By Janus Boye
Let's dream big again. This is the slightly unfashionable, yet timely theme that Düsseldorf-based digital leader Jasmin Guthmann explores in her new book titled If There Is a Will, There Is a Way.
According to Jasmin, the problem with achieving your goals isn’t the often-cited lack of willpower or time, though both are common in today’s fast-paced and high-pressure world. The truth is, under all the constraints you’re facing, you’ve forgotten how to dream big.
The book covers getting big things done whether in business, life or sports and that really resonated with me. I also know about the feeling of being stuck and working on leaving my self-doubt behind. Whether at work or in life, the ideas that Jasmin shares in her book will help you tackle excuses, turn doubt into something useful, break through challenges and achieve your goals.
Does that sound like just another motivational book? It’s not, it’s more personal, it’s more useful and in a recent member’s call we celebrated the new book.
The book is hot off the press as it came out on April 25. It’s a perfect summer read at just over 100 pages, so you can easily bring it to the beach or bring it with you on that long train ride.
Let’s look closer inside. Our conversation in the call started similar to the book: On dreaming big.
A book for dreamers and doers
I was lucky enough to hear a bit more from Jasmin the CMS Summit 25 conference in Frankfurt, where she did the conference opening.
In a time where one crisis is seemingly followed by the next, dreaming big unfortunately seems to have gone out of fashion. Dreaming is important according to Jasmin, but a dream without a plan is nothing.
Chapter 1 is indeed titled Dream Big and opens with the classic question: If you won the lottery tomorrow, what would you do? For many people, the answer would be: “Not what I do today”.
This book is her attempt to answer a fundamental question: How do we break through doubt, fear, and resistance to achieve what truly matters?
Whether it’s running an ultra-marathon, leading a transformation, or stepping into a new role, perseverance is the common thread. As Jasmin says:
"Over the years, I’ve learned that the biggest barriers to success aren’t external - they’re internal. We stop ourselves before we even begin. But what if we didn’t?"
Moving on from dreaming big, the book covers how to get things done, turning dreams into reality, overcoming obstacles and how to avoid burn- and bore-out. Let’s move onto three big ideas from the book that Jasmin shared in the call.
Three big ideas
Firstly, progress requires discomfort. Whether you want to accept that promotion, do that other big scary thing, you’ll experience discomfort, so you might as well get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s a part of the experience.
Secondly, on the path towards your big dream, keep in mind that micro-wins build massive momentum. According to Jasmin, we have a tendency to undercelebrate our small wins, yet these are the ones that will help you keep going.
Thirdly, clarity beats motivation every time. Motivation is fleeting, so don’t rely on it. Discipline is a stronger factor. Jasmin also reminded us that “You can’t motivate people” as motivation is an internal force. You can inspire people and for that clarity will help you.
Doesn’t this all require time that most people don’t have? We also covered the topic of time in our conversation, and it actually has its own chapter in the book.
Making time
As Jasmin said, this is the question she gets asked most often: How do you find the time?
Her answer is: I don’t. She makes the time. Not just for sports, work, writing, but for everything that matters to her.
Still, Jasmin recognizes that nobody has time these days. The world seems to move ever-more rapidly, more demanding and higher expectations pile up every minute. Jasmin encourages us to think about how we spend our time today with these three questions:
How many things are you doing because you need to do them?
How many things are you doing because you want to do them?
How many things are you doing because other people want you to do them?
In other words, how much are you in control of your own time? This is also something we run into in our community, where we ask people to go to group meetings in working hours or even travel to conferences that takes a huge commitment in time. When approaching new members or speakers, they often say that they don’t have the time - perhaps at best, they can make for a meetup outside working hours. But is that really what we want for learning and networking?
Getting back to the book and staying on the chapter on time, she also changes the perspective by citing this refreshing quote by Sheldon Kopp: “You are free to do whatever you like. You only have to live with the consequences”. Sounds familiar?
The useful chapter also covers disappointing others to avoid disappointing yourself and also a well-written reminder on the power of saying no.
Learn more about dreaming big and getting things done
We also talked about discipline and setting goals that are really important to you. It was a truly refreshing 30-minute conversation, and I hope you’ll like the book as much as I did. On a personal note, it’s also a love letter to curiosity.
If you would like your own copy of the book, it is available now everywhere books are being sold. You can find links to buy the book and read more about it on Jasmin’s personal website.
The conversation on getting big things done naturally continues in our peer groups and at our conferences.
For some recommended reading, Jasmin highlighted these five books:
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Indistractible by Nir Eyal
Quit by Annie Duke
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Do Hard Things by Steve Magness
Finally, you can also lean back and enjoy the entire recording below