A while ago, a dear friend shared something very important. I found myself thinking about it for a long time afterward.
She’s grappling with big changes in her life. Divorce. Heartbreak. Financial crossroads.
She was drowning in a sea of decisions that had to be made. The rights and the wrongs. The countless turning points. The “maybe I should” and the “what if I screw this up” moments.
It felt like she had no room to breathe. It was scary, uncertain and uncomfortable. It was damn near intolerable.
Then, like a water source hidden within an arid patch of land, wisdom arose from deep inside.
What if she admitted that she didn’t have all the answers? What if she embraced the fact that she didn’t know?
I thought about her revelation and I came to a mini revelation of my own.
Everything begins with “I don’t know”. Admitting that (at least to ourselves) is the only way to successfully begin anything.
“I don’t know” are 3 very potent words.
When we begin our businesses, we need to start with “I don’t know”
When we start writing our eCourses, we need to start with “I don’t know”.
When we enter into a new relationship, we need to start with “I don’t know.”
If we don’t begin with I don’t know, one of two things is bound to happen:
- We don’t start anything new because we’re too afraid of the uncertainty of “I don’t know.”
- We don’t admit “I don’t know” and because we are operating under mistaken notions, we proceed to take on projects, relationships and challenges that lead to wasted time and money and maybe a broken heart or two.
We need to know that we don’t know and we need to be okay with it because it is the only way to get to “I know”, “I can” and “I will”.
This is especially true for entrepreneurs, writers and eCourse creators who are essentially teachers. Teachers must accept and even invite “I don’t know” into their lives to have true understanding and connection with their learners.
Why?
Because our learners arrive at our (digital) doors with “I don’t know” in their hearts and minds.
If they DID know, they wouldn’t need our guidance, our help and our knowledge.
So, the next time you feel like you don’t know something (how to write your eCourse, how to write your sales page, if you should start doing daily Livestreams), take a deep breath and say to yourself, “I don’t know.”
Sit with it. Embrace it. Savor it.
Then wait. The answer will come to you. It may arise in a few minutes or a few days.
But it will arise.
The solution. The next step. The name of the person you should connect with. The social media platform that’s right for you.
I’ve tried it and it is a game-changer. It feels peaceful. It tastes like freedom.
I don’t know is a beautiful place to be. A powerful place to be. It’s a clean slate. A blank page.
It is a place of infinite possibility.