A wacky way to grow your business. (And creativity. And more.)
Written by Brigitte van Tuijl
Sometimes when you ask yourself business-related questions, your mind just blacks out.
No answers come up. You start over thinking and make things complicated.
Sometimes these questions even trigger your doubts or fears. Which totally kills your creativity and ability to find solutions.
You probably know the kind of questions I’m talking about here. You may even be chewing on one of them right now.
Some common examples of those types of questions are:
What can I do to make money right now?
How can I get more clients?
How do I get more time?
Telling yourself to think out of the box or just brainstorm solutions usually doesn’t work.
Nor does thinking about it some more.
What you need is a totally different perspective.
A new way of looking at it.
Here’s a fun strategy I’ve been using a couple of years now that works like a charm:
Stop looking for solutions. Instead, come up with at least 15 different ways that enhance the problem, make matters worse, or achieve the complete opposite of what you’re actually trying to accomplish.
It opens you up, boosts your creativity, makes you smile, and helps you find solutions and answers you never thought of before.
Every time I do this, I’m amazed at the results I get. It often brings me all kinds of ideas I wasn’t even looking for. My clients love it too. It works like magic every time I take them through this process.
Some real examples (of myself and my clients) to get you going:
Example #1:
The original question: how can I grow my list?
The turn-around questions:
What are 15 ways to make sure no one even knows I HAVE a list?
How can I make it super unattractive to sign up for my list?
How do I get people to unsubscribe from my list as soon as possible?
Example #2:
The original question: how can I make more money this year?
The turn-around questions:
What are the 15 best ways to make less money than last year?
How can I make sure I make no money at all this year?
What can I do to always spend much more money tha
I make?
Example #3:
The original question: how do I get more people to sign up for my program?
The turn-around questions:
What are 15 efficient ways to make sure no one wants to sign up for this program?
What are the 15 lamest things I can say about this program?
What are the 15 best ways to make sure people think this program totally sucks?
The answers you find on these turn-around questions always inspire you to find real ideas and solutions.
Try it yourself sometimes, and see what it brings you. It’s really fun, and who knows what you come up with!
Article author
About the Author
Brigitte va
Tuijl
Website: http://www.brigittevantuijl.com
Brigitte van Tuijl is an author and mentor to women entrepreneurs who want to make a BIG difference with their business, without compromising or losing themselves in the process. You can subscribe to her fr.ee weekly ezine filled with tips to make a difference in your own unique way on her website.
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