Rule #2: Wish for what you want
Wishing is a warm-up sketch for problem solving. When you let your mind wander across the blank page of possibilities, all constraints and preconceptions disappear, leaving only the trace of a barely glimpsed dream, the merest hint of a sketch of an idea.
To start wishing, ask yourself the kind of questions that begin:
How might I…?
What’s stopping us from…?
In what ways could I…?
What would happen if…?
From there you can ask follow-up questions like:
Why would we…?
What has changed to allow us to…?
Who would need to…?
When should I…?
At this stage there’s no reason to place limits on your wandering. What’s the can’t-do that you wish were a can-do? The future problem you could start solving now? The half-baked notion you’d like to see a reality? Where is the place where the suddenly possible meets the desperately necessary? Wishing allows you to leave the realm of limitations, if only for a few moments, to imagine a future worth pursuing.
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Next week: Feel before you think.
Close your eyes and drift with the problem. Let it whisper to you.
