The Difference Between No and Not Yet.

Enjoy this Guest Post by Ron Hoesterey, CEO of The Greater Journey.

We were in the middle of building our house when our project manager suggested we put something from the ranch in to the house. Thinking it would be great to have a mantle over the fireplace of wood from the property, we began our search for the mantle. A large oak tree in the bottom along the river had fallen a year ago, so it was chosen to contribute to the mantle since the wood was already dry. The adventure of cutting a 7’ section of trunk out of the tree and getting it out resulted in my being pinned to the tractor, a trip to the emergency room, and 42 stitches in my forehead. That part of the story is being saved to be exploited for a different life’s lesson in the future. With trunk in hand, the search began to find someone in the area that had a saw mill to cut a 10” by 6” timber out of the 22” diameter oak tree trunk.

I asked my friends at the USDA office if they knew anyone that had a saw mill. I was referred to a man in Miller Grove named Ed Watts. Armed only with Ed’s name and town, my neighbor and I ventured about 25 miles south to Miller Grove in search of Ed Watts. Miller Grove consists of one intersection with a four way stop sign. On one corner sat a feed store and on the opposite side was the school district administration yard. That’s the sum total of downtown Miller Grove. Since people at feed stores know just about everything about anybody, we walked through the front door to the counter and asked if anyone knew how we could locate Ed Watts. The girl at the counter pointed to the back of the shop where there were a couple of tables and a coffee pot. “Ed’s the one with the hat on” she advised. Walking to the back of the store, I interrupted and asked if he was Ed. Ed is in his late 70’s or early 80’s and looked up in a “who’s asking?” look. I introduced myself, explained our desire to use the oak stump as a mantle and asked if he would be able to help us with our project. It was exciting to hear he was cutting wood that day and to bring it over to his house. I then asked Ed if he had lived in Miller Grove all his life. His answer “Not Yet.” will stick with me the rest of my life.

After a good laugh by all, it hit me. What a great outlook on life. This answer told me more about Ed than a thousand questions would have revealed. Ed is on an adventure though life. “Not Yet” means he still anticipates and looks forward the future in his activities. It is the complete antithesis of my Grandfather’s saying of “I don’t eat peas because I might like them and I hate the darn things.”

I have adopted Ed’s answer in my life and it has made great changes in the way the future is viewed. If asked whether or not I have eaten at the new Chinese Buffet, landed at a different airport, or discount bungie jumped, I now answer “Not Yet”. “No” is negative and leaves us with a statement of rejection of the experience and the subconscious imprint of not only have I not been there, but “No”, I am not going there, ever. “No” marks the end of an adventure.

“Not Yet” on the other hand, opens the door to adventure and growth. “Not Yet” means you have not rejected the possibility of a great adventure, a comfort stretching activity, or new experience. It in fact means you may at this time even add it to your bucket list. “Not Yet” opens the invitation in your mind and puts it in its proper place. Go ahead right now and try it. Ask yourself “Have you ever been to …. (you add the exotic destination)? Have you ever done…. (you add the activity) ? Force yourself to answer “Not Yet”. Compare that to the times your answer is NO. Start adding to your adventures.

Thanks Ed, “Not Yet” has expanded my capacity to dream and has given me freedom of thought to replace the killer word “NO” with the adventure building words of “Not Yet”

Ron Hoesterey
The Greater Journey – Remember, Life is not a problem to be solved it is an adventure to be lived,!
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