Read This If You Need To Start
Why do we wait to get picked?
Why does someone else have to choose us for their team?
Why can't we just start doing exactly what we want to do?
The answer is that you don't have to wait and you can start right now.
Here's a quick story as an example from my own life:
Once, when I needed a job, I found myself filling out applications.
I hunted down a good job description and eagerly wrote up a new cover letter. I sent it off, in the web-form, with my resume, to go sit in some database with all the others. I sent it along and waited.
I sent out more and more--and I waited, still.
I wondered who would pick me.
After enough time, I was frustrated and anxious. I knew that I needed to take things into my own hands.
I walked down the street to one of the companies I'd applied to. I walked in and said that I needed to talk to the HR director about the email I'd sent. This was true.
When I talked to the HR director, I asked "what is your smelliest, ugliest, most irritating problem that no one wants to solve in your company right now?"
She laughed and proceeded to tell me about a small, but important part of an upcoming project that could use some extra support.
I offered to work for free on this small project. In exchange, if things went well, she agreed that she would write me a letter of recommendation and send it out to her colleagues in the area.
You never have to wait to do something important or meaningful.
2 Minute Action
What's something you've been putting off? Call or text a friend and ask them to hold you accountable for finishing it. Give them a clear time and day when you'll be done and offer to wash their car/mow their lawn/walk their dog/whatever if you don't deliver.
It's too hard to motivate yourself to do something.
It's easier to force yourself to do what you don't want to do by changing the environment around you.
The 3 Steps To Get Past Ruminating
Today, I was overcome with anger.I was faced with an outcome I had no control over.I couldn't control it. I couldn't change it. I couldn't delete it.
I actually stopped being productive almost my entire evening. It totally shut me down.
The hard part isn't preventing these things or figuring out how to control them in the moment. There are many things that are impossible to prevent or control.
The hard part is accepting them and moving on quickly.
The good news is that you get another shot at life every day.The sun continues to rise and provide a brand new start.It's up to you to accelerate your acceptance and adjust to reality.If you can't do it by yourself, enlist support.
There is no return-on-investment for ruminating.
There are 3 main steps to moving from uncontrollable problem to controllable solution:
- Awareness.
- Acceptance.
- Action.
You have the power to get yourself back in the saddle.
2 Minute Action
Give yourself the pep talk.Have you ever done this before?Pull yourself aside.Go for a walk, step into the restroom, or sit in your car for a second.Give yourself 2 minutes to accept what's going on around you as reality and give yourself permission to get back on the horse.
What Is Version 1 and Why Does It Matter?
There’s something weird that happens when you start.It doesn’t have to make sense or be what you planned.
You don’t even have to have a plan at all.
All that matters is that you build something, measure results, and learn something from them.The value of this cycle only kicks in when you have a hypothesis about what went wrong with what you built, and you begin the next building phase just a little bit smarter.
Build, measure, learn.
In that order.Most people can get behind this idea but somehow still find themselves too afraid or unable to start.It’s not about building what you have in your mind.It’s about building SOMEthing.If you’re not embarrassed by who you were 6 months ago, you’re not learning fast enough.
The world is out there, turning.
Your pace is up to you.Maybe you don’t have a million dollar software startup that recommends music playlists to people on the first day.But if you called a friend and asked them what music they liked, and then made a suggestion, you’d be beating someone who is still fussing around with what programming language to start with.The only thing you need to have a business is a paying customer.The only thing you need to do is start adding value.The only thing you need to do is start!
2 Minute Action:
What are you waiting for permission to do?Are you waiting for someone else to pick you?Could you just make a phone call?Could you just apply?Could you just direct message a few people?Could you pilot your idea with a prototype instead of going to a fancy printer?Could you do a wireframe or a mock-up, first?Can you draw it on a napkin or notebook?These are all small “version 1” iterations that can help you build momentum to move you forward with confidence.I can only help ask the questions you can ask yourself later.Your action is up to you.