Comments on: How to Think About Possibility – And Why It Matters

By: Nana

Nana — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:45:42 +0000

I am a new reader of your blog, and I will definitely be back. I was intrigued by the title of both your post and your blog, but what I expected to read was different than what I got. I can tell you’ve thought a lot about what you call “latent” and “actual” potential; I thought perhaps you would urge people to cultivate ideas with “latent potential” with an eye to getting ahead of the curve, entreprenuerially speaking. Have you thought any about these types of implications?

By: Alex Blackwell

Alex Blackwell — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:07:02 +0000

Charlie,

It has taken me 47 years to figure out that “I like what I like.” Now, I’m in the process of not feeling guilty for these things, but learning how to make the most use of them for my benefit, and for the benefits of others, too.

By: Ali Hale

Ali Hale — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:10:24 +0000

Charlie, this is a fantastic (and impressively value-and-thought-packed) piece. I’d never thought about possibility in that way before, but it makes perfect sense; once again, you seem to have the knack of putting into words stuff that was bobbling around incoherently in the back of my head…

This sentence particularly stood out for me: “While we’re at it, be careful about how much you compare who you actually are to who you might be – you’re far more likely to be neither compassionate nor charitable to the former and over-idealistic for the latter.”

That’s one of my big cognitive screwy moments (I’ll not infrequently imagine several completely incompatible “perfect” future-selves… the perfect self which always clears the decks and takes weekends off; the perfect self which creates a new product every weekend… ) Thanks for shedding some light on why it’s not working.

And keep on with the more philosophical posts; you explain this stuff with real clarity, and it’s a pleasure to read.
.-= Ali Hale´s last blog ..How to Freelance Without Ending Up Penniless =-.

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:21:27 +0000

Charlie-

There you go again- bringing hard core philosophical concepts to the masses. Rock on!
Just to chime in and amplify one of your points- the distinction between actual possibilities and latent ones is not just a quantitative difference in probability.
“It’s possible to sell 1000 widgets” might mean that I have the background conditions in place such that selling 1000 widgets is an actual possibility. I might make it, I might not, but it’s a real possibility.
It could also mean that IF I did the necessary market research, and IF I made a quality product, and IF I did a decent job of letting people know I had something they might want, and IF I had the systems in place to take money and deliver the product, etc. etc. THEN I could sell 1000 widgets. Lots of latent potential, but no immediate actual potential.
A related point about the motivational aspects of potential… Having run a marathon and watched several more, one of the most striking things to notice is the incredible variation of bodies running- especially at the back of the pack. The runners in the lead pack all look alike- beautiful specimens of the human form, shaped by years of dedication and training. And they are lovely to watch, no doubt. But it’s much more inspirational to hang around and watch the 4 or 5 hour marathoners. At that pace, you’ll see people of all sizes, all shapes, all manner of ability and disability. For me, watching this part of the race demonstrates that the latent potential to run a marathon exists in nearly everyone. And if the latent potential exists, then it’s possible (actually possible!) to create the actual possibility of running a marathon.

By: My Happimess

My Happimess — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:08:49 +0000

This was a great read, Charlie. Thank you for the many insights and food for thought. .-= My Happimess´s last blog ..Healing Hiatus =-.

By: Archan Mehta

Archan Mehta — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:26:59 +0000

As usual, Charlie, your post sheds light.
You have engaged with philosophical speculation and linked that to practical reality.
That could make for a good Doctoral thesis.
To be pragmatic, however, here’s what I learned from Michael Masterson, a multi-millionaire and serial entrepreneur. Plan the night before and write down your tasks for the next day. Break the tasks down into smaller chunks of time, where time (X) is no longer than one hour per task. Focus on every task keeping the amount of time in mind. Schedule your time according to work priority: the longer the task, obviously, more time should be allocated.
Divide the tasks in order of priority and work on the high priority tasks first thing in the morning (or at your peak performance).
Schedule your time according to chunks of one hour, half an hour and fifteen minutes.
Learn to focus only on one task at a time.
Try not to get distracted by less important things that can wait for later. Just focus on your task and don’t worry about anything else. Make sure you complete one task first before you move on to the next one. Request the people you know not to disturb you when you are working–do this diplomatically. Try to engage your whole consciousness when you are trying to complete one task and one task only. This is of practical significance only (the realm of philosophy, of course, is different). Hope this helps your readers to be more productive. And thanks for your input too.

By: Mike Stankavich

Mike Stankavich — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 05:22:29 +0000

Charlie, this post is very thoughtful and covers a lot of interesting ground. I can see that you have definitely been thinking about this for a while and drew some interesting and useful conclusions.

I think that you could also take your point about getting 3-5 things done one step further – it’s entirely and seductively possible to base your expected productivity on your latent potential rather than your actual potential. In other words, if I dream of becoming a ninja, and I read a few how to become a ninja ebooks, I might say “if I apply my ninja skills, I can get 22 tasks done today”, while disregarding that my ninja potential is latent or nonexistant rather than actual. And then at the end of the day, I’ll have done 3-5 tasks.

This post was quite timely for me, as I have recently been tuning on how many tasks I can set for a day and actually get them done. I also have been coming to grips with the fact that likes don’t always follow ROI calculations, no matter how hard you try to persuade yourself.
.-= Mike Stankavich´s last blog ..How to Securely Access Your Home or Small Biz Network From Anywhere in the World (Part 1) =-.

By: Miche | Serenity Hacker

Miche | Serenity Hacker — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:05:40 +0000

Wow! This post really blew me away! I’ve never read a post like this on possibility before, and your thinking has uncovered some really great insights. I’ll definitely be revisiting this. Thanks for taking the time to put this post together.

Cheers and Happy New Year,
Miche
.-= Miche | Serenity Hacker´s last blog ..Is Passion Necessary for a Meaningful Life? =-.

By: Nathalie Lussier

Nathalie Lussier — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:57:58 +0000

Hot-brain-ness. I really like how you break down the possibility vs. the actual possibility, if that makes sense.

And I can totally relate to the harsh expectations that we set for ourselves, I’m a Virgo. Thanks for really extrapolating on these concepts so we can think about them clearly, and then take crazy amounts of action!
.-= Nathalie Lussier´s last blog ..Mindful Monday: It’s a New Year Edition =-.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:38:18 +0000

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by CharlieGilkey: Today’s meaty post: “How to Think About Possibility – And Why It Matters” http://tinyurl.com/yefrv4u Long but worth it….