Life Lesson

The tech industry is so small. So is the community of ship captains.

Same with hammock enthusiasts, mommy blogs, and Bernese mountain dog owners.

It’s easy to fall into the perspective of it being vast, but once you’re in it – no matter what it is – you discover that you’re in the long tail.

Which is a gentle reminder to not burn a bridge, don’t pee in the pool, or smack talk your competition.

Stay Positive & What Goes Around Barely Comes Around (And You Can Watch It The Entire Time)

If you have a cake, it’s kinda dumb if you can’t eat it, too. You should.

If you’re having a meaningful moment and great experience with someone, it’s kinda dumb if you don’t lose yourself in the moment with them. You should.

If you’re going to do something, it’s kinda dumb not to do it well and completely. You should.

Of course, these aren’t shoulds I’m telling you. They’re shoulds you’re thinking.

I’m just here to tell you to listen to the thought telling you to go ahead and eat the cake, too.

Stay Positive & You Should

There’s no shortage of ways that one can learn well alone.

But learning better will always be the result of learning together.

The push, pull, retention, empathy, ownership, credibility, trust and so much more is simply more powerful in a group setting than a solo one.

Stay Positive & Same Goes For Doing, Trailblazing, Innovating, Feeling Fulfilled….

Feeling good and confident about the hard work you’re doing is like winning a jackpot lottery ticket.

I’d never say it doesn’t happen, but it’s rare and chances are likelier that you won’t feel that way than you will with your work.

The little voice inside your head that is making you uncomfortable about an idea you’re sharing or frustrated with the progress you’re making or worried about the impact it will have – all those are signals. That’s all. They’re not tangible and they won’t hold up in court (they probably won’t even hold up to your colleagues if you shared it with them).

All to say the job is on us to dance with them and understand that those signals are important to view as you being on the right path (as long as you view the right path as doing meaningful work).

Dance with them and you’re bound to win the lottery. Not the jackpot. But you’ll be with the millions that won because they played.

Stay Positive & Embrace The Emotions

Shitty first drafts are rarely ever shitty. That word is just there to give permission to suck in order to ship.

It’s still a first draft, no matter the quality, though.

There’s nothing you can’t do if you focus on doing shitty first drafts.

No shortage of people to assist you in creating better editions with candor and a helping hand.

Drip by drip by drip.

Stay Positive & Start With The Shitty First Draft

By all means, ship. Do all you can do to get it out in the world.

After it’s out there, I’d never argue that it’s not worth safeguarding it.

There’s a level of maintenance investment, marketing, and a bit of heart to keep it remarkable.

But there’s always a point of diminishing return.

I like to think about this garden a neighbor of mine has. She plants her garden and then puts fence around it, sprays, cages, and has it essentially protected by every single pest, whether it’s native to our city or not.

Already you can imagine how overkill it is, but what’s worse is the additional effort required to maintain the garden because of all the safeguards. It’s more work for her to water and even harder for the plants to flourish because they too, are restricted.

This isn’t just about gardens, of course.

Stay Positive & Safe Is Safe

First mode of motivation is to get someone to find it in themselves. They are doing a task or enrolling in a project because they want to. Selfish, sure, but motivating nonetheless.

Then there’s the influential mode of motivation. This is the boss that asks their colleague to do something or a significant other that does the dishes when they are asked.

The third motivational scenario is an oft overlooked one: doing something for someone else (outside of the one asking or the one being asked).

Generosity is energizing and it’s easier to convince yourself to do something or motivate someone else to do something if you can shine a light on how the action benefits others.

Stay Positive & Do It For Them