Seth Godin seems to think that we don't talk enough about enrollment and possibility. I agree.
So let's consider possibility. It evokes openness and fairness. When possibility emerges, we feel that if we put in the time and the hard work, something good might just happen as a result.
Everyone needs to know that it's possible.
What makes things possible? Today, it's distribution. Open platforms, open infrastructure, access to technology systems. It's possible to distribute content globally, to be heard, to be seen, to be liked, and to be disliked.
Now, while things may be possible, what makes them hard, is enrollment. Enrollment is hard because you need to bring grit to the table. To do it wrong until you do it right. To discover the best way forward for now.
Everyone needs to know that enrollment is voluntary.
Let's consider the following chart.
In the top right corner is high possibility and high enrollment. These are areas where we know that something good might just come out of all of our time and effort. Hence, a lot of people are playing in this quadrant. Lots of people are trying to play to win on LinkedIn, Spotify, Instagram, Amazon, et cetera. Often times, the top right corner is a race to the bottom, and other times, network effects, chance, and randomness play into grand success stories.
So what about a race to the top? What about the odds of becoming an NBA Basketball star? There are a lot of people enrolling there too. Consider all the highschool basketball stars, sneaker companies, college basketball, and media supporting this – these systems and infrastructure drive enrollment, but not possibility. The chances of someone becoming an NBA basketball star are so low, we're more likely to be struck by lightning. Too much enrollment, not enough possibility.
Now, a funny corner. Low possibility and low enrollment. The corner of "volcano surfers" 🌋🏄. You don't have a chance in heck to become a professional volcano surfer! There aren't enough volcanoes to surf, it's too dangerous, and how the heck are you supposed to enroll in volcano surfing lessons?
And for the biggest corner in our lives: high possibility, and low enrollment. Now, taking what we've learned before, enrollment is driven by systems and infrastructure, and possibility is driven by the belief and hope that if you put in the work, you'll enjoy results.
So consider nursing, or becoming a doctor? An engineer? A teacher? A winemaker? A social worker?
Ripe with possibility! There is hope and belief that if you work hard enough, there's a chance that something good will happen on the other end of it. But is it easy to enroll in these journeys?
No! Consider how hard it is to do that, to become a nurse or doctor, physicist, or social worker? This is because we haven't created the right kinds of systems and status to encourage people that this journey is the one to go on. We've built our systems to encourage people in different ways.
We need new systems, with new languages, that encourage decision making.
You've got to do something.
So if you enroll in something, then you become people that have decided to do that something. You're on a journey to level up, not to beat someone else, not to wear the same sneakers, but because you can: to be better at it than you thought you could be.
As you can move forward, someone else can move forward too.