on how we engage and interact with others and our circumstances.

Woven together, lines become the net in which we collect ideas, thoughts and possibilities. They give us context, direction and perspective to break abstract white space into concrete understanding, a plan to work from with specific steps to get to the finish line.

Lines serve a critical purpose to create meaning, develop a narrative and tell a story. We rely and take comfort in our proven models, in familiarity and accountability.

And soon those stories we have taken as truth become limiting beliefs.

“Limiting beliefs are things we mistakenly hold as truths about ourselves. As they inform our identities, they give us permission to pursue certain dreams, act in a certain way, have confidence in our abilities, or think we do or don’t have the right to do certain things. We think these are laws, that we have to learn to live within their bounds. But this is simply not the case,” states Dave Hollis, author of Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic’s Guide to Growth and Fulfillment.

They confine and discourage us from going outside the lines, convincing us that our old models will always work.

In normal circumstances, lines are an asset that create boundaries to focus our efforts and energy. In unfamiliar circumstances, our old lines become liabilities that narrow our view, bind us in false stories, inaccurate assumptions and ineffective practices that do not work anymore. They become our excuses to not pursue a goal or to change our perspective.

The certainty, familiarity and comfort of lines will not get us to the next us and you. Our worn, familiar model has flipped and there is no going back so let’s move on. As we start to re-enter the world after six plus weeks in home lock down, we must blur the lines, erase boundaries and redraw new lines, creating new models. Wipe the slate clean and start with a blank canvas

In this journey, we have categorized essential and nonessential business activities. Defining, delineating and acting on what IS really essential in this uncharted territory is required to not only survive but thrive in the our “new normal” or “new awesome,” which is how I choose to define it.

Ask and answer critical questions. What do we know that is fundamental and transcends circumstances — universal truths? What are assumptions and constructs that no longer serve us that we must let go to redraw on a blank canvas? How can we look at the same differently and enter a new space? What innate gifts and talents must each of us deploy right now? What lessons does experience have to offer that are valuable to shift from “trail management” to “trail blazing.”

In Cathy Heller’s podcast episode with Dave Hollis, he talked about the concept of trail management and trail blazing in running a business. This construct has stuck with me over the past week, creating a compelling filter to see through. As we look for answers to re-enter a very different world, we are going to have to pivot from trail management to trail blazing.

Trail management is keeping order, staying within the lines that we have created, following established processes and procedures. It is paved, marked, measured and well-worn by fellow travelers. It is the sure thing, the trusted and proven direction that has always worked, until now.

Trail blazing is breaking trail, moving into the wilderness, cutting brush to pave a narrow path on uneven ground, losing our footing, tripping, falling, getting back up with skinned knees and continuing on to create a path that did not exist before, doing new things to make it happen.

Trail blazing does not have lines but does have principles that are rooted in agility, design, creativity, imperfect action, shifting and resilience. There are no boundaries. The lines are being created as we move through the trees. Blazing prepares for trail management.

We cannot manage a trail that has not been blazed yet. There is no class to take right now. Those willing to trail blaze are writing the curriculum in real time. Through experimentation, trying, guessing, exploring, creating and pattern identification, we will create the models to transform ourselves individually and as a collective whole. Some people will remain in the comfort zone of trail management, of going “back to normal” and they will be wasting time and energy, losing ground.

There is a dense forest right in front of each one of us with no cut path. Enter with a renewed sense of adventure and discovery with core resolve, wild creativity and innate courage to start swinging through the branches to cut a new path. We have what we need to start blazing. We must take inventory of our skills, erase old lines and start actively and intently drawing new lines. Do the opposite. Look at the same from a different angle, challenge your limiting beliefs so you can open your mind.

Take a close look at the lines that you’ve created and erase them now, redraw to move into a new space of abundance and creativity that will be needed to reframe our world as it concurrently reframes us.

Originally published at https://www.start3things.com on April 25, 2020.