Who not how

““Alone we can do so little; together we can do...” ”
— Helen Keller

When you set a goal bigger than yourself, the standard mental model is usually to ask yourself: How can “I” achieve this goal, what steps do “I” need to take. A far more effective mental model is to ask: “Who can help me achieve this goal?”
To many, asking “who” is almost cheating. Dan Sullivan argues it's an artifact of our education and rewards systems.

A close friend and highly successful entrepreneur Amr has this mental model intuitively. Whenever he sets a goal, he asks immediately: “Who can help me?”

8 months ago at the age of 55, overweight with two herniated disks and bad knees, he set the goal of doing an Ironman 70.3. He asked who can help him achieve this and found them. He asked me to pace him. Yesterday, we crossed the finish line together. He is a powerful example of someone who embodies who, not how.

Most people would be too embarrassed to ask for help. He was not. He simply asked and I said yes.

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