At the Good Life Project camp this weekend, the opening and closing question was the same: “What if?”

GLP is a camp for entrepreneurs who would like to change the world, so the keynote speakers’ “What ifs” were bold.

• Artist Max Levi Frieder asked “What if I went to remote places in the world, including refugee camps in Syria, and got the kids to paint a mural about their life? What if I tried to change the world with art?”
• Entrepreneur Chris Guillebeau, asked, “What if I visited all the countries in the world – including war-torn countries – and blogged about it to let the rest of the world know what I’m seeing?”
• Buddhist Reverend angel Kyodo williams (the capitalization choice is hers) asked, “What if we accepted that while our racial history isn’t our fault, it is our responsibility to make it better. And what if we started to have real conversations about race to help us figure out how we can make things better?”

I love the idea of asking, “What if.” It helps you feel less like an expert and more like an explorer. When you start an idea with “What if,” you don’t know exactly where you’re headed or how you’re going to get there. But you’re curious. You’re asking a question. And you’re headed off on a new path.

• What if you decided it’s time to get organized and do the work you know you want to do?
• What if you decided to talk to a new person at work, or a new neighbor down the street?
• What if you decided to try your hand at painting? Or writing? Or music?
• What if you decided to change a life-long habit? Or to start a new habit?
• What if you decided that the thing you’ve been avoiding might not be so difficult if you just took the first baby step?

If you ask yourself “What if,” and you feel a bubble of energy in your gut, you’re onto something. Where does that energy want to take you?

“What if…”

This picture is from a Smithsonian art gallery exhibit. Happy summer thinking!

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