Read This If You Like Superhero Movies
(This is a repost/edit of a full blog post I made on Medium a few months ago. I felt it needed to be reshared, here.)
In some, eery parallel universe, in a land far far away, something strange is happening.
One must be endowed, either by the cosmos or some stroke of chance, with the ability to help people.
And if neither the cosmos nor some radioactive bug exists, our only hope of being more than just ourselves is falling into a vat of toxic waste.
I don't know about you, but I have no idea where to find a good, deep vat of toxic waste.
The allure of superhero movies is typically the transformation from the reluctant, mild-mannered, everyday human to the genetically superior and morally obligated superhuman. Only after we are endowed with this unnatural capacity can we train our minds with a small green mentor or train our bodies on some distant, high-gravity planet.
Since we, unfortunately, live here on Earth, this proposes a small dilemma.
No vats. No radioactive bugs. No cosmic alignment.
No alien technology. No Dragon Balls. No Infinity Gauntlet.
Bummer.
So, now what?
Well, you guessed it.
You have to make a choice.
Most people stay stuck and thus choose the belief that "I don't have the ability to change myself, nor can I acquire the ability to change myself. Power and ability are unlearned traits that are solely endowed by fate."
But, not you, right?
Ask yourself something . . .
Do you feel strong when you watch a superhero movie?
Most people do and that's the point. We feel empowered to change the world or at least the part that interests us.
You have to choose if you believe that you can change yourself or if you believe you can't.
Most people choose to be a superhero without knowing it.
The problem with "superhero thinking" is that we often get charged up and attack the problem by ourselves. We suffer for the greater good, make sacrifices, and spin our wheels harder than we ever thought we could.
We charge the beach and don't see the .50 caliber on the shoreline.
Charging a beach alone like a superhero isn't valiant or noble.
It's stupid.
Real-life real-world problems cannot be solved by an individual.
Real-life real-world problems are solved by teams with systems.
Sounds really sexy, right?
"Superhero thinking" is sexy! It's romanticized! Superheroes can do it all!
We want the gadgets, the moral compass, and the abs, oh good lord the abs.
And we want it all before we even start.
We want the diet pill, the salary raise at work, and mountain top mansion all before we change ourselves.
I'm sorry, but we're not superheroes. We're humans.
It's up to us to do all the changing.
The human brain is plastic.
That means that when you practice something a lot, it gets easier.
Your brain isn't a muscle. Your muscles are more like your brain.
The first time you play the piano, it's terrible. You don't have the dexterity you need which makes the process of learning frustrating and unenjoyable.
After two years of performing the same motions over and over, your brain has rewired to make it easier. You can now do something you couldn't do before and guess what?
Now it's fun.
You are the same person.
Same name. Same face. Same DNA.
You just earned a new ability which can serve you in a new way.
Maybe it's a creative outlet that helps you regulate emotions. Maybe it's a source of income. Maybe it's a way to connect with your friends.
Some abilities are easier to learn than others.
For example, if you wanted to learn how to "walk the dog" with a yo-yo, it's probably only going to take you 45 minutes.
If you want to integrate evidence-based learning practices in public school districts across the country, it's probably going to take you a whole career.
So what happens when we raise our children to believe in superheroes?
Look, I'm not saying that superhero movies aren't fun to watch.
They're fantasy. It's fun to pretend we could be like that caped silhouette on the screen.
And that's exactly my point. It's make-believe.
Not just the radioactive, toxic waste part--the whole mindset.
Here are some ways to tell if you are using "superhero thinking" without realizing it:
- Sometimes you have to stay late at work and make sure the job gets done. The keyword here is "sometimes." If you are staying late more days than not, you are probably using "superhero thinking."
- If your work often requires you to make personal sacrifices to get it done, like missing your kid's baseball season, you are probably using "superhero thinking."
- If your mindset is that no one is better than you at this one skill, so you shouldn't let anyone else have the final say about that part of the project, you are probably using "superhero thinking."
- When a teammate breaks something and you run in to take the task away and solve it yourself, you are probably using "superhero thinking."
- If your child continues to struggle in school and you continue to sign absence notes and do their homework for them, you are probably using "superhero thinking."
I sort of tricked you.
I wrote this post about superheroes, but it's really about pragmatism, leadership, and the important commitment we owe ourselves to self-improvement.
It's also about media consumption.
You are what you eat, read, and watch.
We are each from different walks of life and have different predispositions, demons, and access to resources.
Regardless of where you are, today:
- You alone are responsible for deciding what's fantasy and what's real.
- You alone are responsible for developing yourself.
- You alone are responsible for building teams and systems that actually help people, long after you're gone.
Consider this your origin story.
There's no vat. There's no secret government lab. There's no mutating serum.
You are faced with the choice of whether or not to develop your own superpowers with the skills and abilities you have today.
You are faced with the choice of whether or not to decide your own destiny.
You are faced with the choice of whether or not to take responsibility for helping people other than yourself.
We live in a distressed world with real people in it. There are real lives at stake.
You must choose to be the best version of yourself.
You must choose to help others become the best versions of themselves.
You must choose to protect yourself from "superhero thinking."
I know you can do it.
We're all counting on you.
The Most Common Excuses People Make (And How To Get Past a Them)
It helps if you know what to do.
It helps if you know when to do it.
It also helps if you have the skills, abilities, and resources to do it.
Of course, the reality is that you need none of these things to start.
Here is a list of common excuses that many of us constantly use to delay action:
“I don’t have a team.”
“I don’t have the time.”
“I don’t have the capital.”
“I don’t have the expertise.”
“I don’t have the motivation.”
“I don’t know if now is the best time.”
If you’ve ever said these to yourself, now is a good time to look hard and long at those statements.
Fight back.
Make each excuse prove itself why it’s true—because the real truth is that you can figure it out how to get past it.
You don’t have to be a genius and you don’t have to billionaire and you don’t have to be an expert with 20 years of field experience to start.
You just have to prioritize your work, be deliberate about how you spend your time, live within your means, and keep rebounding after you mess up.
That’s it.
Instead of designing your logo and buying the domain for your website, call potential clients.
Instead of browsing Banana Republic’s last sales email, set up a Gmail filter to hide emails like those and go talk to a customer.
Instead of raising money and giving away all your equity, put together a PowerPoint that looks like what the software will look like and get your first customer. (Customers pat you today and you never have to pay them back. Investors will own your business and decisions until you buy them out.)
2 Minute Action
Write a Facebook or LinkedIn post asking your network if they know any experts you’d like to talk to.
Look at your calendar and cut out a little time on one or two days of your week to work on this project. You may have to give up social or TV time.
Define the 3 features of your MVP “minimum viable product.” This is the bare minimum you need to make a sale or get a user. This is derived from Eric Ries’ “Lean Startup.”
Send an email asking your students, clients, patients or customers for feedback.