Why Try To Get Out Of Your Box, When You Can Use What's In It?
Nick Dmytrenko asked me what I would do if I had my druthers. I’ve never been asked that.
It was a pleasant reminder that there’s a bigger picture I’m working for. Today, all I want is you to ask (and answer) yourself “What would I do if I had my druthers?”
If you can’t answer that question, how will you know that you’re on the right path?
Stay Positive & Thanks For The Conversation, Nick
(want to chat? shoot me an email thegarthbox@gmail.com)
It’s common knowledge that the majority of people who see internships postings, job openings and other awesome opportunities never apply for them. They think they don’t have the credentials, that too many other people are applying, that they don’t stand a chance.
Just by applying, your odds at getting what you want are extremely high because so many don’t apply.
Now, 9 out of 10 who read this still won’t apply. They’re not convinced. And that’s fine. Your chances of getting what you want are higher than ever before.
All you have to do is apply.
Stay Positive & Stop Selling Yourself Short (you wouldn’t day-dream about it if you really didn’t deserve it)
When I call forth a team of bright-minded, intuitive individuals to come up with and execute a project idea, we usually don’t find the end.
It doesn’t say much about the specific team members. Like I said, they are all intelligent, all creative and all ambitious. The problem is what I call the Lottery Project Effect.
To them (to anyone I call on) it’s as if they’ve been given the chance to buy a lottery ticket. They show up to the first meeting, they arrive, bringing a determined and creative aura with them. They’re ready to win the lottery.
As Seth Godin says, “The thrill of possibility, the chance for recognition, the chemical high of anticipation. That’s what people pay [show up] for.”
Buying a lottery ticket incites the anticipation and thrill. On the project end, though, being called on is the lottery ticket purchase. The thing is, they don’t cash in the ticket when the project is complete. They’re cashing in the ticket when they show up. The opportunity to create is the reward. They’ve won. But then starts the hard work.
If you didn’t know already, most people who win the lottery end up unhappy in the long run and continue to buy lottery tickets. So it goes on the project side, the thrill of possibility dies down, the chance for recognition that they hoped for starts being fulfilled the moment they meet other team members, the chemical high of anticipation gets trumped by the idea of “I’ve just won the lottery, now what the hell do I do?”
As the project leader, do you keep giving them lottery tickets? Or wait for a team that isn’t interested in the lottery.
Stay Positive & Tough Call, Huh? (That’s the Lottery Project Effect for you.)
Photo credit
Let me take a stab at figuring out what’s holding you back.
You’ve got plenty of great ideas. You start working on them, ordering what you need, planning schedules, collecting a team. Maybe you even complete your project.
Notice how I left “what’s holding you back” very vague. You might be held back from starting, held back from continuing, held back from finishing or held back from promoting what you’ve completed. To any of this, let me ask one important question.
How is your service? Or your product? Or your project?
Really tell me how it is. Is it phenomenal? Remarkable? A dream come true?
Or is it okay? Average? Decent? Acceptable?
Most of the time, what’s holding you back is that we answer with the latter. And the worst part, get stuck there. We feel the need to make it remarkable, but don’t want to put in the effort or are flat-out unsure if it’s something we can make remarkable. There’s no shame in that. A LOT of things are just okay.
When you’re in this spot, consider two things.
1) There’s a tribe out there that only want “okay.” Let them have it and go make something else remarkable.
2) You’ll likely make a lot more things that are just “okay.” And that’s okay. You have to keep going until you cross the gap.
Stay Positive & More On This
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They say common sense isn’t all that common. Agreed? Agreed.
Having plenty of young journalist friends, I’ve heard over and over that common knowledge isn’t all that common either.
Coincidentally, no one wants to feel that they lack common knowledge and as a result, they lie about what they know. It’s your responsibility to cover the basics anyway. As a teacher and a leader, you’re job isn’t filtration. Your job is to cast your net wide and pull as many up as possible.
Stay Positive & Here Fishy Fishy
1. Robotic Rhetoric (read, this guy is remarkable)
2. Five minutes to a better job search in 2014 (read)
3. Hacking art education and the creative experience (watch)
4. How to leave your job for a freelance life (read)
5. Mistakes on the road to creative freedom (read)
6. A hand-drawn history of Facebook (watch)
It’s tough to lead. You’re busy prioritizing moments of your own life and planning each step of the business, constantly reevaluating, constantly making changes and updates.
It’s a lot to handle.
Stop a second. You’re forgetting someone?
Some of the worst counts of leadership failure that I have seen have come from leaders neglecting the priorities of their team. Not in the sense of what each team member needs to do for the business, but the moments of their own lives they are working on prioritizing.
If you came to lead your life and the business, you’ve really came to fail.
Great leaders help their team lead their own lives too. There’s a reason many refer to great leaders as sources of inspiration, encouragement and guidance.
Stay Positive & Are You Truly Leading
