Yes, I know that phrase might now have political connotations from the Obama campaign.
Maybe to you that’s a good thing.
Politics ISN’T my thing.
I love the way Obama used Yes We Can to drive a powerful campaign.
But I avoid the divisive, drama-filled world of politics.
And this message of yes YOU can runs far deeper than any of that.
It’s like Make America Great Again
This phrase will now forever be associated with Trump’s campaign.
I of course wrote a book on how he powerfully used this mass influence for thrashing the GOP.
And ultimately to take over the country.
But now, well, again, it’s associated with being divided.
Sadly, Americans are divided on making America Great Again…
Or maybe not.
Maybe they all still want America to be great, just by their own definition.
What’s YOUR definition?
I’m doing a quick turn here.
Not asking about, what’s your definition of America being great?
But you?
Maybe you’re looking at your business, career, life…
And it’s already as great as it can be?
Perhaps it’s been greater and you’re thinking how you can make it greater AGAIN?
Or maybe you’re like many who don’t feel it’s great.
And they’re feeling stuck that way.
Not not great
You know there’s something subtle in my core message of going for what you TRULY want?
It’s not entirely a good thing.
And you can see it in these two messages above too.
What’s implied is you’re NOT where you want to be.
It’s the notion that something needs to change.
That the life you’re living now isn’t what you TRULY want.
This can be extremely motivating, but it can also keep you divided.
One step forward…
There’s A LOT of subtlety to how our brains actually work.
Again, it’s NOT entirely good either.
And it’s especially NOT all good because nobody ever teaches us anything about this!
One such nuance is the difference between moving away from and moving towards.
Moving away from means you’re motivated to leave something behind.
An example being trying to get away from a job you dislike.
Whereas moving towards is all about how you’re going after the job you TRULY want.
In language they can sound the same.
But in your mind and life they can be VERY different.
Elastic band back…
Do you have goals that you can’t get to stick?
Like you might make progress for a while, but you find yourself being pulled back?
That’s a classic symptom of that moving away from motivation.
You might feel like you’re really going after something.
But somewhere deeper in your brain and nervous system you’re much more focused on escape.
And it works.
Escape velocity is powerful in moving forward.
But, also, once you’ve escaped far enough, you can lose the drive to keep going greater.
You see it in the politics
Not to be political but…
That’s a subtle difference between the Obama slogan and the Trump one.
Obama’s is pulling forwards forever towards what “We” can do.
Whereas Trump’s was all about escaping “not great.”
Which too is loaded with the fear of keeping America great…
Rather than sliding right back.
That said, you also see Obama’s implies we’re not where we want to be either, doesn’t it?
So either way they’re both selling something is wrong, and we need to make change.
Which, if you’re a savvy observer of mass influence, you know is the ENTIRE political game.
What do you see in YOU?
Through this lens of what you might be moving away from…
And what you are moving towards…
What do you observe in you?
Think about your goals for a moment…
What are they generally focused on?
Is it getting away from where you’ve been, or an amazing vision of where you’re headed?
Coz, the thing is…
Where you’re focused is where you’ll ultimately end up.
To paraphrase Henry Ford, whether you think yes you can get away from that and make it great.
Or yes you can keep moving towards greater and greater.
You’re right!