Mad about others’ success? The ironic super power. The powerful factor on anyone’s journey.

What if we didn’t make assumptions about what will work without trying it? The things that actually work can be rather crazy and ironic. You wouldn’t think it would work. As an example, take a look at some successful businesses out there. Don’t you find yourself often puzzled by their success, wondering aloud how does /that/ work!? There’s no way that works! Yet, there they go, seemingly successful despite your claims.

What if instead of getting mad about it, what if we got curious about their success? Asked questions. Wondered what is it that makes them so successful? How does the funnel work? How does the money work? Why are people so interested in this thing? What’s the deal here?

We can choose curiosity and learning from success instead of masked envy, which helps no one. We don’t want to make assumptions and condemnations about other businesses. We want to be curious and open minded about them. We want to know how they tick so we can learn from them and see how their lessons apply to ours. We’re taking mental notes and documenting their journey for us to learn from. We’re far better off learning than condemning. Reverse hack what they’re doing and then try it in your business. See what sticks. Be open. Be curious.

Too many of us are closed off to possibilities when we should be open to them all. We don’t have all the answers. Far from it. We have a few things that work for us and we do them over and over again. Right? We keep doing them until they don’t work well for us any more. Then, we change. Why not be open? Open? Open to new experiences? Open to new methods of operation? Open to possibilities? We don’t know for sure what will work until we test and try it.
Assumptions will do you in. Test them. Trial them. Stay curious. Stay hungry.

Somewhere along the way, many of us lose our sense of curiosity. While we cannot pinpoint it exactly, it happens. We need to rekindle the curious spirit within. Ideally, we keep the childlike sense of curiosity and fire about us. Because that’s what everyone likes and wants to be around: supremely curious people who aren’t afraid to try things. You know: just like children. Kids have that innately and exude it at home and at school and at play. They’re unconcerned about what you think. They just do without thinking or talking themselves out of it. They don’t care in the best possible way because they don’t know why they should care like an adult. Kids just /go/. That should be our aim: just Go. Just try. Just move. Just keep going without talking yourself out of it. That’s the spirit of creativity and momentum that we all need. It is the spirit of freedom, of being on a journey of discovery. Not one of judgement and concern and anxiety and talking oneself out of going. No! Just Go.

Curiosity: The ironic superpower.

Curiosity is so rare that it is a superpower. Questioning and being curious about the world around us is foundational to learning. Seeking contextual answers to why things are the way they are is the foundation of learning. Yet people lose this sense of wonder about the world. They become too involved in the weeds, and don’t look to the sky enough. We’re far better off asking, asking, asking, being hungry and curious for more knowledge. Figuring out why things work the way they work. And what can we do to make things better and enhance them? Curiosity is the core of leadership and improvement. If you want better results, be curious enough to find out what’s really going on under the hood. It’s likely not that complicated. Then, be curious enough to ask, ask, and ask again to discover better results. Remember: discovery is key. But in order to get to discovery, we have to ask first. Curiosity comes first.