The Personal Assistant Experiment

What could Genius do if you get out of the way?

Two weeks ago I attended an event with Michael Neill called “Genius Catalyst.” We gathered in Santa Monica, California to explore the nature of Infinite Genius and inspired creation.

The weekend was full of provocative conversations and exercises. One was particularly memorable.

I’ll call it the “Get Out of Your Own Way” Experiment. Here’s how it went:

First, he had us write down all the specific tasks that keep us from working on our creative project, the things we’d love to have someone take off our plate.

Then he broke us up into groups of two and gave us the assignment.

“For the next hour, you will act as the personal assistant for your partner. Take as much off their plate as possible. Don’t advise them what to do; DO IT.”

I acted as personal assistant to a woman named Veena whose time was filled with taking care of her home and family. Through our discussion, it became clear that she had money to invest in a solution to take care of her clutter, organize her paperwork and prepare weekly healthy meals for the family.

I went to work.

Over the next 30 minutes I left messages with eight professional organizers in her area who had excellent reviews (no one answered the phone, which is a marketing FAIL to discuss another day) and I gathered quotes from two of them.

I had so much fun! After an hour I presented “my boss” with quotes for qualified professionals who could do exactly what she needed.

After the exercise, my classmates shared their experiences. Here are some of the insights.

#1 – So much more is possible than what you think.

When someone else looks at your list of To Do’s, they can easily guide you to solutions you’ve never considered.

Without your story about why it isn’t possible, the list quickly becomes achievable.

#2 – The list of what’s stopping you is really a list of excuses.

One woman listed the activities necessary to take care of her kids as the things keeping her from her creative project: driving them to activities, attending events, making meals. If only she had a nanny and a cook to take care of it all!

Yet upon reflection, she realized that she enjoys these things.

Her everyday family interaction actually feeds the creativity and inspires her creative work (writing and speaking.) She found that she didn’t actually want to stop doing these things; they were just convenient excuses.

#3 – Simply talking about the tasks on your To Do List is useful.

Veena had spent years complaining. “I need to get rid of the clutter. It takes too long to create healthy meals and we end up eating junk food.”

But she never sat down to explore solutions for these problems.

She had no idea what it would cost to hire someone to help with these tasks. She wasn’t clear on how she’d know when “getting rid of clutter” had been accomplished, where her biggest pain points were or what free options might be available.

My questions immediately opened up possibilities and space for her to resolve them.

#4 – You can get a surprising amount accomplished when you simply START.

Some of my fellow students had their personal assistants do more in an hour to move these things off their list than they’d done themselves in an entire year.

When the slate was clear to take action, things happened that seemed insurmountable.

What’s Stopping You?

Regardless what tasks are on your List of What’s Keeping You From Going After Your Dreams, I can tell you with certainty that something else is possible.

If you’re willing to choose it, you can find a solution.

Or perhaps there’s another way of thinking about your “problem” that gives you the awareness that it’s not really a problem at all.

What if you get together with a friend and do this exercise together?

What if you take ONE small action to move the stuff on your list right now?

I wonder what might happen?

Psssst. That’s your cue to do something about it.

Then comment below and let me know how it goes!