You can super-charge your career like magic. Are you skeptical about that?

OK. Imagine that we’re together in your kitchen. What would you say if I told you I can make a glass of water rise up from the table, travel through the air, move across room, and be deposited into my hand, without spilling a drop, and without me budging an inch?

What do you have to say about that, really?

• “Impossible!”
• “Dr. Steve is incredible; he can do anything.” (only kidding)
• “Yeah sure! I can’t wait to see it happen.”

What is your reaction?

Take 10 to 20 seconds to think about it and then continue on.

(Now remember, you’re imagining because we’re not really in the same room together.)

At this point, I say to you—“Please bring me a glass of water.” And being an obliging person, you do.

What just happened?

The glass rose up from the table, traveled through the air, moved across the room, and was deposited into my hand. And you didn’t spill a drop and I didn’t budge an inch.

Notice what you’re thinking and feeling now. Are you thinking, “That wasn’t magic,” or “Darn, tricked again”?

Stage magic is always an illusion. And my illusion is as powerful as any other (albeit a little disappointing once you know the illusion because we all want to believe in magic). But the outcome leads us to an incredibly powerful observation.

The way I made what seems like magic happens is this: I made a request. My request resulted in the outcome you just witnessed (in your imagination).

Requests are part of our language. However, for a variety of reasons, some cultural, some social, and some having to do with lack of personal clarity around the distinction of requests (because it isn’t taught in school), many people have not developed their competence making requests.

As a coach I have seen over and over again that the way this shows up is that many people literally can’t say the words: “I request that you do X by Y time.”

They’ll give all sorts of reasons why: It’s not nice; I wasn’t brought up that way; polite people don’t say that; I’m too embarrassed; I’m too scared; I don’t want to be rejected. The list goes on.

But the simple fact is, it’s a skill like any other and if you’re not practiced, it will feel unfamiliar and uncomfortable. How do you deal with that? You practice.

Practice makeing clear requests and, as I’ve talked about in other posts, the skill and art of making powerful offers, and you will have the tools you need to super-charge your career.

It will seem almost like magic!

© 2006 Gold Nugget Coaching