Breakthrough Experiences

Breakthrough Experiences

by Lisa Haneberg

Breakthrough thinking is an art and craft, fueled by an inquiring spirit and abundant experience.

—David Perkins

I have been fascinated with breakthrough experiences, which I am calling BKEs, for about ten years. That’s when I began noticing the triggers and levers I could pull to experience a breakthrough. The thought of being able to send goals into high gear—of being able to trigger a breakthrough—is intoxicating, don’t you think? Breakthroughs look and feel unique to the person and situation, but we can learn a lot by examining the moments before, during, and after a BKE. Here are four real examples of breakthrough moments:

Lou was not listening to a word Angela was saying. He couldn’t, his mind was racing too fast. Something she had said earlier gave him an idea. “Of course, it’s so logical, why didn’t I think of this earlier.” Bouncing from his chair, he thanked Angela and trotted on to think through the details. The meeting in five minutes would have to wait.

Stephanie felt excited, scared, and passionate the moment she crystallized what she wanted to do with her life. The insights had been building in conversations over several days. Then it happened. The thoughts and ideas came together, leaving her feeling like she had reached a mountaintop. A week before she lacked ideas and seemed stuck. Now full of passion and drive, she saw a compelling new possibility. “Can I do this?”

A rush of anger, denial, and embarrassment washed over Jean, “How dare that woman stand up in the middle of the seminar and say that my head and heart were obviously not focused on the class.” But the woman was right, and as Jean stood there, after feeling vulnerable and exposed, she tapped into her desire to learn from the experience. Feeling thankful, powerful, and free, she watched the circle of seminar participants transform from empty nameless faces into partners. She was seeing them, and the day, through new eyes.

The group’s sudden progress energized and excited Joseph. Several attempts to help improve his team’s dialogue had failed. On the way to the meeting room, Joseph was ready to try again, but his hope was waning. Then he’d thought, “It’s amazing how the right questions in the right context can enliven the conversation!”

Lou, Stephanie, Jean, and Joseph each experienced a breakthrough. Although their circumstances were different, each felt a sudden thrust of progress and forward movement. Those who experience and recognize breakthroughs know these moments are special. BKEs are like the rush of a turbo engine or the joy of a mountaintop epiphany.

BKEs help people produce results. Those who benefit from frequent BKEs enjoy more successful, exciting, and satisfying lives. Some people attribute BKEs to luck or chance. Although luck may play a small role in producing a BKE, it is more the result of being in the right places at the right times, doing the right things.

I can trace most of my major successes to one or more BKEs, and I want to learn new ways to increase the likelihood and frequency of breakthroughs. As a management trainer and coach, I have worked with hundreds of managers and find they often fall into one of two categories:

 • Those who are willing and excited to try new approaches and who quickly      experience BKEs.

 • Those who are reluctant to change their routines although they hope for       better results.

Some managers fall somewhere in the middle, but most do not. It is fun to work with the first group because significant progress can occur quickly. It’s exciting. The second group takes more work, but the rewards are sweeter. I have seen several managers have ah-ha moments about ah-ha experiences. When that light bulb goes on it is like they have stepped into a whole new world.

This essay addresses both of these audiences. For the first group—the flexible and coachable types—each section has tips and ideas ready to implement right away. For the second, more change averse group, supporting material and examples help explain the concepts. The essay also speaks to me! Every time I read, refer to, edit, or discuss the topic I am reminding myself of the steps I could be taking to experience my next BKE.

My background material comes from various sources:

 • A short survey I conducted with a small group

 • Several books I researched (see recommended reading list at the end of this      essay) and have quoted throughout these pages

 • Past experiences and observations

 • Beliefs and ideas developed over my career

 • Discussions about breakthroughs

My goal? To improve our lives.

One of the first steps in implementing creativity at the personal level is to review your options of life contexts and then start thinking about strategies for making the best choice come true.

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Defining The Breakthrough Experience

The term breakthrough means different things to different people. Some reserve the word for scientific discoveries and efforts worthy of the Nobel Prize. Others believe they have BKEs many times a week. I prefer to take a broad and permissive view, defining a breakthrough as

Adopting this view of breakthroughs helps generate them. If I thought a breakthrough as something rare, elusive, and unlikely, I would not experience as many!

In Archimedes’ Bathtub, David Perkins writes, “The breakthrough transforms one’s mental or physical world in a generative way.” BKEs are distinct from most continuous improvement efforts. The BKE jumps the tracks of sequential thinking to create a step change in results. Something now exists that did not exist before. There’s clarity, where there was little or none before. An opportunity is realized. We have jumped onto a new path. BKEs are important and beneficial. They can zoom our results to new strata in ways that continuous improvement cannot. How? The graph in Figure 1 shows the difference between BKEs and continuous improvements.

At work, home, and play, both BKEs and continuous improvement efforts are important and valuable. Some goals and problems lend themselves to a continuous improvement, step-by-step approach; others do not. If you want something big to happen, you need to generate a BKE. BKEs are also the best way to remedy being stuck or stalled. Here are the major differences between breakthroughs and continuous improvement:

Optimal success requires both continuous improvement methods and breakthrough thinking. The BKE offers the benefits of creating excitement, energy, and significant progress.

Mapping The Personal Breakthrough Experience

Some people report having BKEs often, while others believe BKEs are rare—even if they define them in terms similar to mine. Are the differences a matter of description? Or do some people have more breakthroughs? If the latter is true, why do these differences exist?

To further understand the BKE, I asked a group of a dozen people to complete a short survey about a recent BKE. The survey included the following questions:

Please note that this is not a scientific survey. The survey questions provided a structure that respondents used to describe a recent BKE. It was interesting to read the variety of responses! The examples at the beginning of this essay came from the surveys (with names changed for privacy).

I asked respondents to read my definition of a BKE before taking the survey and requested they answer the questions with this definition in mind. I wanted to remove or minimize variances based on different definitions of breakthroughs. For example, if someone had a personal definition of a breakthrough as being something worthy of a Nobel Prize, they would likely report a lower number of BKEs than the person who saw every ah-ha as a BKE.

The survey asked respondents how they felt before, during, and after a BKE. Here is a summary of the results:

Although not unexpected, the results lead to a few observations:

Many breakthroughs are preceded by a seemingly inactive period.

—David Perkins

I describe BKEs as a single moment, but they can also occur over a short period, like a day or two. I remember a very powerful BKE (or BKE sequence) I had that occurred over the weekend course that launched my writing career. Writing and publishing a book, or books, had been a dream since childhood. Looking back, it is an unlikely goal since I suffered from ADD and mild dyslexia and was not a very good reader (and therefore not a very good writer). Even so, I coveted books that I rarely read, buying them at garage sales with my allowance. As I grew up, attended college, and built my career, writing a book was always something in the back of my mind that I wanted to do. While living in New Mexico, I quit my corporate job to write. The problem was that I had no idea how the publishing industry worked or that it was a long and difficult process to get published. After a few months, I set the dream aside and got another real job to pay the bills.

The desire, perhaps need, to write a book did not go away. Finally, I decided to figure out what I needed to know to get a book published. I found and signed up for a two-day class on how to write a nonfiction book proposal. A well-known editor and book doctor, Elizabeth Lyon, taught the class. Over the course of the two days my synapses fired nonstop and I had epiphany after epiphany. I found out what I needed to do, who I needed to talk to, and my next steps. In my mind, I had imagined a Himalaya-sized mountain to climb, but I was wrong. I did what Elizabeth said (took the coaching), completed a thorough book proposal, and was able to get a great agent—and he got a publishing contract for my book. I also had several breakthroughs about the content of the book while I was writing and refining the book proposal. For example, I can still remember the day that my thoughts and questions led to the idea of targeting the book to middle managers. The concept just clicked and I was in high gear again.

This example includes several BKEs:

The moment I decided to take a class and when I found and signed up for the class. Then I experienced several smaller BKEs throughout the weekend course, and the course itself was a huge BKE—a significant shift in my focus and actions. And several other BKEs occurred during the creation of the book proposal.

The result? My first book, High Impact Middle Management, was published in January 2005!

My point is that BKEs may occur in a second or stretch across several days. The BKEs that I experienced occurred because of the steps I took to create them. It’s not magic and anyone can do it.

Another important point: Don’t waste BKEs by failing to build on them. Although my survey did not ask this question, I was able to glean from the responses (and other examples I have observed) that the overall impact of a breakthrough depends on how we react to it. The total benefit of the BKE depends on follow-up.

As with many things in business and life, follow-up is important. I am most attracted and intrigued by the human capacity to build on and produce additional BKEs (like my book proposal example). The people who can do this are regarded as lucky. Luck has little to do with it, however.

So if you are ready, let’s explore what facilitates breakthroughs and what gets in their way.

BKE Catalysts

BKEs occur in various circumstances, but often have similar catalysts—conditions that precede and facilitate them. To better understand BKE catalysts, I examined breakthrough research, survey responses, and other individual accounts. The resulting list is not exhaustive, of course—potential BKE catalysts come in many forms, and they will vary by individual.

These are the most common BKE catalysts:

Dissonance Experiences

We all need an occasional “whack on the head” to shake us out of routine patterns, to force us to re-think our problems, and to stimulate us to ask the questions that may lead to other right answers.

—Roger Von Oech

Some BKEs happen when people experience cognitive dissonance. Failed attempts, rejections, and embarrassment may cause us to question what we are doing and explore new possibilities. While we do not hope for failure to occur, we can use these experiences to progress and enjoy BKEs. If we take on a defensive or uncoachable stance, a BKE is unlikely.

There’s being wrong or insightfully wrong.

—David Perkins

Significant anomalies can also cause dissonance. Exploring the reasons and origins for the anomaly will yield fresh ideas and new perspectives, and perhaps a BKE. Dissonance results in a shock and a jerk into a new paradigm or reality. Fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, can hold us back. When we make a decisive break with the past, we open the possibility of a breakthrough.

Breakthrough begins with estrangement.

—Charles David Axelrod

Taking Action

Are you in earnest? Seize this very minute! Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Only engage, and then the mind grows heated. Begin, and then the work will be completed.

—John Anster

Getting into action is a great way to create momentum and put your goals and intentions into the world—an important step in BKEs. Many of the BKE catalysts are also forms of taking action. Taking action means trying something new, moving before you’re pushed, or doing what you’ve been putting off. This is one of my strongest BKE catalysts. My progress suffers when I wait and react to things that happen to me.

Deep Thinking

With an eye made quiet by the power of harmony, and the deep power of joy, we see into the life of things.

—William Wordsworth

Some people use mental retreats to generate new ideas, refocus, and tap into their goals. Whether away, at home, or at the office, deep thinking includes mountaintop thinking,* playing around with ideas, talking to oneself, and noticing things in a new way.

Coached Nudges

Your luck depends on the actions of other people and whether or not they decide to help you get what you want.

—Marc Myers

Among the survey respondents, coached nudges outnumbered other BKE catalysts in the roster of reported BKEs. In fact, most breakthroughs occurred following worthwhile conversations of various sorts: e-mail exchanges, blogging, phone calls, and live discussions.

Creativity does not happen inside people’s heads, but in the interaction between a person’s thoughts and a sociocultural context.

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

When a peer, friend, manager, or stranger says just what we need to hear, it is a special gift. When we are open to them, coached nudges can help bring on BKEs. People differ on whether they seek and welcome coaching from others. Those who are highly coachable will receive and use more coached nudges and experience more BKEs.

Conversations are powerful tools. I believe that reality is socially constructed.
Change the conversation and you can change the reality. By communicating our goals, intentions, ideas and hopes, we deploy a support system that can make a world of difference. When managers lament that their careers are not going according to their hopes, I ask, “what do you want to have happen and who knows about your goals?” Often, they have neither defined nor communicated their goals adequately.

Making Requests

Great things are only possible with outrageous requests.

—Thea Alexander

Making requests is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to produce BKEs. Mahatma Gandhi said, “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” and I believe this to be true. It is important to make requests that will make a difference and enable progress. Requests come in two types:

Both everyday and prime requests are helpful and should be a regular part of your daily and weekly practices. The more prime requests you make, the better your chances for exciting BKEs. Prime requests will be turned down more often, but the few that are granted will have a disproportionately higher positive impact.

What I point out to people is that it’s silly to be afraid that you’re not going to get what you want if you ask. Because you are already not getting what you want. They always laugh about that because they realize it’s so true. Without asking you already have failed, you already have nothing. What are you afraid of? You’re afraid of getting what you already have! It’s ridiculous! Who cares if you don’t get it when you ask for it, because, before you ask for it, you don’t have it anyway. So there’s really nothing to be afraid of.

—Marcia Martin

I have a weekly routine that has been successful. Each week I make at least five prime requests. The more I ask, the better. I design the requests to move various goals and projects forward. I have had some amazing things happen because of my requests. Most people want to help if they can. In fact, some people will get a charge out of granting your request and may experience a BKE for themselves! A granted request creates an immediate shift in circumstances and bolsters your goals and direction. Even if only one in ten prime requests gets granted, that one request can create a new reality.

Some people feel uncomfortable making requests because they feel selfish and unworthy. If requests are well thought out and focused, they will increase our contribution and help us be more successful—this is not selfish because we owe it to the world to perform our best work possible.

Changing Or Realigning The Context

It is easier to enhance creativity by changing conditions in the environment than by trying to make people think more creatively.

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

One of the most effective ways to bring about a BKE is to adjust the context.* In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell wrote about how the New York City crime rate plummeted in the 1990s, enabled in large part by changes made to the context. Implementing the Broken Windows theory,** they first cleaned up the graffiti on subway cars, and then stopped subway riders from jumping the turnstiles. Once the look and feel of the subway experience changed, crimes dropped.

A change in context can have a dramatic impact on our perspective and results. Changing the context might mean creating a workspace that is pleasant and relaxed. The ancient practice of feng shui seeks to align surrounding elements to the goals of each space. Even those who do not follow feng shui will likely acknowledge that a cluttered workspace often accompanies a cluttered mind.

Another example of a context change is exploring unknown surroundings to broaden thinking and perspectives. Asking a new group of people to help brainstorm solutions to a problem is a contextual change.

Strangers have a heightened capacity for rendering impartial judgments.

—Charles David Axelrod

New or unexpected external circumstances can provide the precipitating event that triggers a BKE. For example, anomalies can represent a contextual change. Those who explore anomalies are often rewarded with new insights, approaches, and BKEs.

Incubation Or Time Away

Several people said that their best thinking occurs when they take a mental break from working on a problem or goal. Watching people walk down the street can trigger an insight. Overthinking something is a real risk, and taking a break can help us forget or set aside assumptions and mental sets that might be getting in the way of progress.

It’s often been suggested that something crucial happens during this time away from the problem when the thinker invests no obvious effort in pursuing it.

—David Perkins

Perhaps the human brain needs a rest and perhaps it is not resting at all. Some believe that the subconscious mind continues to work on a solution while the conscious mind focuses elsewhere. In either case, it is sometimes fruitful to take a breather!

Practice, Practice, Practice

Creativity is idiosyncratic—each person has their own way.

—Michael Ray

This catalyst comes from a conversation I had with Michael Ray, author of The Highest Goal. Michael emphasizes that breakthroughs are more likely to occur when you employ catalysts that work for you on a consistent basis (for example, my routine of asking requests each week). He urges everyone to find the methods that work and create a positive practice.

We also need to try new approaches, but many of us give up on methods too soon and don’t reap the benefits. If you try meditation, for example, it could take days, weeks, or months to get to the place where BKEs can be generated.

The first step toward a more creative life is the cultivation of curiosity and interest, that is, the allocation of attention to things for their own sake.

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

These are the most common catalysts, but you may enjoy others. For me, getting into action, making requests, and changing the context have made the greatest difference. Give each one a try!

BKE Inhibitors

BKE catalysts improve conditions for a breakthrough. BKE inhibitors get in the way and make breakthroughs less likely. To take advantage of and have the mental energy to use BKE catalysts, we need to identify and reduce the number of BKE inhibitors getting in our way. Unless you are superhuman, you will recognize one or more of these BKE inhibitors:

Of course, many of these BKE inhibitors can also be good habits in some situations. For example, being logical is often desirable—but a preoccupation with all things
logical can get in the way.

Measure A Hundred Times, Never Cut

You’ve heard the saying, “Measure twice, cut once,” right? That’s good advice, but some people take it too far. Often called paralysis by analysis, this BKE inhibitor gets in the way because, while analysis is a kind of action, too much analysis precludes forward movement. This is particularly the case for analysis that does not move outside the context (a BKE catalyst). How do you know when you have gone too far? You need a new approach when your progress has slowed or stalled and people are losing patience and interest.

Ask yourself—Do I really need to know this? What is the worst thing that could happen if I go ahead and make a decision? Will it be the end of the world if we need to adjust the course down the road a bit?

Focus On Logic

Logic, like whiskey, loses its beneficial effect when taken in too large quantities.

—Lord Dunsany

Breakthroughs, by definition, come as a surprise or something unexpected. Therefore, if you only do what is logical and familiar, you will reduce the number of possible BKEs. Progress follows a path paved by logical and not-so-logical developments. When collecting and considering ideas and approaches, don’t worry about whether something is logical. You’ll have time to question the viability of the idea later, after you’ve played with the concepts a bit.

Breakthrough insights do not typically require a great deal of reasoning.

—David Perkins

As a BKE inhibitor, logic is similar to paralysis by analysis because it stems from a need or comfort with data or information. Think about the progress you have enjoyed. Could you have predicted and planned how it occurred? For many situations, the answer will be no. To help you generate and consider a variety of ideas and options (not just the logical ones), ask more open-ended questions and get input from a wider variety of people. Resolve to give new approaches a try, starting small if that works better for you.

Scarcity Mind-set

I see this one a lot. Some people are not really in tune with what’s possible. They try one idea and then get discouraged if it does not work. They think it wrong to make requests to move goals forward. They live in a mental paradigm that is focused on limits and reasons not to branch out and be creative. Their socially constructed reality is one of scarce resources and possibilities. Individuals with this perspective drastically reduce their opportunities for BKEs. It is a constant battle to help folks with a scarcity mind-set venture out and explore new ideas. In my experience, they are not likely to do this on their own, either. So if you know of someone affected by a scarcity mind-set, try offering them coaching and support.

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

—Eden Phillpotts

I am using “they” a lot here because this BKE inhibitor is not typically a problem for me. In fact, I tend to err on the other side, thinking anything is possible and everything is available. That said, I have worked with several people who suffer from a scarcity mind-set. One person in particular, I will call him Chris, was brilliant but lived a life well below his potential. His social makeup, or DNA, or something, was hardwired to see his world as half empty and leaking. What worked for him? When I would share examples of employing a BKE catalyst and making something happen, he could get inspired and I could see him trying a new idea and getting in action for a couple of days. When his efforts worked, his view would be one of abundance for a bit longer. Eventually, he would go back to the scarcity mind-set. So for Chris, the solution is frequent and positive examples of alternative approaches that inspire him to get more involved in the game of life.

Fear

Anything I’ve ever done that ultimately was worthwhile . . . initially scared me to death.

—Betty Bender

Fear affects us all at some point. When we let fear get in the way, we eliminate many possibilities. I am not suggesting that you become reckless. Most fears have nothing to do with impending danger; they’re rooted in a need to be right or save face.

The fear of being wrong is the prime inhibitor of the creative process.

—Jean Bryant

In his classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie suggests that 99 percent of our worries don’t come true and therefore we should not let them get in the way. I believe this is true and try to remind myself of it when I get into a worrisome mode. I know that if I am preoccupied with fear, I am not emotionally available to progress or experience a BKE. And I want BKEs!

This is the BKE inhibitor that gives me the most trouble. I have found that changing my self talk to ask questions like, “What’s the downside?” or “What are you really afraid of—and does that matter?” works best for me. I try to distinguish and separate my fears of pain and setback from fears about not looking good or right.

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.

—Michael O’Brien

The self-fulfilling prophecy* can be helpful or unhelpful. When we assume that we will fail and never experience a breakthrough, we are often right. Our failure occurs not because that was the likely outcome, however, but because we tuned our brains for defeat. My best friend suffers from this and it is a shame. He is brilliant, dedicated, and hardworking, but he sees his world as small and defeating. He has suffered from this failure mind-set most of his life. All is not lost and there is hope! He does have days when he entertains and takes on more positive and compelling expectations.

Confidence is a lot of this game or any game. If you don’t think you can, you won’t.

—Jerry West

To combat the negative self-fulfilling prophecy, we need to pay attention to and reprogram our destructive self-talk. By acknowledging the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy, we can create and employ a more positive model. This can occur over time or instantly. Just a couple of days ago, I was meeting someone for coffee—someone who could potentially make a significant positive difference to my business and livelihood. As I was waiting, my thoughts were small and negative. I was slumping in my chair and I am sure I looked unremarkable. As I saw the person enter the coffee shop, I noticed who I was being and quickly told my mind to snap out of it and be magnificent. The meeting went as well as could be expected!

No Room At The (Mental) Inn

The fact is that there are real limits to how many things a person can attend to at the same time.

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Attention is a limited resource. At any given time, we have just so much information we can process. I think most of us know this, and yet do we carve out time to think and create new ideas? I am guilty of this in spades—doing too much. There is a difference between making time and taking time. When we make time, we are adding burdens to the day and may push ourselves beyond our mental capacity. When we take time, by contrast, we are setting time aside in the day to focus on our goal, not adding to the workday.

When we have no room at the mental inn, we are not available to receive the information that could result in a BKE. We may be brilliant, but if we are always distracted, we will not produce our best ideas or listen well.

In other words, when we are feeling burned out and overwhelmed, we are less likely to experience breakthroughs! The solution is simple, but hard to do—do less, take on fewer projects, take a mental break.

Schools Of Thought

We have certain beliefs and assumptions about how things ought to go. When our schools of thought narrow our range of possibilities, they get in the way of BKEs. Here are several great quotes from the same source, Studies in Intellectual Breakthroughs by Charles David Axelrod:

We do not recognize our natural tendency to omit/limit/categorize info and reject thoughts and ideas counter to the current paradigm.

Other side of membership—its narrowing and confining capacity.

It is the community that breakthrough must break through.

Ordinary conversations cannot be authentic speech, for what is merely a fragment is presented as the whole.

Estrangement is a necessary ingredient of discourse.

This BKE inhibitor relates to the BKE catalyst of changing the context. Breakthroughs often involve experiencing a paradigm shift. In his Archimedes’ Bathtub, David Perkins shares an example of how our mental sets shape and inhibit our thinking. A group of people was asked to draw a picture of what aliens from outer space might look like. Not surprisingly, most people drew the stereotypical large-headed beast with arms, legs, and eyes.

People find it difficult to escape from templates well established in their minds. . . . Breakthrough thinking involves breaking through unhelpful mental sets.

—David Perkins

To combat this BKE inhibitor, we need to expand our influences and conversations. Invite a diversity of people to the dialogue. Try a new approach. Attend a class taught and attended by people you do not know.

Hard Work

The truth is that hard work doesn’t get us what we want nearly as often as most people think.

—Marc Myers

It is interesting to sit back, take a look at our goals, and ask what we could do that would make the greatest difference in facilitating success. The answer may not be to work hard. Big breakthroughs may occur because of small actions. These are just some of the potential concerns with hard work:

I am not suggesting that working hard is a bad thing. But if your progress toward your goals is unsatisfactory, you should assess whether your efforts are unintentionally getting in the way of a BKE.

Hard work just isn’t very efficient.

—Marc Myers

If you have been trying the same approach, working in the same direction, for a long time, it is unlikely that working harder in the same direction is going to help. Ask yourself, “Is this working?” If the answer is no, then perhaps you are trying too hard doing the wrong things.

Be Careful What You Ask For!

The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.

—Steven Pressfield

Resistance is a type of fear, but it is worth calling out as a separate BKE inhibitor. Many of us don’t go for our goals with gusto because we are afraid of what will happen if we get what we ask for. Why? We are vulnerable when we play full-out. What if our best is not good enough? We all experience resistance and respond to it differently. The important question is whether we let resistance sap us of our power and the energy needed to build a life we love.

BKE inhibitors grind us down every day. Looking down the list, we can quickly identify those that are most troublesome. To experience and enjoy more BKEs, minimize the number and frequency of BKE inhibitors.

Producing More BKEs

My purpose here is to explore the nature of BKEs so as to promote more and better breakthroughs. So how does the information shared thus far lead to that goal? I see it as following this formula:

MS + H – I = BKEs

(That is, a BKE mind-set plus enabling habits minus inhibitors will increase BKEs.)

I hope it is clear that producing BKEs is influenced by how we think, what we do, and the people we involve. Anyone can learn how to improve the odds of a BKE by focusing on these elements.

The BKE Mind-set

The BKE mind-set is a set of beliefs that enable more breakthroughs. I call this becoming BKE enabled. By taking on these beliefs, your head and heart will be primed for amazing things to happen. A word of caution: you may have to remind yourself of these beliefs often. For example, I am entrenched with this topic as I sit and write, yet I need reminders! I had a tough day and had to remind myself several times that a negative or grumpy state of mind would only make my situation worse. It can be tough; sometimes it’s tempting to want to play the victim. Here’s the rub: nobody can be the victim and still turn things around for the better. I know that if I’m going to help myself, I need to shift my paradigm to a BKE mind-set.

Here are several beliefs that make up the BKE mind-set:

You get the picture. If you want to change results, adjust your beliefs so they support your goals. This may seem difficult, but it does not have to be. Try creating your own list of beliefs that you feel will serve your goals. Review them every morning and every time you feel you’re experiencing a setback until you do not need to do so any longer. If you want feedback on your list of beliefs, e-mail them to me at lhaneberg@gmail.com; I would be happy to offer my thoughts. Here is one of the biggest self-fulfilling prophecies of all: Those who say it is hard to adjust beliefs will always be right. But beliefs can be very easy to adjust—and when you see it this way, it will be this way.

Here’s one last belief that I created myself. I repeat it when I am having a bad day:

Woe is me, pity parties, and whining are of no use! I cannot possibly turn
this day around with this attitude—snap out of it, your life is great!

And it works . . .

BKE Habits

When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it. 

—Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

BKE habits are the actions that naturally follow when we take on the BKE mind-set. I have always said, “Great managers do what others don’t.” This thought applies to many aspects of life. Those in action and engaged will experience more BKEs than those who sit back and wait for something to happen.

Often it is the second answer, which, although offbeat or unusual, is exactly what you need to solve a problem in an innovative way.

—Roger von Oech

A list of BKE habits:

 • Get in action and stay in action.

 • Collect many ideas from various sources.

 • Make at least five requests related to your goals every week.

 • Broadly share your goals and intentions.

 • Change your context as needed (if you are stalled, it’s needed).

 • Master the art of great dialogue.

 • Snap yourself out of funks, poor moods, or bouts of frustration—quickly.

 • Take time (not make time) to reflect, relax, and create new ideas.

 • Seek BKEs without feeling entitled to them.

 • Ask for and appreciate opposing views and contrary thought.

 • Try new things.

 • Play at work and at home, and not just in formal leisure activities.

 • Feed your curiosities!

Practice these BKE habits and you will experience more breakthroughs and enjoy greater success.

Asking a crucial question figures centrally in the cognitive snap.

—David Perkins

Conclusion

When a breakthrough occurs, it is like magic. A special surge of positive energy and optimism runs through our veins and something happens.

Something happens. . . . Reality shifts and new possibilities emerge.

BKEs are gifts. They put the life in life.

I hope this essay will help you improve your life by producing more BKEs!