How To Get Past Writer's Block

I've had a few people ask me recently "how do you come up with ideas?""How do you become creative?"There's no cure.Just like there's no cure for "having an idea" or "starting a company."You're not going to magically come up with something brilliant.But if you just start . . .Just start writing. Just start building. Just start calling.Whatever it is you're trying to do, you'll narrow in eventually.Let it be garbage. Let it be bad.Don't throw it away. Don't delete it.Just keep going.The goal isn't perfection, the goal is momentum.Once you get over the anxiety of starting before you can see the ending, you might find that you're quite unstoppable.People (and sometimes the voices in our own heads) are very happy to tell us all the reasons something won't work.Yet, people tend to get out of the way once you're moving.That's the punchline. There is no cure. You just have to start.It's probably not going to be good, so toss out the idea that it should be perfect.The goal isn't to hit a home run in your first at-bat.

2 Minute Action:

What's something you've been putting off?

• Working out?
• Writing a book?
• Start a company?

Start right now in 2 minutes.

• Do 10 pushups.
• Write a blog post.
• Make a sales call.

I promise you can get started on any path in under 2 minutes.Practice that habit enough and you'll forget "writer's block" even existed.

Your Ping Pong Table Is Not Your Culture

Let's make something crystal clear.Company culture is NOT how many Nerf guns are in your office.It’s not about having a ping-pong table.It's not the kitchen, the snacks, the sweet standing desks, or the Keurig, either.Company culture is how you treat each other when the work gets hard, when the environment changes or when the house of cards crumbles.Company culture is putting in the emotional labor required to respect others and to keep grinding together.That said, you’re allowed to feel frustrated, angry, upset, sad, envious, all of it. You’re allowed to feel however you feel because that’s how feelings work. The next thing that happens though, is the important part. The next thing that happens after your feel something is how you react.The important part is how you choose to react to your work family when you’re operating on little sleep, a bagel, and 3 layovers.The important part is being the bad guy and calling out your teammates for not following safety protocols you all agreed on together.The important part is pulling a teammate aside to figure out why they aren’t acting like themselves.The important part is realizing you’re not acting like yourself and changing your behavior.The important part is working through the most critical problems first, even if you’d rather be working on something else.In fact, this is more than company culture. This is an Operating Religion.An Operating Religion is the world-view, values, and actions we choose to hold in order to best serve our clients, customers, teammates and the other humans on this pale, blue planet.This is the belief system we use to show up as our best selves and build something much bigger than ourselves.When we are a united front, that's when we do our best work.When we're committed to each other, that's when we get things done.When we're honest with each other, that's when we have the best output.

2 Minute Action

If you work on a team or if you fly solo, you've got culture.Culture is your religion. It's the value system you're obsessed with.Not sure what your values actually are? Run a quick Google search for Values Assessments. There are plenty that are used in high-functioning organizations.Start with this one.If you can already name your top 3-5, put them down in a list.Next to them, write one thing that you will do today that's in line with your values.Example:- Kindness - (Write a thank you letter and hand it to the mechanic who saved you $40 at your last visit)- Friendship - (Set up a skype call with a friend overseas to catch up)- Usefulness - (Donate something that you don't use or need anymore)

Is It Really Worth It If We Just Help ONE Person?

"If what we're doing only helps one person, then it's worth it."I think this phrase started as a way to help motivate folks at times when all hope seemed lost.It probably helped folks get through the terrible feeling of having no feedback and no measurable results.The nerdy scientist in me just says: "well that's dumb."If your goal is to make the world a better place than you left it, shouldn't it all be worth it if it helps 2 or more? Then you'd have a balance of +1.Without getting into the utilitarian philosophy of how to ratio quantities of people and the ways in which they must be helped . . .I think we can all agree that if what you're doing only helps one person, that sucks.I think a better strategy would be to develop some real-world metrics and then dial them up.Here are some examples of organizations that have abandoned the "one person is worth it" philosophy:

• Red Cross measures "lives saved," "meals delivered," and "shelter stays."
• The OECD looks at income levels, poverty rates, and criminal data to develop some smart stats for measuring inequality and violence against women.
• Unicef measures "vaccines delivered," "deaths prevented," and a TON of other metrics.

Like anything else, anyone can start small and make a big impact.No one is spending millions of dollars and saying "if it just helps one person . . . "No. Let's measure real-world success.What's really cool is that the act of measuring can promote improvement, all by itself.

2 Minute Action

What's a goal you have?Usually, personal goals include losing weight, eating healthier, and making more money.Usually, career goals include promotions, quitting a job to start a company, or getting a job with a team they love.Just pick one and let's get specific.Make it measurable:How many pounds should you lose? How many this month? How will you get there? What will be different about it this time?What exactly, will you eat? Will you plan every meal? Will you try having a "cheat day?"How will you increase your income? Ask for a raise? Start a side project? How much more money? How much more money this year/month/quarter?What do you need to do to get a promotion? Does your boss know? What would it take to actually quit? 6 months expenses in a savings account? Is your partner on board with this?Who do you know that already works for that company? How can you get in touch with the hiring manager? Will sending a resume just put you at the bottom of the pile? What might you do to avoid the resume stack and get the hiring manager's attention?Take Action:Can you start right now?What's something small you can do to get started?Ask a friend for a reference. Ask a colleague to be a gym buddy. Set up a meeting with your boss to talk about your development.You don't need more than 2 minutes to start. I promise.