SOLVING PROBLEMS FOR FUN & PROFIT

Since life is all about solving problems, here some questions for you: What’s your favorite problem? Which problem is your favorite to solve? What problem or set of problems are you really good at solving? What problems do you long to take on and solve?

Some decades ago, back in the last century, I discovered that I was actually pretty good at solving therapeutic problems. Then a strange thing happen, the better I became at solving certain therapy problems, the more I studied them, the more I researched them, and the better I became with them. When word spread in our small town, I actually developed a reputation for knowing how to solve certain problems.

Then I got into real estate. At first, I totally sucked in terms of solving problems with renters, with choosing the right renters, with figuring out how to invest, what to invest in, etc. Then that strange thing happened again. It seemed that from time to time, I happened upon a solution and/or I figured out how to solve a certain problem, then I began to looking for that kind of problem to solve. Weird, right? And the more I studied that problem, read up on it, asked more experienced people about it then, lo and behold, I became pretty good at solving those problems. Eventually, people were asking me about how to solve certain problems.

Today there are quite a number of problems that I actually (strange as this may sound) ... problems that I love solving. How about you? Are there any particular problems that you love to solve? This is actually one of the secrets of success. People who wildly succeed in business and in life not only enjoy what they do, they love solving the key problems that constitute their area of concern.

If you don’t know what’s going on with that, then here’s part of the secret: Problem make us come alive, they wake up our brain, they get us thinking, and they activate our potentials as they mobilize our inne resources. How about that? That’s better than a whole cartload of vitamins! When people don’t have enough problems, or the right kind of problems, they go looking for problems in the form of puzzles, games, sports, contests, etc. Pity the person without some good problems to work on. If that person isn’t already suffering from low motivation, depression, etc., he will. So, may you have some really good problems.

Really big and good problems is the key to success in business. After all, nearly every product, service, and information that businesses provide solves some problem. So the bigger the problem, the more the value—the more the money. With small problems, anyone can handle those; it’s the big problems that we spend and invest lots of money to get them solved. Do you want more money? The solution is easy: Figure out how to solve bigger problems! Simple as that!

Now not only do problems wake us up and make us come alive, once you develop problem-solving skills, then something magical happens inside you. What is that magical thing? You feel good about solving problems. It happened to me. And it can happen to you. When you find that a problem is challenging, that it fits with your knowledge, your experience, and your skills, then working on the problem is no longer ‘work.’ Now working on it feels exciting, exuberating, valuable for others, part of ‘who you are,’ and ‘your way of being in the world.’

The day that happens is your last day at work. That’s because you experience a shift in attitude. It is no longer, “I have to go to work,” it is, “Wow! I get to work on this problem that I love solving.” So, yes, Virginia, working on a problem can feel good. That is a possibility. In fact, working on a problem can feel great!

You can learn to solve problems for fun and profit. To a great extent, that’s one of the reasons for why we are now focusing on The 5 Minute Manager trainings— it is the science and art of problem-solving. And the design? Creating great problem-solvers!