Rule #1: Everything we ever accomplish, we accomplish by using resources.
In fact, we find it useful to think of accomplishment as the effective use of resources. Take the accomplishment of getting to work at 9 a.m. when you live 20 miles from your job. Here are just a few of the resources that people might use to make that happen:
- alarm clock, shower, clothes, coffee, and keys
- car, train, traffic reports, roads, and parking lot
- arms, legs, eyes, ears, and hands
In so many cases where life has become routine, we take those resources for granted. It’s only when we lose our keys, or the alarm doesn’t go off, or the car won’t start that we appreciate how important those resources are to our success.
What about situations that are not routine; things of a more creative nature that you are not sure how to accomplish?
Take the case of J.K Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, who 15 years ago was a single mom struggling to get by financially and now is one of the wealthiest women in the world. What resources do you imagine she needed to use to accomplish that?
Certainly she needed writing equipment: paper, pen, computer, and printer. She also needed publishing resources: an agent, editor, publisher, artist, bookstores, on line book sellers. Of course, she needed all the resources related to the film industry. She needed her writing skills and imagination.
She also needed her life experiences. By her own account, it was her reaction to her mother’s death that transformed the series from a simple child’s fantasy to a profound exploration of different characters’ relationships with death.
She also needed to call on important inner resources like persistence, courage, and creativity.
We often limit what we think is possible because we’ve lost sight of the scope and depth of the resources around us and within us.
Want to play with this idea?
- Identify one of your “routine” accomplishments (i.e. making breakfast, taking a shower, arriving at work on time) and try to see how many resources you actually need to get it done.
- Contemplate your deepest hopes and look to see what resources you need to realize them.
Please let us know what you discover.
