I tell my team I only want to hear how we can make an idea work. I don’t want to hear all the issues of why it won’t work UNLESS they provide a solution to it that makes the work more remarkable.
Otherwise we push through, we ship, and if it fails, then we figure out why it didn’t work.
More often than not, your lizard brain will speak up with bogus reasons why an idea won’t work, miniscule excuses to quit, to not create, to not ship. “Not everyone will like it,” “they’re not willing to pay that much,” “they already have B that does Y, they don’t need C to do Y too.”
Unless your gut says it’s a bad idea, then your lizard brain is merely shooting shit, unworthy reasons to not take the risk, the leap, and by extension, not do the work that matters.
When fear is shouting at you to stop moving forward, it’s worth reminding yourself something that might not work, might also go viral.
Work that might not appeal to 1,000 people, might impact 10 people who become your new tribe for your next venture.
The book that might not get downloaded a million times, might get downloaded by your future business partner.
Amanda Palmer’s record label said it was a failure her record only sold 25,000 copies. Yet, when she ran her Kickstarter, just over 25,000 backers gave her more than $1.1 million to create something remarkable again.
It’s only when we listen to the lizard brain and the naysayers; only when we don’t push on and ship our ideas, that we truly lose.
Move forward and ship something. If it doesn’t work. Follow Neil Gaimon’s advice: make better art.
Stay Positive & You’ll Be Surprised At How Often Your Lizard Brain Is Wrong
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