The Power of Constraints

In 1960, two men made a bet.

There was only $50 on the line, but millions of people would benefit from their little wager.

The first man, Bennett Cerf, was the founder of publishing firm, Random House. The second man was Theo Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss. [1]

Cerf made a bet with Dr. Seuss that he couldn’t write an entertaining children’s book using 50 different words or less. Dr. Seuss took the bet and won. [2]

The result was a little book called ‘Green Eggs and Ham’. Since publication, Green Eggs and Ham has sold more than 200 million copies, making it one of the best- selling children’s books in history. [3]

The Power
Dr. Seuss mastered the Power of Constraint. He demonstrated that setting limits for yourself sometimes delivers better results than an “open cheque book”. That resourcefulness is more valuable than resources.

Look at anyone who grew up in the Great Depression. Penury and poverty made some of them the most resourceful people of our time.

Sport is no different. A short basketball player will figure out more ways to score than a tall basketball player.

Likewise a prisoner. Speak to any prison guard and they will tell you the more a prisoner is denied, the more resourceful they become to ensure their own survival.

Employers have a similar experience as well. They’ll tell you that if it wasn’t for the last minute nothing would get done.

The Size of Your Canvas
Dr. Seuss was given 50 words. That was the size of his canvas. His job was to see what kind of picture he could paint with those words. [4]

There are a lot of authors who would complain about writing a book with only 50 words. But here was one author who decided to take the tools he had available and make a work of art instead.

We all have constraints in our lives. The limitations just determine the size of the canvas you have to work with. What you paint on it is up to you.

Increasing your income and growing your asset base is no different.

Have a great week!

Source[1,2,3,4]: Mastering Creativity by James Clear www.jamesclear.com