Last week was a story about Violet and her determination to overcome obstacles to get cookies.  This week we’ll explore how we can be the obstacles that get in way of greatness.

A few weeks ago my family had just finished dinner when Alice said, “I have an idea!  Let’s have a bullfight.”  What would you do in that situation?  You might have said no.  You might have hesitated, because that seemed weird.  You might have been afraid of trying something new.  Maybe you didn’t have the energy.  You might have tried to rationalize why that may not be a good idea.  Me and my wife looked at each other and said, “Yes!…and we’ll use the blankets as matador capes!” 

We turned on some music, and then the bullfight began.  There were flurries of blankets, flourishes, and smooth moves.  It started with Alice and Violet being the bulls, and we had to catch them.  Then, out of nowhere Alice said, the bull is invisible, and Diane (my wife) and I said, “Yes… and we all need to catch him!”   The invisible bull was everywhere.  It got me and my wife.  Alice had to save Violet and Violet had to save Alice a million times.  We went running through the house jumping over couch cushions, using chairs to block the bull, and fighting it with our matador/ninja skills.  At one point my wife became a T-rex and Alice was riding her to catch the bull (see pic).  It was intense and crazy amounts of fun. 

So what does fighting an imaginary invisible bull have to do with YOU being an obstacle?  When people come to you with new ideas, how do you respond?  Are you the obstacle?  Do you say no, do you hesitate, or do you give them the green light to keep sharing and exploring?  Besides people coming to you with ideas, are you your own obstacle when you have ideas?  When you dream big things, how do you respond?  Do you allow fear, skepticism, or feeling tired get in the way?  Do you press on and keep exploring?

When Alice asked if we wanted to have a bullfight, we could have told Alice no, because her idea was weird.  If I did that to her over and over again sooner or later, she’d stop sharing ideas.  Instead, we said, “Yes, and…” we evolved with the game.  Imagination takes time to grow, so if you crush new ideas in the beginning you never have the opportunity to harvest their spectacular fruit.

The challenge:  Will you say, “Yes, and…” to the next invisible bullfight that comes your way?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry