Will You Initiate Beyond Your Circumstances to Get What You Want?

Creative problem solvers with constraints find a way to get what they want when an obvious path is not visible. It’s why they can successfully launch companies. 

 

In a previous post, I asked if you were willing to let go of what you want. In this article, I’m diving the opposite direction. Are you willing to do what it takes to go after what you want?

 

Throughout middle school, I had to bring a sack lunch to school each day. My preference was to eat the dominos pizza served in the cafeteria. I also enjoyed candy and soda between class. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a reliable income source and my parents couldn’t give me lunch money so I had to get creative to get what I wanted. 

 

Many of my friends would receive money from their parents to buy lunch and we’d all meet up in our area after they got their food. What I quickly learned was that buying an entire box of pizza was much cheaper than buying it per slice. 

 

Recognizing this, I began pooling my friend's money together and buying the box of pizza. They’d get their slices and wouldn’t have to stand in line since I was doing it for them. I got more pizza for the money, and there would be extra slices I could either eat or sell. Because I was waiting in line, some of my friends would tip me a quarter or fifty cents for the service which would add to any extra money I retained because of the lower box cost. 

 

I not only found a way to get free pizza but also a process to earn some extra money which I’d subsequently use to buy candy and soda. Learning this at a young age was a valuable asset, and it's this creativity that has helped me overcome numerous obstacles throughout my life. If I simply accepted the constraints, I would not have had the opportunity to practice problem-solving, grow as an individual, and accomplish my objective. 

 

What are you facing now that feels like a roadblock but could actually be an opportunity to get creative? Where in that situation lies a win-win scenario?