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Tag: entrepreneur

When “some” is better than “done”

It’s tempting to delay beginnings. Starting a project carries a certain amount of anxiety and trepidation. Eventually this emotional upheaval is conquered, and a new relationship forms — a protective, cautious, calculating awareness of your dream. Your time, energy, passion, love, and sacrifice have been invested into this work, and your pride is as stake. Suddenly, progress is never just right, the piece is never perfect; it lies unfinished.

It’s up to you to define the dividing line between obsession and creation. It takes honesty and acceptance to separate work you’re proud of from slop that requires more attention. However, if you don’t begin, you won’t have anything to revise or shape. Your idea will be just that — an abstract concept with no real testing power.

What if you could accept a tolerable first iteration? Embrace the fact that unless you’re lucky or highly skilled, there’s a good chance you’ll look back at your first draft and cringe. Set specific goals and concrete checkpoints to overcome perfection paralysis and create something rather than nothing.

Do you wonder how other people get started? Not sure how to label finished from needs work? Ask others for tips during today’s twitter chat, 4pm EST (use #cxchat).

Twitter chat 6/4, 4pm EST #cxchat

Mark your calendar. I’m hosting a twitter chat Tuesday, June 4 at 4pm EST.

If you’ve never participated in a twitter chat before, check out this handy resource. Twitter chats are great for creating new relationships, asking questions and polling groups.

#cxchat will focus on all things connections. I’ll post a few topics to get us started and welcome your suggestions (send an email to info@projectexponential.com). Professional and personal questions are fair game, things like:

  • What’s the best way to ask for a LinkedIn recommendation?
  • How can I leverage connections in my job search?
  • What’s the benefit of follow-up calls?
  • How do you nurture and build a tribe?
  • How have you successfully managed conflict?
  • What relationships have been most meaningful to you?

You can find some other tools to help you participate here.

Look for me from 4-5pm EST on Tuesday @redheadlefthand and send any questions my way.

Do you have what you want?

True or false:

  1. Fairy tales are real.
  2. Adventure isn’t just for vacation.
  3. Your work can be meaningful.
  4. You have the ability to create more stability and security than with any employer.

Throughout my work with industry leaders, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and 1:1 clients, I’ve pinpointed three key areas that prevent belief in the above:

  • Resentment
  • Lack of focus
  • Stagnation (disguised fear)

As a result, I’ve developed a methodology to help people push beyond perceived limits and get what they really desire. It’s based on the following principles:

Get honest

Easier for some people than others… make the time and find someplace quiet to sit down and get real with yourself. You’ll need to make a commitment to be honest about what it is you want, how you spend your time, who your closest relationships are, what kind of environments nourish your soul. Being able to identify crucial aspects of your personality, character, likes, dislikes, and leadership preferences (do you listen, lead, or follow?) can help you with the next step.

Set goals

The goals you set for yourself provide the framework for your energy and efforts. Without specific goals, you won’t be as effective; your intentions and actions less efficient. The trick is to identify goals that are meaningful and relevant for you (sometimes folks confuse another person’s expectations and preferences with their own).

Once you’ve labeled what you want and have set both long and short-term goals accordingly, you’ll be able to do your best work. Get what you want by working backwards is a post that can help you create a plan that will crush obstacles and conquer blocks (both internal and external) that might stop you in your tracks. Your fears have a more difficult time hiding when you have concrete goals in mind and on paper.

Ship

The final stage, and perhaps the most important. Perfectionism, commitment issues, laziness, self hatred — these kinds of things show up here. Guess what? They’re mostly about fear. By forcing yourself to put your work into the world, you’ll learn that products don’t need to be perfect to be finished. You may even realize that your biggest obstacle in getting things done is…you. Ship, and show fear who is boss.

I’ve been using a tailored version of this formula with a number of clients and have watched incredible transformations take place. If you’re interested in learning more and seeing whether our work together might help you, feel free to drop me a note. I’d love to hear what’s working (and what isn’t) for you.

The most valuable unit

When finalizing a product, shipping art, or editing work, it’s easy to get lost in details. Scraping through drafts and searching for the finish, time passes without recognition. We forgo ourselves and others in order to see completion.

Athletes call it The Zone. A moment when you and performance mix with sacrifice and joy and little else matters. Vision becomes narrow, your focus steadfast and locked onto the end result. All the rest, from relationships to household duties, fades into periphery.

Consider your must trusted communities. Most likely, you’ve endured together, you’ve grown together, or you’ve experienced hard work together. Challenging times weave lasting bonds, and nuances become sacred. We separates us from them.

Why, then, do we race towards finish lines alone? Some of the greatest benefits of creation’s final stages — the connections, the struggle, the lasting memories — fall victim to schedules, timelines, preoccupation, and restricted sight.

We’ve entered a new economy. One in which people have become the most valuable unit. Do you create time in your day to connect with those around you? What will support you when you need it most: your work or the relationships you’ve made along the way?

The Project Exponential community continues to grow. We’re building stronger connections and finding even more ways to help you do your best work. If you missed this morning’s newsletter, see what we’re up to here.

Are you afraid to fail (and talk about it)?

At a recent curated dinner, I asked leaders from a variety of industries to discuss a topic that doesn’t often enter first conversations: failure.

The most successful among us have failed, yet it is a subject riddled with anxiety and fear. We are afraid to be called out as a fraud, so we avoid talking about moments of doubt and insecurity. It is, in fact, the ability to screw up and fail that drives innovation, creativity, clarity, success, and more…

Brené Brown says moments of struggle and failure help us realize who we are.

Seth Godin received hundreds of rejection letters before finding that crack in the system.

Jason Russell and the Invisible Children team hosted countless school assemblies, rallying crowds and spreading their message long before the Kony 2012 video went viral.

Imagine if companies gave “Employee of the Month” awards to those who tried new initiatives and failed. The rule-followers and safe-players? They get pink slips.

Questions to consider:

1. How have failures contributed to the person you are today?
2. How are you encouraging those around you to fail more often?

Do you have enough time — or are you afraid?

I don’t have enough time is a complaint heard in corporate settings, co-working spaces, home offices, and everything in-between. Since you won’t be getting more hours in your day, make sure you’re making the most out of what you have.

1. Cut out nonessentials.

Track your activities throughout the day. Are you spending hours dawdling at the local coffee shop? Could you check Facebook less? Do you say “yes” when you could be saying “no”? Are you accepting tasks that could easily be delegated?

2. Streamline.

Become more efficient in your day-to-day activities. Block out chunks to devote to specific activities and limit distractions during these scheduled appointment times. Combine relevant meetings (and add value by expanding the network of others).

3. Revisit your priorities.

If you really want it done, you’ll make it work. Are your daily decisions reflecting your utmost priorities?

4. Face your fears.

Be honest: Are you afraid? Not having enough time is often a cop out. Is this your excuse to delay an action or plan? Imagine if you accomplished your goal. What would happen if you succeeded?

Pretend you’re gifted with an extra hour today; how would you spend it? Dare yourself to make it happen.