Speaker notes
What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?
Life coaches & motivational speakers often ask this hypothetical question.
The idea is to get you to look at your life and discover those epic dreams you have for yourself that you’re afraid to go after.
You’ve probably heard this question before.
Have you thought about an answer yet? What challenge would you take on if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Intro:
Star Trek 7: Generations 1994
Captain Kirk stuck in alternate dimension.
Scene: Riding a horse and jumps over a gully.
Captain Picard (also stuck in alternate dimension)
Kirk: “I’ve jumped over that gully 50 times. Scared the hell out of me every time . . . except this one.”
Conclusion: None of this is real.
The question: What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail.
Think about this question for a minute.
What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?
I want you to notice something here. I asked you to think about the question. I didn’t ask you to come up with an answer to the question.
The way our minds work – answer the question.
Questions bypass critical thinking.
Hook for salespeople: “Quick question . . .”
You feel compelled to give an answer.
So when a coach or motivational speaker asks: What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail? –you don’t step back and ask, “Is this even a valid question?”
If you question the question you’ll realize that the risk of failure has to be there if you want to feel the joy of success.
And the bigger the risk of failure, the better you’ll feel about your success.
Imagine how you would feel if you got the results of the “could not fail” scenario.
A few people will be satisfied. (Runners cutting the course or riding in cars.)
The appeal of ultramarathons is the fact they are hard. They require the best you’ve got and have a high risk of failure.
So I want you to forget about the “no failure question.”
Here is a question that will get you started:
What would you be willing to attempt that would require you to dig deeper inside yourself than ever before and offers some amount of risk that you could fail anyway?
Barkley Marathons – started in 1986
100 mile trail race – designed to be almost impossible.
Only 15 people have finished.
Hundreds apply every year to run.
Lazarus Lake: Something in us that craves an almost impossible challenge.
So how will you answer this question?
What would you be willing to attempt that would require you to dig deeper inside yourself than ever before and offers some amount of risk that you could fail anyway?
I talk about living an epic life.
This is what I’m talking about.
You have more strength inside yourself than you ever imagined.
You can do more than you ever thought possible.
But you will never reach that potential if you’re answering the question, “What is possible if I know I can’t fail.”
What will you attempt that will demand your absolute best.
May not be running or endurance sports. Maybe it’s being the kind of dad or mom you never had. Maybe it’s starting your own business. Maybe doing volunteer work. Running for office.
I believe you’ll know what it is when you consider the question:
What epic thing is inside you that is worth the risk of failure?
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