(Distinctions are subtleties of language that, when gotten, cause a shift in a belief, behavior, value or attitude.)

 

No, I’m not promoting theft as a life-style. An old Hitchcock movie with Cary Grant comes to mind.

The difference between an old thief and a young one is that the young thief spends most of her pre-burglary time thinking about how to get into the place to be burgled while the old thief spends most of his planning time thinking about how to get out.

The application of this – beyond crime – shows up in successful endeavors everywhere.

For instance, before you take on new debt to buy that company, what is your back door if their market suddenly goes soft?

Before the passion of that new relationship turns into something fixed, what do you really know about each other’s core values?

Before you invest years of learning and lots of money getting that professional designation, who’s idea is it?

This does not mean getting so locked up in analysis that you fail to follow your intuitive guidance or that you spend your time looking only for the ‘bad’ possibilities of the future.

 

Coaching Point: Beyond the passionate pull of the way in, what’s the way out?

 

Copyright 2014 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.