The Gift of Amplifying Aspiration

Several years ago, I attended a quarterly in-person mastermind event for a program I was in.

There were about twenty of us in the room, and by early afternoon it was time for the "Planning" portion of our meeting.

To begin the session, the head coach gave us an exercise not unfamiliar to most of us in the coaching industry who've done any sort of business planning. She asked us to write down the amount of revenue we were hoping to make over the next five years.

So, we each got to work calculating what we thought we could bring in for the remainder of the current year, as well as forecasting what we thought would be doable for each of the four years following.

When everyone was finished, she told us to do something that blew our brains wide open.

We were instructed to look at the revenue amount we'd placed the furthest out – the one in our five-year column. Then, as she slowly walked behind each one of us, she said, "Now, add a zero to the end of that number."

A collective, audible gasp came first and was instantly followed by roaring laughter. This was the reaction of every mastermind member. But not hers.

And she wasn't finished...

She continued by asking us to adjust each prior year's figure based on the new five-year figure. The one we just added a bit, fat zero to.

That's when the room fell quiet. That's when it hit us this wasn't a joke. That's when we realized – well, I know I realized – she had just Jedi mind-tricked us in supreme fashion.