The most common fear of every leader, innovator, and instigator is fear of finishing.
It may sound counterintuitive – after all, these are the people who start things, who lead, who create change – but their fear is very real.
Every instigator experiences this same fear.
From the moment he begins, through every setback and project-halting mistake, to the gut-checking ship date, fear of finishing plagues every step along the path of a worthwhile endeavor.
Every leader wonders whether his work is good enough.
Every leader wonders how the tribe will react.
Every leader wonders whether he’ll be jeered and criticized (or worse, laughed at).
This (naturally) leads to thoughts of scrapping the project entirely, procrastinating in the name of perfection, and avoiding the publish button at all costs.
Every one of these reactions is merely a way to avoid finishing, avoid shipping, and, ultimately, to avoid the pain of standing out.
Here's the thing:
There is no angry group of critics waiting to dis your product.
There are no mobs of people waiting to judge you when you publish.
While you stress out over making it “perfect” and wonder if your tribe will hate you, you’re missing this glaring fact:
your tribe doesn't exist.
“There is no tribe. That gang or posse that we imagine is sustaining us by the bonds we share is in fact a conglomeration of individuals who are just as fucked up as we are and just as terrified. Each individual is so caught up in his own bullshit that he doesn’t have two seconds to worry about yours or mine, or to reject or diminish us because of it.” – Steven Pressfield [Turning Pro]
So stop worrying about this imaginary group of people watching you.
Don’t stress about negative reactions to your product (note: more than likely they simply won’t notice).
All you have control over is your work.
Do it every day.
Finish your product and push it out to the market, because...
“If you don’t intersect with the market, it doesn’t matter.” – Seth Godin
And remember:
“There is no tribe, and there never was.” – Steven Pressfield
Stop worrying.
Start shipping.
p.s. I'll be heading to the Seth Godin seminar this weekend in New York (hence the picture of his books above, conveniently placed next to my limited edition business card 🙂 ). I'll take copious notes and hope to meet some incredible people. If you're going, drop me a line. If you're not, what question would you like to ask Seth, if you could ask anything?
Share your questions (and thoughts) in the comments below.
p.p.s If you haven't had a chance yet, sign up to get incredible content sent directly to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Join the resistance! Click the image below!
After a week of consistent, daily action, you find yourself too swamped in trivial tasks to do the important work.
You’ll pick it up next week, you think to yourself.
Don’t.
Put the trivial tasks to the side – immediately.
Right now, focus for 25 minutes on one small action associated with your project.
Here’s why:
Compounding interest.
Compounding interest is the financial theory that interest created from the principal (the initial investment) is added back into the principal, so, from that moment on, the interest made and reinvested will also earn interest.
It applies to life as easily as it does to bank accounts.
That small action today doesn’t mean much, nor does tomorrow’s small action, nor the day after’s small action.
But small action, like packing snow and rolling it, builds on itself. After rolling that snowball for 30 feet, you’re looking at a massive boulder.
After taking small actions daily for 30 weeks, you’re looking at a completed book, a flourishing startup, or a growing and powerful gang.
Success builds on success.
That’s why consistent, daily, small action – no matter how small – is so important.
When you've been on the path for a while, whether you recognize it or not, you are creating interest on your principal investment (the time and sweat of creative work), and that interest will continue to compound as long as you continue to do the work.
You may be starting small, but trust me, progress is always exponential and it always starts small. Those who 'make it' aren't smarter, more privileged, or luckier...they just kept at it.
"It's easy to become healthy, fit and vibrant. It's easy to become financially independent. It's easy to have a happy family and a life rich with meaningful friendships. Tapping into the Slight Edge means doing things that are easy. Simple, little disciplines that, done consistently over time, will add up to the very biggest accomplishments." - Jeff Olson [The Slight Edge]
So keep at it.
Yes, it seems overwhelming, especially when you’re swamped with chores, tasks, meetings, and things out of your control. And since we’re conditioned from birth for instant gratification, not seeing immediate results from your hard work is disconcerting.
But just remember, it is consistent effort over time that makes the difference.
And be careful of that voice in your head that tells you to stop or take a break. His words are venomous. That's the Resistance talking - trying to keep you from doing your truly important work.
So remember these simple steps:
1) Put away the chores, tasks, phone calls, etc.
2) Stay Shortsighted
3) Time yourself for 25 minutes
4) Focus on compounding interest.
Most of all, remember this:
"every action that is easy to do, is also easy not to do." - Jeff Olson
That says it all.
It's easy to do, and it's easy not to do.
In the context of the people you know and the world we live, is it any wonder that many find themselves in the positions they do? Regret seems to be a theme among the majority.
It's easy to do. It's easy not to do.
"You can't lose. Go." - Seth Godin [Poke the Box]
Now I've got a challenge for you...
Leave a comment below and let us know how you've applied small actions in your own life.
If you enjoyed the article, feel free to share it with those who need it the most (you may know better than they do whether they need it or not).
And if you want more insights like this, sign up for my newsletter and receive a free copy of my book: The Art of Instigating.
How often do you start your day backwards? You know, by checking email, or phone messages, or reading the news?
Do any of those things directly impact the project you’re working on, or the brand you’re creating, or the book you’re writing?
Do any of them impact the rest of your day at all?
My guess is that if you didn't check email or read the news, you'd be just fine. Life would go on without a hiccup.
These things don't impact your day because they are easy, trivial activities.
And that's precisely why we start our days with them.
It’s easier to do trivial things that are urgent than it is to do important things that are not urgent - like thinking – and it’s also easier to do little things we know we can do, than to start on big things that we’re not so sure about. - John Cleese
The problem isn't that we check email, or send text messages, or read the news, it’s that we don’t use our time the way we ought to (if you care about drawing your own map, that is).
This lack of action compounds over time.
The minutes we spend checking email, sending texts, and reading the news eventually adds up to a day...and then a week...and then a year...
And in ten years, we still haven't written that novel, or built that business, or bought that investment property.
Right now a still, small voice is piping up, telling you as it has ten thousand times before, the calling that is yours and yours alone. You know it. No one has to tell you. And unless I’m crazy, you’re no closer to taking action on it than you were yesterday or you will be tomorrow. You think Resistance isn't real? Resistance will bury you. - Steven Pressfield
When we waste the beginning of our day on something impactless (yes, I made that word up), we are giving up precious hours we could devote to something important.
Instead of using daily action to propel us toward the realization of our goals, we slowly kill off any chance of doing something remarkable.
Cutting out time during the day to do the work is the first step.
Figure out what time you can carve out, what time you can steal, and stick to your routine. Do the work every day, no matter what. No holidays, no sick days. Don’t stop. - Austin Kleon
The next step – the one that requires us to take an even harder look at ourselves – is to determine if what we’re actually creating is any GOOD.
Life’s not about getting stuff done, it’s about getting the right stuff done. It doesn't matter how productive you are if the ideas you’re building on don’t represent the best you have to offer. And the best you have to offer rarely ever comes when you’re filling every nook and cranny of mind-space, every waking moment of every day. - Jonathan Fields
Once you’re able to form a habit around doing important, GOOD work every day, you’re on the path to creating something remarkable, and therefore being remarkable.
Whatever you do, don’t stop.
Do the work (the important work) and do it every day.
The most miserable and tortured people in the world are those who are continually straining and striving to convince themselves and others that they are something other than what they basically are. And there is no relief and satisfaction like that that comes when one finally gives up the shams and pretenses and is willing to be himself. Success, which comes from self-expression, often eludes those who strive and strain to "be somebody," and often comes, almost of its own accord, when a person becomes willing to RELAX and "Be Himself."
- Dr. Maxwell Maltz (Psycho-Cybernetics)
Everyone has a tendency to conform to their gang (group, club, tribe, whatever), usually without even recognizing it.
It’s been well established that we mimic those around us.
In 1999, Chartrand and Bargh – professors of Psychology at New York Univesity – discovered that people have a natural tendency to mimic the physical movements and speech inflections of those with whom they interact.
This behavior has been dubbed the Chameleon Effect.
Sasha Ondobaka of the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour elaborates: “when you’re having a conversation with somebody and you don’t care where your hands are, and the other person scratches their head, you scratch your head.”
However, the use of mimicry extends beyond individual interactions and affects the way people interact with (and thus associate with) groups. Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics, explains that people naturally conform to groups, but this type of conformity only leads to “the most miserable and tortured people…”
He goes on to explain that our actions aren’t dictated so much by what we think we should do, as they are dictated by what we think others LIKE US would do.
In this case, it would be the gang we conform to (a self-perpetuating system of failure and misery follows).
This applies to any group identity: if I'm a devout Christian and I'm confronted with a choice to stay out and drink all night or come home early so I can make it to church in the morning, I don't ask myself what I think I should do - I ask myself (subconsciously) what an ideal Christian would do.
This doesn't only affect those who are religious - if I'm an atheist, and I'm confronted with a choice to support a particular political party, I don't ask which party is right for me - I ask which party would a person like me choose.
If I'm on the Paleo diet, I don't wonder if I should eat that pizza - I ask what would someone on the Paleo Diet eat?
Answer: not that...
It's almost as if we have a concept of an ideal self within us that controls our actions more than WE do.
What does all this mean?
Well, it means we face a lot of internal struggle – a lot of push and pull – and we feel it whether or not we can actually identify what causes it.
It’s important to note that there is another element at work here: the concept of acting like the person we think we should act like. Deep down, the reason we do this, at least according to Dr. Maltz, is because of our natural inclination to become our best self.
It’s an internal struggle to become the person we ought to be (versus the person we THINK we are right now).
Which is why Maxwell Maltz's quote above is so important.
If we can just learn to relax, we can be successful with less pain and less struggle (come on, I can’t say without any struggle at all…I’m not a self help guru. There will still be struggles. Deal with it.).
So relax a little. Things will come more naturally. You'll forgive easier. You'll make friends easier. You'll be happier. Your true wants will be easier to determine and act on.
After all, if you’re not sure what to act on, you sure can’t instigate.
p.s. if you dig this article, you'll dig this book: The Art of Instigating.
People complain about blue collar workers being out of work (they are), or finding a way to bring manufacturing back (you can’t), or some other way to revitalize our 20th century view of the middle-class.
Sorry, it's gone. It's not coming back.
In a crowded marketplace, fitting in is failing. In a busy marketplace, not standing out is the same as being invisible. – Seth Godin (Purple Cow)
Why would I hire someone for $10.00 an hour when I can outsource for $1.50 (and still receive comparable quality work)? When the only task I need accomplished is menial and brainless – a commodity – why would I pay a premium?
On the other hand, if that employee can move on his own, develop and execute his own plans, instigate and start projects, create and ship his own work - why wouldn't I pay a premium. Why wouldn't I pay top dollar for someone with the brains and courage to expand the brand, product or service on his own, with minimal guidance from upper management?
In the 20th century, the majority of workers made a compromise; they accepted minimal wages in exchange for brainless, consistent work. The offer was compelling – show up to a certain location, at a certain time, for a certain duration, day after day, and in exchange you don't have to think to earn a wage (and you might even get healthcare and a 401k).
The industrial age created a robot factory of average employees. The factory setting (and factory mentality) worked during the industrial age. It won’t work now.
Once again, those jobs aren't coming back (no amount of federal quantitative easing could fix that - and that only sets us up for some painful inflation down the road).
If all you offer is the commodity of your time, guess what? So do millions of people around the world.
There is no reason (for an employer OR the customer) to pay a premium for a commodity.
So what now?
Stand out, be disruptive, be someone who can connect the dots on their own and can start without guidance. The only way to thrive in the new economy is to be an instigator.
Here's the catch: We can't tell you how. If we could, we wouldn't need you.
p.s. if you like this article, you'll love my book: The Art of Instigating.
It takes guts to create something from scratch.
It takes guts because you’re in uncharted territory.
If you’re inventing, designing and building something from the ground up – from idea to physical, tangible product – there is no template to follow.
It takes guts because your project might fail.
Your product (or service, or initiative, or speech) might not live up to your expectations, or receive the type of praise you hoped for. The marketing campaign might not drive sales like you planned. Your startup - regardless of the time spent planning and preparing - may lose money from day one and never turn around.
(*This is a graph of the statistics from Small Business Trends. The graph includes self-employed persons, so actual startup company failure, as most entrepreneurs understand the concept, may be more severe)
It takes guts because you’re exposed.
As soon as you put pen to paper, you’re opening yourself to others. When you finally push the publish button – on your first self-published novel, or that terrifying first blog post – anyone in the entire world can see it. When you push the publish button, you can't hide behind anything anymore; that's scary.
But most of all, it takes guts because making something and taking ownership of it opens you up to criticism.
It is fear of criticism – from peers, or family, or “others” – that we fear the most; that keeps us from doing our meaningful work.
Sadly, since birth, we’ve been programmed to avoid criticism at all costs (is it any wonder the most common fear is speaking in front of an audience?). To avoid criticism, all you have to do is make nothing and take ownership of nothing. To avoid criticism: hide.
And that is exactly what most people do.
Instead of starting something new, they stay with the pack and uphold the status quo.
Instead of trying something bold, they ignore the impulse and quietly go back to work.
Instead of speaking up, they stay quiet.
And months and years later, these same people will complain about the same inequalities, and hardships, and daily tribulations that they’ve always complained about (but more bitter).
They had the chance to instigate.
They chose not to.
And then there are the few who do start something new, or try something bold, or speak up when the rest are silent. These people are the movers and shakers – the people we remember and the companies, products, and services we talk about.
Drew Houston, CEO and founder of Dropbox, designed the digital storage platform because he wanted to solve a problem that others hadn’t yet been able to solve. He built Dropbox into one of the fastest growing companies in Silicon Valley and turned down a multi-million dollar acquisition offer from Apple.
Phil Libin, CEO of Evernote, spent years building the company to the (ridiculously enormous) size it is today, all without an exit plan. He has no plans to sell out to another company. Or, as he puts it, there is no exit plan for your life’s work. Incredible.
Jonathan Fields (author of Uncertainty) created a whole new platform to bring entrepreneurs, instigators, artists, and change makers to the rest of the world. The content is brilliant.
Scott Dinsmore created Live Your Legend (referencing the transformative book The Alchemist) to inspire others to live a life of purpose ON purpose. His writing inspired me – it might just inspire you.
These people all have one thing in common – they all draw their own map.
They didn’t wait for permission from someone else – they developed their own ideas into successful, tangible products and services. They each created their own reality around the things they care about. Whether it’s solving the problem of digital storage or figuring out a way to inspire people to find and live their passion, each person here has done something important, bold, and unique.
So the question is this: how do you plan to draw your own map? What is holding you back? In what ways can you instigate change in your own life (or work or play)? Share your thoughts below.
When the choice is to lose an hour of sleep or finish that proposal for a new client, what do you choose?
We all understand crunch time - refocusing and re-energizing our work to meet a deadline.
But let's say there is no deadline - that the only deadline is your life expectancy. Could be tomorrow, could be 70 years from now. When will you start on what matters most?
"You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself."
Napolean Hill
Can you sacrifice an extra hour of sleep in the morning to wake up early to create?
Can you wake up before a full day of work at the robot factory and spend 5 minutes on your most important task of the day? What about 60 minutes?
I've heard one idea repeated over and over by renowned businessmen and women, writers, artists, entrepreneurs, leaders, and all around instigators. The idea is so simple it’s almost underwhelming, but, when implemented, it has the power to build empires.
The idea is this: wake up early and focus on your most important work first.
Earl Nightingale encouraged waking up early to reflect - it's the only time of the day to achieve true quiet.
Brian Tracy explains that all successful people wake up just a little bit earlier than other people to start the important work for the day.
Seth Godin, before he does anything else, writes (and has thousands of blog posts and 13+ award winning books to show for it).
Ford woke up early and invented the model-T.
Edison woke up early and invented the light bulb.
Steven Pressfield wrote three books on the topic of doing the work, day in and day out, no matter what.
The list of examples could go on for pages.
So how much is that extra hour of sleep worth to you? You're tired, so why not sleep to the last possible minute before you MUST get up and go to work...
After all, we've trained ourselves to procrastinate, haven't we? To not act until right before the deadline?
Here's the thing: the deadline you’re waiting for before you take action – it will never come.
Nobody will ever tell you when your important work is due. Nobody will set a deadline for you.
So when you eventually reach your final deadline, will you be left with something to show for it, or will you be one of those people who always wanted to travel around the world, or always wanted to write that novel, or always wanted to start that project that would change everything?
Life is short. You don't know how short. Don’t be an always wanted to person. Act as if the deadline is tonight.
Instigate before it’s too late.