Obstacles
Take-aways:
There are 3 solutions to any problem:
- Look it up.
- Face your fear.
- No solution but what you make for yourself.
Peel apart your problem to expose the most fundamental issue. For example: I don’t have enough money is never ever a fundamental problem because money is only useful for other things. It is useless for itself, unless you really need small sheets of cotton-based green paper.
Obstacles
Any barrier, obstacle, or difficulty preventing you from reaching a goal has a solution in one of three places.
- The barrier has a solution on the internet, in a public library, or in the brain of an expert.
- The barrier (probably one of fear’s many faces) exists in your head, as does the solution.
- The barrier is external and unsolved, and therefore a potential money-maker and a business opportunity if you can solve it.
Look it up
The first solution is self-explanatory. Google your problem, post on ask.com or Yahoo Answers, search Wikipedia or ehowto.com. Go find the answer. Look for books at the library. Ask a librarian for help. Ask anyone for help. Don’t be afraid to contact a professor or a professional. You’ve got nothing to lose by asking.
When searching for a solution, be sure to take a principled approach. Set a time-limit for yourself if performing an internet search so you don’t get bogged down. Keep track of what you find and what you don’t find in an organized manner, such as in a text document saved in a folder devoted to this specific project. Record your progress or lack thereof for later use.
Prepare yourself before going to the library or contacting a professional. Prepare by clearly defining exactly what you are looking for and listing associated resources where you might find it.
Face your fear
The second solution is a tricky one and unfortunately applies to many obstacles. If your obstacle is internal, then you should practice some self analysis and face that fear.
Practice by biting off a small portion of the problem and facing it first (have you got a concrete next action?). Also, seek out a support network to help you on your way. If you’re afraid of seeking help because you will look stupid, then the only solution is to ask, look stupid, get over it and realize life goes on.
Sometimes you can’t go around an obstacle; you have to go through it.
No solution but what we make
Now for the third solution, or rather the first true barrier: a real external obstacle that no one else has solved. Don’t worry about facing this type of barrier too often, it’s a rather small category mostly filled with math, physics, and engineering problems.
If the barrier is real and no one else has solved it, this is truly an exciting discovery. You can solve the problem and possibly market your solution. Don’t know who you would market your idea to? Google it or get a book from the library. Information on patents or starting a small business is easy to acquire. Reading The 4-hour Work Week would be a great place to start.
Objections you may have:
I want/need to buy a car, but I have no money. This is a real problem outside of my head and the only immediate solutions are illegal.
What you say may be true, but the real issue here is that you are attacking the problem from the wrong point of view. Your obstacle has prerequisite obstacles that must first be overcome, specifically "acquiring money". There are many tips available for gaining and saving money. You must start there.
However, before you go trying to make money, reformulate your problem. Find the root goal by asking yourself if your goal simply solves another problem.
This is easy in the example I gave: Buying a car solves the problem of transportation. I need to get to the grocery store and to work on a regular basis. By finding the root goal, the problem can be approached in a new way. "What I really need is transportation."
Solutions include carpooling, the bus, biking, etc. There are many different solutions that bypass the original obstacle of not having enough money. Maybe money isn’t what you need after all.
