willie jackson

Blog

  • Mastery or resources

    I know how to get a website online.

    Everything from registering the domain to building the server to installing the necessary software and making it all play nicely together.

    If I didn’t know how to do those things and wanted to get a website online, I would need to pay someone to do it for me (or call in a favor to a friend…). Less control (and speed) perhaps, but the same result.

    A habit I see some people developing is both not knowing how to do something, not being willing to learn how to accomplish the task (without being instructed), and not being willing to put the money towards hiring a competent freelancer to do the work.

    I’m pretty sure you have to pick one.

  • Geek Yoga

    If you’re in the NYC area and have an interest in Yoga, you should come to Geek Yoga on Thursdays at 8PM.

    Here’s why I’m sharing it with you:

    • Jenny didn’t wait for anyone to give her the chance to teach a class, she rented the space and now it’s a thing.
    • The class makes it easy for stiff engineers like me to get started with something physical like yoga without feeling as ridiculous as I look when doing it
    • Every time I drag someone along, they say they love it and come back the next week

    See you soon?

  • Recovery period

    How long does it take you to get your head back in the game?

    In the same way that top athletes maintain focus when competing by not allowing bad plays or incidents to derail them mentally and emotionally, you must resolve to let your failures from the past (even from yesterday) to remain in the past.

    You do your tribe and your art a disservice by beating yourself and preventing your own progress.

    Shake it off, you’re late.

  • Self-direction

    “Traditional jobs” (which will continue to become less interesting and common over the next few years) are traditional because they typically involve a clear set of instructions: do what has always been done.

    There’s not a lot of risk involved on a personal level and thus, there’s not a lot of growth that takes place for the person in the position.

    For new projects and startups, the path is less clear. No one knows the best way to do things, because many things haven’t been done before.

    The solution here is of course to fail as fast as possible in the most likely direction of success. Many are paralyzed by a lack of direction and instruction on the job, but this is where you can shine.

  • Remember when I said….?

    Accountability makes us uncomfortable because it’s precisely what we need.

    When someone holds themselves accountable to us, it implies that reciprocity is desired or appropriate. And since we spend so much of our time making excuses, hiding in the shadows, and avoiding our potential, this is terrifying.

    When we hold ourselves accountable (publicly or to others), we choose our words more carefully, set more purposeful goals, and fight the urge not to promise anyone anything.

    This situation virtually guarantees progress or admitted cowardice.

  • Dialing down the generosity

    When things don’t work out as we’d like them to, we react defensively and seek to prevent the same embarrassment and pain from happening again.

    We put up walls, swear off risks and certain people, and become a little less brave every time it happens. When a similar situation presents itself again, we know exactly what to do!

    We retreat.

    Among the problems with this approach is that the terror of “something bad happening” is carried with us every day.

    The bravery we lose in the face of adversity makes us less confident in many other areas, and the net effect of this defensive posture is emotionally debilitating in the long term.

    I don’t have a “this is what you should do in these situations” admonishment, but what I think that the courage to lean into the pain is important.

    Your posture towards failure and disappointment is just as important as everything else.

  • Urgency

    There will always be factors outside of your control when launching a new venture or doing work that matters. (Your ability to deal with this risk is what makes you valuable in the first place.)

    The voice of doubt and fear in your head (Resistance) will have you doing things like “research” and “preparation” for months and even years if you let it, virtually guaranteeing that your art is never shared with the world.

    Since the real lessons that need to be learned aren’t ones gleaned from Google searches and white paper browsing, the goal should be to launch quickly with as much momentum as possible.

    Your idea (in its original form) won’t survive contact with the market anyway, so why not spend six months iterating, delighting your customers, and building a customer base?

  • Better now than before

    Customers come to you because they have a problem they can’t (or don’t want to) solve. And while they may describe their problem in a certain way, it’s important to determine what the customer actually needs, regardless of how poorly the problem is being articulated.

    Assuming that they’ve reached out with the intent to actually engage you for your services (as opposed to just kicking the tires), your job then becomes 1) understanding very clearly what the issue is and 2) leaving the customer feeling like you can make the problem go away.

    It’s more of an art than a science, and there are many ways to say the wrong thing and scare the customer into never following up or following through. They should leave the conversation with more clarity than they had before connecting with you and if not, you might be trying to solve the wrong problem.

  • Performing under pressure

    …is almost never as good as performing well-prepared.

    Procrastination junkies extol the benefits of last-minute work, and there’s no denying that many people reach a powerful state of flow when working against a tight deadline. But the goal, I think, should be to bring about these states of flow well ahead of said deadlines.

    The work then becomes diving into projects well ahead of time and focusing them it intensely until they’re complete, rather than purposefully procrastinating and then circumstances require that you do this.

  • Learn from yourself

    If there’s a goal you have in mind and you’ve made no strides towards completion in say, six months, is it really a goal? And if the answer is yes, what are you waiting on exactly?

    We have an idea of what we’d like to become and how we’d like to be viewed and what would be best for us, but all of this takes a backseat to what we’re actually willing to put in the work to accomplish.

    I’m not sure that it’s natural to allow questions to resonate in the echo chamber of own solitude but after doing it enough times, it becomes a place for truth and clarity and direction.