Deception #9: If You Can Dream It You Can Do It

It's time to give up checkers!

Let me explain...


The idea that “If you can dream it you can do it” may not be uniquely American but it is a huge piece of our natural psyche. This one often comes disguised as “The American Dream”. It is the idea that any one can do anything they want to. It’s roots are deeply imbedded in Tabula Rasa (Latin: blank slate) which refers to the thesis that individual human beings are born with no built-in mental content, in a word, "blank", and that their entire resource of knowledge is built up gradually from their experiences and sensory perceptions of the outside world. It is supported by many psychological theories including American psychologist-educator-inventor-poet B.F Skinner who established his own philosophy called Radical Behaviorism.

Skinner believed and taught immediate positive and negative reinforcement. He supported the idea that with proper behavioral objectives and feedback everyone should be able to learn anything and everything. Strengths in Education expert Jennifer Fox suggests this is a philosophy permeates education today. Fox says our system is founded on the belief that, “that given the right amount of learning in a small enough dose, everyone can master the entire curriculum.”

It only follows that this idea is also deeply imbedded in our places of work. Motivational experts who espouse theories like Neuro-Linguistic Programming (Brain Language Programming) canonize a primary pre-supposition, “If one person can do something, anyone can do it”. It is rampant in all kinds of sales organizations. Network marketers often teach that with hard work, anyone can be successful at selling.

The problem is that they seem to be ignoring loads of evidence and research that balance and complete the conclusions they present. Let me sum up this body of work on behaviorism: “Talent and innate aptitude is of very little or no importance when it comes to world class performance. Desire, deliberate practice, and supportive environments over time, lead to world class performance.”

In other words, they take a checkers position in a chess world! In some ways this simplifies management and throws us back into a world of “If you’re not performing, you either have a bad attitude or aren’t working hard or smart enough”. The problem is that this line of thinking is simply incomplete and will lead millions to frustration and often failure.

Dr. K. Anders Ericsson is a Swedish psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Florida State University who is recognized by some as one of the world's leading theoretical and experimental researchers on expertise. Ericsson is the current leader in perpetuating the checkers myth. His thoughts on innate talent can be summed up here:

“With the exception of fixed genetic factors determining body size and height, we were unable to find evidence for innate constraints to the attainment of elite achievement for healthy individuals.”

I believe that educators, Skinner, and a host of motivational speakers have significant value in inspiring people to reach their full potential and I am indebted to many of them. In Ericsson’s case he has uncovered some critical details that would help anyone develop innate talent. But we must move from the checkers mentality to a chess mentality. What is the essential difference between checkers and chess? Many would answer, “Chess is more complicated than Checkers”. Surely this is one right answer. But why is it more complicated? One reason is that there are multiple pieces in chess with each having different abilities to move on the board. The Rook moves in straight lines. The Bishop moves diagonally and the Knight moves in an “L” shape. In checkers all the pieces are the same. We live in a chess world and always have.

Motivator Zig Ziglar acknowledged this in some of his talks around the country. Often Zig has shared, “I don’t believe I could get in the ring with Mohammed Ali and win a boxing match no matter how hard I train… I’m too old, too slow, and too fat.” Most of us recognize this truth in the realm of physical talent. We don’t try to put 7 foot basketball players on horses and make them jockeys. We don’t try to make basketball centers out of 5 foot jockeys. We just need to realize that it extends far more widely than most of us realize. Zig rightly inspires us:

“Man is designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, endowed with the seeds of greatness.”

I couldn’t agree more. But we are designed differently, engineered uniquely, and each endowed with seeds that bloom in different shades and colors and hues.

The Dream Happens When We:

1. Discover our unique natural gifts, talents, aptitudes, abilities, traits, and passion

2. Develop those unique natural gifts, talents, aptitudes, abilities, traits, and passion through hard work over time into full- fledged strengths.

3. Deliver those gifts, talents, abilities, traits, and passion to a place that intersects with a need.

It is actually in step two that the work of the behaviorists and motivators become extremely useful. When built solidly on the foundation of step one, flowing into step three they have identified the “heart” of performance.

Your Moment of Truth: You Can Help The Team Realize It's Dream When You Consistently Offer Up The Best That Is In You!