Clean sheet of paper
When you get stuck on an idea...
...time to pull out a blank sheet of paper and start from scratch.
Over the years, I’ve encountered a series of creative blocks when looking to flesh out my various business ideas.
In those instances, I’ve tried a variety of ways to break the block:
Taking a walk around the block to reset my brain
Jumping on a call with a colleague to spitball the idea some more
Staring out the window and marinating on where I’m at with the idea
Meditation
All of them work to help ease the friction of the block to a greater or lesser degree.
But, according to speaker, author and expert, Ron Karr, one technique that helps even more is to simply start with a clean sheet of paper and reverse engineer the ideal outcome.
Start from where you want to be, and write down every thought regarding what that looks like.
In his book, The Velocity Mindset, Ron speaks often about the clean sheet of paper exercise as a way to work out any scenario in which you’re stuck, not just ones that relate to your service to clients.
The key to the success of this visualization technique hinges on a couple factors:
First, you need to forget about what you’ve done - successes and failures - in the past and present to allow yourself to push the boundaries of what you think is possible for the future.
Second, you not only don’t have all the answers on how to achieve your ideal outcome, but you also need to be comfortable with that reality in order for this technique to work.
In fact, Ron asserts that since you don’t have all the answers on how to achieve the result you want, your plan will ultimately adjust and adapt as you work in the present moment to pave the road forward.
This approach is unique for me in that I usually rely on where I’ve been and what I’ve done to figure out where I’m going.
But Ron’s argument makes a lot of sense, and, in hindsight, had I adopted this clean sheet of paper visualization technique in the past, I wonder how it would’ve affected the shape and speed of growth of my business today.
Regardless, if you’re interested in moving the ball forward in your business and life, and curious enough to explore potential opportunities without having all the answers up front, I invite you to try the clean sheet of paper exercise in those moments of reflection and marination.
You’ll be surprised at what will come out of those visualization sessions.
If you’d like to learn more about this exercise, as well as insights and thoughts on leadership, sales, communication and and how mindset plays a critical role in all these areas, check out Ron’s book, The Velocity Mindset, which is an excellent and inspiring read built on decades of advising and consulting work.