Read This If You're Not Sure You're On The Right Track
What are the steps you've taken so far?
Are they working?
If you're not sure, have you been specific about what needs to happen for a "success?"
Here are 3 things you need to define:
- What specifically are you trying to accomplish?
- What changes might you try and why?
- How will you know that a change is an improvement?
It's easy to get caught up in how huge an idea or vision is.
It's a lot harder to define it, consider how to make it more achievable, and measure results.
Once you're finished thinking big, remember to think small.
2 Minute Action
Ask yourself this question and answer it in 2 minutes.
Is what you're doing 1) helping you understand the problem or 2) helping you take action?
Do this and you'll have direction.
A Little Hack To Jumpstart Your "Someday Maybe" List
Almost everyone has a "Someday Maybe List"
On it, you have . . .
- The non-profit you want to start.
- The album you want to record.
- The backpacking trip you want to take.
Sometimes these things are so big and important that they paralyze us from taking action. Maybe we don't know where to start. Maybe the road is so long we are afraid we won't make it. Maybe it's not urgent so we hit the snooze button for later.
Here's a super easy way to start:
All you have to do is ask: is it actionable?Can you do something about it right now? Why or why not? If it's not actionable, you'll either need more information or you'll need to break down the goal into smaller, actionable pieces.For example, "write a novel" is a big, hairy goal. You can't just bang that out today. It takes time, persistence, and a LOT of patience.Most people think: I'll write a book and then maybe I'll start a blog to tell people about it.They've got it backward. By starting with the blog, you're not only writing out the novel in small, digestible chunks (some publishers call these: chapters), but you're also building an audience of people who are going to be the most likely group of people on the planet to care when you publish it.
Is it actionable?
No. You can't publish a novel today.Fine. So what CAN you do?
- You CAN write a chapter today.
- You CAN call 5 publishers every day for a week.
- You CAN start a blog, today.
Life is going to be a lot harder (and procrastination will be a lot easier) if the tasks on your to-do list turn out to NOT be actionable.It's an easy question.You've got this.Small, daily, relentless.
2 Minute Action
What's one thing that's been sitting on your to-do list for a while?What's holding you back from checking the box?Okay, now what's the real reason?What's a small step that you can take towards making it happen?
Anyone Else Trying To Do This and Failing??
The 5 E's.The 6 Step Method.The Secret Formula that will 5x your output.
We're all looking for it.
This collective search is the definition of a "market;" a group of people simultaneously in need of a service or product.This means that we are subject to headlines and programs and blogs and online courses that promise big, life-changing results.I've done it on both sides; as a producer and as a consumer.But you already know the truth.You know when you get that funny feeling in the pit of your stomach that squints and says: "this is too good to be true."Because it is--and you're right--almost always.So how do we get tricked into more online courses and products that make big promises that we never implement?Here's the hard-to-handle truth: we don't trust ourselves. We may have built a track record of big dreams, hopes or a string of half-started projects. So if this is our data, why should we trust ourselves?We could be wrong. This lack of confidence in ourselves leaves us open to influence.
But remember:
Big, hairy audacious goals are made up of lots of little, achievable tasks.It's only after we conquer these small things, and build a new track record of success, that we'll trust ourselves with the big stuff.Then we'll have more confidence in that little skeptical voice that's trying to tell us something important!Trust is built with others the same way it is built with ourselves--yet, most of us are completely clueless.Everyone is starting with the big stuff and failing when the REAL secret is to start with the small stuff.Small, daily, relentless actions."Publish a book" is a big goal, so it's not a small task.But "call 5 publishers" is an achievable, measurable goal."Write a book" is a big goal, so it's not a small task."Write a blog post" is an achievable, measurable goal.Big goals are not checkboxes. You can't do it in one move. They're made up of small, achievable, measurable tasks.
2 Minute Action
What's a big "someday maybe" project you've had on your list?What's a smaller, achievable task you can check off in the next 2 minutes?Is it an email to a friend? Is it a sales call to a supplier? Is it a Facebook Live video asking for critical feedback on your work?Start there. Don't plan everything else out. Just do that, today. Once you do that, the next step will become more clear--and you'll have the momentum of success to move you forward.This is building trust with YOU and you've got to start before you can see the ending. This is the difficult, invisible stuff that stops us from making it.But you know better.