If You Couldn’t Fail

“In order for imagination to flourish, there must be an opportunity to see things as other than they currently are or appear to be. This begins with a simple question: What if? It is a process of introducing something strange and perhaps even demonstrably untrue into our current situation or perspective.” — John Seely Brown

In his book, A More Beautiful Question, Warren Berger interviews serial entrepreneur and writer Jonathan Fields, who tells us that asking ourselves: “What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail?” is the type of question that makes us powerless. Instead, Fields says, we should ask these alternate questions.

  • What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?
  • What if I fail — how will I recover?
  • What if I do nothing?
  • What if I succeed?
  • What’s truly worth doing, whether you fail or succeed?
  • In this failure, what went right?

From: Co.Design and Fast Company