“Allow Him to make more of you than you can make of yourself on your own. Treasure His involvement. Sometimes we consider changes in our plans as missteps on our journey. Think of them more as first steps to being 'on the Lord’s errand' (D&C 64:29)."
#RonaldARasband

It’s been a tough year. Relentless calamity, social instability, pandemic lockdowns, political chaos. Life events of the simplest nature & need have been cancelled. People we love or admire have buckled under the pressure, let us down, faded away. The isolation can be crippling.
The road, however straight, feels to be narrowing with every step. The demoralizing noise from the great & spacious building is mind-numbing. Dangerous detours are tempting. The haze of despair is thick & blinding. It’s so much. It is just so much.
Now is the time to look up from your dragging feet & survey the landscape. Reorient yourself with the path & the goal—the bright Tree of Life you’re approaching, & the gate wherein the Savior waits to welcome you. Assess your spiritual resources. Look for people to help & love.
It may seem like you’re being squeezed down a tight path not of your choosing, like your agency has dissolved, every option in life blocked or cancelled. But it only seems that way. Stay on the path. At the end of it, there are wonders that make your old goals seem laughable.
The fires of tribulation are not stoked to consume you, but to refine you. The dross that burns away, however painfully, was never really you. It was only the corruptive elements that hardened you & weighed you down. It was cankerous pride, selfish ambition, & mortal blindness.
Men’s hearts are failing. Yours must not. You have wept as trusted mentors, friends, & loved ones departed the good way. Others depend on your example; you must stay the course. Whatever you hoped for & lost—God has so much bigger plans for you. He sees the end. He is the way.
Do not mistake a course change for a misstep. Do not resist the Lord’s call to walk in a straighter path. What sacrifices seem now a punishment will prove themselves a divine mercy in the end. You’re stronger than any evil. Stand up. You’re going to be okay. #HearHim

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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.