Month: November 2012

I love this video of President Obama’s daughter reminding him to address the crowd behind him:

So many wonderful lessons in this short video. Email and RSS subscribers can click here to see the clip.

I know a lot of people who think amazing thoughts and start amazing projects, but it’s those who ship that touch the world with their work. The idea of completion is something that I’ve come to associate with growing up as an artist and as an adult and as a man, and I have a healthy respect for those who actually follow through consistently.

Anyway, my friend Bassam just launched Ready Set Finish.

Per the site:

You’re sick of being scared.
You’re tired of feeling overwhelmed.
You’re dying to finish something.

I’m not going to try to sell you on it, as I’ve haven’t taken the course, but I’ve spent some time learning about Bassam through his writing and projects and random (interesting) facts.

You’ll like him. In his own words:

It is $99 for 2 hours of video lessons from me, 3 hours of interviews and 10 worksheets.

It is a course who’s subtitle is: The Course Your Excuses Don’t Want You To Take.

It will help people identify and deal with the excuses they so often give as to why they can’t get things done. I feel like all ages and experiences would find value in it because I tackle mindsets not just tactics.

In shipping we trust,

Bassam

Take a look if you find it interesting, and pass it along if you find it valuable.

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Where do I begin?

The “I’ve gotta make today really count!” mantra is probably counter-productive over the long haul. There are going to be off days, and and there will be days where you don’t feel like fighting.

What’s important is that we stick with it, learn from our mistakes, and hone our craft.

A long-distance runner doesn’t focus on covering the first quarter-mile as quickly as possible, their focus is on expending their energy effectively over the course of the race. Mile after mile…

I’m always shocked and enraged when I put off a task (that I can’t escape) and it ends up taking me a trivial amount of time to complete.

I get angry because 1) suffering through the procrastination (it’s always in the back of my mind) is so much worse than the completion of the task) and 2) this never changes.

I wish I had a cute, optimistic closer for this post but the worst part of it is that I’ll never move on to bigger and better problems that need solving until I overcome the fundamental ones.

If you’re in line to buy something at the mall and you no longer want it, leave the line.

There’s a tiny voice in our head that says, “if you leave the line, everyone’s going to look at you like you’re crazy and tell their friends and point and laugh and nothing you ever do in life will ever amount to anything and you’re going to end up homeless in a van down by the river….”

(the italicized portion represents the crazy™)

The truth is that no one cares.

We feel like all eyes are on us, so we develop a hysteria about things going wrong and being ostracized and having our mistakes scrutinized on a public stage. In reality, that situation (enough people watching us to where there actually would be a sizable contingent of people who care) would mean that we have a thousand other things to be concerned about. (i.e., we’re Lady Gaga)

Most people don’t have a platform.

Most people don’t show up every day.

Most people don’t strive to do their best work.

Most people allow fear to dictate their actions and decisions.

Good thing you’re not most people.

You’re allowed to change your mind.

You’re allowed to be wrong.

I try really hard not to give waffly answers when I’m asked about something I don’t want to do, or when I feel like my answer will be “no” about something.

And I hate when this consideration isn’t extended in return. If I invite you somewhere and you’re busy, there’s no need to tell me that you’ll think about it. Just say no. Now.

I understand the desire to come across as giving something consideration, and it stems from a desire to be liked. To be accepted. That’s natural.

But you have to keep in mind that 1) no one worth keeping in your life is going to hate you for declining an invitation and 2) you will garner more respect from your peers (and make life easier for everyone involved) when you develop the ability to make sound and immediate decisions.

I went through this the other day at the office when my friend told me about a startup event here in Buenos Aires taking place next week. I checked out the website and said I’d let him know if I were going, but realized what I was doing and corrected my mistake.

In the ensuing discussion, we had a discussion about why I wasn’t going.

I explained that I’m at a point in my career where I don’t need inspiration and new ideas and the next thing to focus on, what I need is to make progress every day and become a pro at my craft.

I need to show up every day and relentlessly attack my goals instead of constantly seeking out the next trend in technology or social media [gag]. Those are just distractions.

And while the event looks to be full of respected startup founders and successful technologists, I had to think about what attendance would cost me. The price of admission wasn’t much (I think less than $100) but I run support for a piece of software that a lot of people use, so me being “off” for a day presents some significant challenges.

Chiefly: I wouldn’t be providing the best experience for our customers needing urgent help (a quick response and acknowledgement is one of the best customer service touches possible) if I was unavailable during business hours. Not worth it for this.

My friend understood of course (thanks Neel) and we chatted for a bit more about commitment to work and what’s important to us in life right now.

A much better outcome than if I had given him a weak last-minute apology and a lame excuse.

The most effective version of you doesn’t take 10,000 hours to discover, you’re already this person.

The times in my life when I’ve been most unhappy and unfulfilled are when I was trying to become the best version of what someone else needed me to be for a particular role. Or doing something out of obligation, rather than purpose and passion.

And conversely, the times in my life when I’ve felt most alive and gratified by my work were when I was doing things that came natural to me. Things that allowed me to be who I am, without apology.

I think the importance of professional authenticity is massively underrated.

And although this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t pour ourselves into the mastery of a craft or trade, I think it’s worth doing a gut check along the way to determine whose ideal you you’re becoming.