You can go anywhere you want...

... if you look serious and carry a clipboard.

It's funny, but I've found that if I look confident, I can pull off just about anything. It's all in the way you meet another person's gaze and don't look away. Inside you may be churning, but if you look like you know what you're doing, you'll be perceived as being competent (at least) and a rock star (at best).

Think about it: let's say someone asks you to work on a project. My first covert reaction to things like that is "Who do they think I am? Why am I being asked to do that? I don't know anything about that. I can't pull that off."

My overt reaction is to nod and say, "Can I get some more details? What would that entail?" I jot notes, I look confident, I nod, and then I go back to my desk and...

I set it all aside for at least a few minutes. I take a walk, even just to the bathroom. I get a cup of coffee. I think about it. Can I really do it? Why was I asked? Well, probably because they thought I could do it. I wonder why they thought I could do it. Maybe because I've done stuff like this before.

Hmm. What have I done before? Let's break this into small pieces. What's the first goal, the first milestone, the first piece of the puzzle? Start breaking it into pieces and look at it that way, rather than as an overall Big Project. Before you know it, you've figured out how to accomplish the pieces.

If you accomplish enough pieces, you accomplish the project.

Have you ever walked away from something because you were sure you couldn't do it? Did you break it into pieces? Did you walk away because you knew you couldn't do it or because you didn't have the backing of others?

Was that backing essential?

What would have happened if you tried and failed?

Always look at Best Case Scenario and Worst Case. Usually the 'worst' isn't really as bad as we think. And the Best isn't as good as we think. Reality is somewhere in between.

Next time you're asked to do something that you quail at doing, pick up your clipboard, smile, and make some notes. I'll bet you can do it.