Make Possibilities Happen

Make Possibilities Happen Plot Summary

Introduction

We all have brilliant ideas that flash in our minds, yet so many of these potential innovations remain trapped within our thoughts, never materializing into tangible reality. The gap between inspiration and execution isn't about talent or resources—it's about understanding how to navigate the journey from imagination to implementation. This journey requires more than wishful thinking; it demands practical tools to overcome our brain's natural resistance to change and uncertainty. The principles outlined in these pages will show you how to train your mind to see beyond limitations, break through self-imposed boundaries, and transform abstract concepts into concrete achievements. Whether you're launching a business, creating art, or reimagining your life path, the ability to make possibilities happen is your most valuable asset in a world that rewards those who can bring ideas to life.

Chapter 1: Train Your Mind to See Possibilities

Our brains are not naturally wired to embrace innovation. Research conducted at Stanford over a decade ago began when Dr. Daniel Hong, a brain surgeon from Taiwan, asked a simple yet profound question after completing the Creative Gym course: "Is my brain different?" This query launched a groundbreaking research study on creative capacity building, examining whether creativity is innate or can be developed through training. The results were transformative. The study revealed that creativity is indeed a state of mind that can be taught and conditioned. After undergoing creativity training, participants' brains showed physical changes in fMRI scans, confirming that our neural pathways can be rewired to enhance creative thinking. This wasn't merely subjective reporting—it was visible, measurable change in brain structure and function. One obstacle to creativity is our inherited evolutionary bias toward safety and certainty. Our brains, developed during our hunter-gatherer past nearly 200,000 years ago, naturally resist the uncomfortable and unfamiliar. This safety bias served our ancestors well for survival but can lead to stagnation in today's world where innovation requires embracing uncertainty. To sidestep these hardwired tendencies, we need to deploy what the author calls "mind dodges"—conscious techniques to redirect our thought patterns. First, recognize your bias toward what's familiar, as your brain constantly references past experiences to make sense of new situations. Second, treat your thoughts as energy—where thoughts go, energy flows. Positive thoughts generate initiative and action, much like resonating musical notes on a stringed instrument. Finally, become the vigilant bouncer at the entrance of your mind, carefully selecting which thoughts to admit. Humans have a natural negativity bias, giving more weight to negative information than positive. By consciously directing your attention toward what you want rather than what you fear, you begin training your mind to see possibilities instead of limitations. The "Do a Duchamp" exercise illustrates this principle beautifully. Named after artist Marcel Duchamp, who famously transformed a urinal into an art piece by changing its context, this practice involves taking everyday objects and imagining alternative uses for them. By regularly challenging preconceived notions about an object's purpose, you train your brain to see beyond conventional thinking, opening up new worlds of possibility that were always there, just waiting to be recognized.

Chapter 2: Break Through Self-Imposed Boundaries

Boundaries are imaginary lines that separate two things. The operative word here is imaginary. Most boundaries aren't physical barriers but mental constructs we've created and reinforced over time. These self-imposed limitations often take the form of old stories we tell ourselves: "I don't have time," "I don't have the resources," or "I don't have the right connections." At Stanford's d.school, Dr. Bernie Roth, one of its cofounders, would be the first to tell you that these excuses are simply "bullsh*t." Our internal monologue reflects our primordial brain seeking to reduce risk, but when we examine these objections closely, we often find they're merely self-imposed boundaries with little basis in reality. Not all personal boundaries are harmful—some are essential for maintaining mental health. The key is distinguishing between healthy boundaries and those that unnecessarily restrict your potential. Ironically, thinking you already know everything creates another type of boundary. The phrase "I know" can become a barrier to seeking or seeing alternative options. External boundaries also exist—some create collaboration and flow, while others exist to exclude and control. Traffic signals, for example, are rigid boundaries that create safe roadways for all. However, many external boundaries in everyday life are more flexible than they appear. Thoughts like "Unless I get X, I won't be able to achieve Y" are often false limitations we place on possibilities. When companies are valued for acquisition, their worth isn't based solely on current performance but on future potential earnings. This concept of "present value" applies to you as well. Your current value includes your future potential—what you could someday accomplish. Yet we often undervalue ourselves by focusing only on past achievements rather than future possibilities. The "Serenity Sorting" activity provides a practical framework for distinguishing between boundaries you can and cannot control. For instance, if you're concerned about a business deal, you might worry about global economic conditions (beyond your control) and deal terms (within your control). By identifying what you can influence, you can reallocate your energy where it makes the most difference, letting go of concerns that merely drain your resources without providing any benefit. This process reveals that many of our perceived limitations exist only in our minds. Once we recognize which boundaries are flexible and which truly matter, new possibilities emerge naturally in the space we've created through this awareness. Instead of padding potential falls with self-limiting thoughts, we can become champions of hope and possibility.

Chapter 3: Embrace Synthesis Over Originality

Many theories suggest there's nothing truly new in our world—not in music, fashion, literature, art, or any other creative field. Every idea is essentially a remix of concepts that came before. This is inevitable because we cannot separate ourselves from what we know, and what we know is what we've experienced. In defining creativity for the Stanford research study, the team described it as "a state of being" and the ability "to synthesize novel connections and express meaningful outcomes." Note the emphasis on making new connections rather than creating ideas from scratch. As filmmaker Jim Jarmusch stated, "Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent." The French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard put it beautifully: "It's not where you take things from—it's where you take them to." This is synthesis at work—the process of combining existing elements in unique ways that reflect your distinct perspective. Lin-Manuel Miranda's groundbreaking musical "Hamilton" exemplifies this principle. He transcended the genre by innovatively storytelling American history through rap and hip-hop, viewed through the lens of the underrepresented. Yet Miranda himself acknowledged that "Hamilton" was inspired by another Broadway hit, "Rent," that preceded his masterpiece by nineteen years. The more diverse data points you populate your mind with, the more unique combinations you can generate. Salvador Dali captured this idea when he said, "knowing how to look is a way of inventing." Your lens for synthesis continuously evolves through your perception, bias, and experiences. Your journey to possibilities need not include trying to be different for difference's sake. Originality exists within you—in what interests you, moves you, and compels you. Your one-in-a-trillion expression of something that resonated with you represents originality defined. Follow what catches your eyes, heart, and mind, then create without judgment to see where you land. The "180-Degree Flip" exercise demonstrates how seeing something new in something familiar can come from simply shifting your perspective. Take an ordinary object like scissors and list its characteristics: sharp, used with hands, cuts, metal. Then write down the opposite meaning for each property: dull, feet, attach. Looking at just the list of opposites, sketch what the resulting object might look like and give it a name and purpose. This simple yet powerful technique disorients your familiarity with objects and concepts, opening up fresh perceptions and helping you generate unique ideas without requiring a stroke of genius. It's a practical shortcut to creativity that liberates you from conventional thinking patterns and allows you to synthesize novel connections from existing elements.

Chapter 4: Turn Curiosity into Action

The path to possibility begins with acknowledging what you don't know. Imagine your knowledge as a circle—what you know fits inside, and what you don't know is represented by the circumference. As your knowledge expands and your circle enlarges, the circumference also grows. The more you know, the more you realize how much remains unknown. It's essential to distinguish between information and knowledge. Information is something you watch, hear, or read; knowledge comes from experience. As Albert Einstein stated, "Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience." Information becomes knowledge through synthesis, which, when activated, transforms into wisdom. Curiosity and not knowing are natural partners. Following your curiosity resembles finding the end of a tangled ball of yarn and patiently untangling it rather than cutting it short. Dr. Martine Rothblatt, cofounder of Sirius XM radio, exemplifies this approach. When her young daughter was diagnosed with a rare incurable pulmonary condition, Rothblatt's relentless curiosity led her to discover a single molecule mentioned in an obscure journal footnote. This discovery ultimately resulted in developing a medication that saved not only her daughter's life but thousands of others, while creating a billion-dollar industry. The intersection of curiosity and passion creates a powerful alignment between purpose (heart) and actions/work (mind). This alignment generates strength and clarity in pursuing possibilities. As e.e. cummings wrote, "Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit." Curiosity serves as your creative immune system, helping you navigate the hardships and confusion that inevitably arise during any creative endeavor. It keeps your ideas alive through difficult moments while ensuring alignment between you and your goals. As you remain curious and open to learning, you naturally discover the best path forward. The "Curiosity Compass" activity helps identify and harness your natural interests. Begin by recalling moments when you felt extremely happy, engaged, or excited. Look for patterns in these experiences and organize them into a compass with four themes representing your north, south, east, and west directions. This becomes your personal navigation system for pursuing projects aligned with your natural curiosity. Performing this reflection periodically allows you to calibrate your internal compass as you evolve. When your actions flow from genuine curiosity rather than external pressure, you move through the world with purpose and authenticity, turning your natural interests into powerful engines for creating possibilities.

Chapter 5: Start Now, Perfect Later

Having clarity about your intentions is crucial because a small deviation at the beginning of your journey can result in significant misdirection later. In air navigation, the 1-in-60 rule states that for every 1 degree flown off course, you'll end up 1 mile off course for every 60 miles flown. What seems like a minor deviation initially can have major consequences for resources, time, and outcomes down the line. A powerful d.school case study illustrates this principle. Imagine helping a doctor in the developing world save newborn babies. He requests a cheaper incubator because his facility can only afford two. If you follow this request without deeper investigation, you'd miss the critical fact that most babies never reach the hospital because they're born in distant rural areas. The real solution isn't more affordable incubators but rather a way for mothers to keep their babies warm after birth when they live too far from medical facilities. Your original intent is the essence of any possibility. When embarking on a project, it's easy to get lost in operational logistics, financial obligations, and delivery timelines. You become so removed from your initial spark that you focus only on the mechanics rather than the vision. Remembering why you started transforms work from a series of tasks into a meaningful journey. The way to any great outcome inevitably includes challenges—you get to choose which challenges you'll tackle. Focusing your energy is another crucial aspect of bringing possibilities to life. Like using a magnifying glass to start a fire by concentrating sunlight into a small point, your attention must be focused to ignite your projects. If your energy is diffused across too many priorities, your ideas will struggle to catch fire. One effective way to gain focus is through constraint—reducing variables allows you to arrive more quickly at your desired outcome. What you don't want to do is as important as what you do want. In art composition, the shapes surrounding the primary subject are as defining as the subject itself. Context shapes perception, just as a uniform gray bar appears differently when placed against varying background tones. Don't let nonessential context distort your priorities. The "Then What Happens" activity, developed by Stanford Professor Bernie Roth, helps ensure you're solving the right problem. Start with a concern like "Should I start my own business?" Then ask what solving this problem would do for you: "It would allow me to work on things I care about." Make this answer the next question: "What would working on things I care about do for me?" Continue until you reach the core issue. Through this process, you might discover that your real concern isn't starting a business but finding a career path aligned with your values. By drilling down to your true intent, you avoid wasting energy on surface-level solutions that don't address your fundamental needs.

Chapter 6: Navigate Tension and Build Momentum

Tension is an essential ingredient for potent creative outcomes. During a film production with Academy Award winners, an unexpected pattern emerged: whenever creative tensions arose on set—between the director and cinematographer, director and actor, or producer and director—the resulting scenes were consistently better. The seasoned assistant director confirmed this phenomenon across multiple successful productions. This observation makes sense when viewed from a broader perspective. Tension—or conflict—is natural to the constantly evolving variables in creative work. The magic happens in how each person and element of the process reacts to others. Former Nike CEO Mark Parker's journal contained a list of tensions he balanced: macro versus micro, quantitative versus qualitative, physical versus digital, and many others. These opposing forces aren't mutually exclusive but rather create a productive creative tension. Like a kite that flies highest against wind resistance, creative work often thrives against apparent obstacles. When designing Foldmade, an eco-friendly school supply line, there was inherent tension among three primary design goals: innovation, eco-friendliness, and value. These factors don't naturally align—plastic is cheaper than paper but less environmentally friendly. By embracing this tension, the team created an innovative pressboard binder with a patented expandable spine that delivered on all three objectives. Newton's laws of motion provide useful metaphors for maintaining momentum in your projects. The first law of inertia tells us that objects in motion tend to stay in motion—action begets action, while inactivity keeps you stationary. The second law demonstrates that more force creates more acceleration—the more energy directed toward a goal, the faster you approach it. The third law states that for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction—sometimes the reaction throws you off course, while other times it propels you forward. When launching ReadyMade magazine during a recession with minimal funding, the team encountered significant challenges. Unable to generate sufficient content internally due to budget constraints, they invited readers to submit ideas. This approach yielded an abundance of inspired projects, creating momentum that sustained the publication and launched a cultural movement that continues to resonate today. The "Tension Toggle" activity helps identify and leverage the tensions in your work. Start by listing specific tensions you're experiencing, such as "twelve-hour workdays versus having dinner with my family" rather than the vague "work-life balance." Cluster these tensions to identify patterns, then explore how each might be both a positive and negative force. By exposing tensions and reflecting on them, you can transform apparent obstacles into sources of creative energy that drive your projects forward. This process doesn't eliminate tension but reframes it as a natural and necessary component of creative work. When you embrace tension rather than avoiding it, you discover new possibilities that might otherwise remain hidden.

Chapter 7: Embrace Failure as Fertilizer

Plants handle stress by adapting. When stressed, they generate cellular responses that build tolerance and actually become stronger—producing bigger blossoms, more fruit, and overall healthier growth. Failure functions similarly in our creative endeavors, providing essential data for improvement rather than signaling defeat. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith captured this perfectly: "You've got to put in ten stupid things if you want to get two great out. That's where it's at. Dare to suck.... There's the creativity." This ratio might seem discouraging, but it represents the natural process of innovation—multiple attempts leading to occasional breakthroughs. Perfectionism often hinders progress. Winston Churchill's statement that "Perfection is the enemy of progress" remains timeless. When designing products for manufacture, it's tempting to get lost in details of colors, form factors, and packaging. However, practical constraints like monthly rent payments and market timing require making decisions and moving forward. The key is to indulge in essential creative details while knowing when to make a decision and proceed to the next task. Evolution requires change. Just as plants flourish under stress, we grow when circumstances change and new information emerges. Change doesn't always originate from our own actions—sometimes it comes from unexpected sources like losing a job or having a competitor copy a product. What matters most is our perception of change and how we use it to our advantage. In the d.school course on Failing Faster, change is reframed as a tool for finding fresh perspectives. Balance isn't static but dynamic—the active maintenance of opposing tensions. Surfing provides a perfect visual metaphor: the surfer continuously adjusts posture, weight placement, arm position, and gaze to stay upright on moving water. Multiple forces interact: water flow, gravity, resistance, physics. Balance shifts moment by moment, requiring constant adaptation rather than achieving a fixed state. The "Celebrate Sucking" activity helps develop resilience through embracing mistakes. In pairs, participants perform a clapping, snapping, and stomping sequence, cheerfully celebrating each error with enthusiasm. This classic improv exercise conditions you to treat mistakes lightly and continue without self-consciousness. Within minutes, the awkward guilt of making an error transforms into lighthearted acknowledgment followed by fluid continuation. This perspective shift is crucial because errors often provide valuable feedback indicating necessary adjustments. Like being told about food on your face—it's information you want to know so you can address it. Learning to welcome failure as information rather than judgment accelerates your growth and brings you closer to realizing your possibilities.

Summary

Making possibilities happen isn't about having extraordinary talent or perfect conditions—it's about developing specific mindsets and practices that transform ideas into reality. Throughout these pages, we've explored how to train your mind to see beyond limitations, synthesize novel connections, follow curiosity with intention, start imperfectly, navigate creative tension, and embrace failure as essential feedback. As the author beautifully states, "We are all born and then we die. What stands in between those two life markers are all our possibilities. It's a privilege to be able to create something of value to help, serve, equalize, provide, surprise, inspire, comfort, enable, amplify, aid, and delight people with our efforts." This perspective transforms possibility from abstract potential into a meaningful path for contributing to the world. Take the first step today by selecting one idea that's been lingering in your mind and apply the principles you've learned—see it clearly, start without waiting for perfect conditions, take consistent action, and persist through challenges. Remember that the real ending isn't the thing you make but what you take with you—the learning, growth, and impact that emerge when you dare to make possibilities happen.

About Author

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Grace Hawthorne

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