Chris Guillebeau, author of the new book The $100 Startup, shares insights on how to take a business from idea phase to reality. In the book, Chris shares multitudes of stories from his research into over 1,500 businesses that began as a hunch or a passion and turned into something sustainable and valuable.
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Tags: Books, business, entrepreneur, interview, resources
Danielle LaPorte has spent the last several years building a thriving audience for her work. She’s excavated and refined her voice, and has done a remarkable job of building a platform that inspires the people she serves. Last week, Danielle released a book called The Firestarter Sessions and thousands of copies flew off the shelves. Apparently not the “right” shelves. Yesterday, Danielle released a brilliant post on her blog about how her book – even though it sold enough copies – was excluded from the NY Times Bestseller list due to invisible criteria beyond her control. (She goes on to discuss how she’s found satisfaction in having served her audience with her work.)
There are few things more nausea-inducing than putting your work on display for the world to poke at, deconstruct, and critique. This is especially true when there are certain culturally-agreed-upon metrics that are supposed to indicate your level of success or failure. Sometimes it can feel like you’re aiming at multiple goals: do great work, but also (somehow) hit the metrics that provide social proof for success.
In truth, most of us want recognition for our work. There’s nothing wrong with that. We want to know that others see the value of what we do and we want to feel like our contribution is significant in some way, but the reality is that only a small percentage of what we do – even our most brilliant work – will ever be recognized broadly. If our main ambition is to be celebrated, or to hit some kind of metric for social proof, then we are setting ourselves up for a life of frustration and disappointment.
Hurry ruins saints as well as artists. They want quick success, and they are in such a hurry to get it that they cannot take time to be true to themselves. And when the madness is upon them, they argue that their very haste is a species of integrity. – Thomas Merton
Are there areas of your life where you’re aiming for trophies rather than living in the satisfaction of doing great work? I know there are in mine. I try to weed these sinister, soul-sucking desires out, but they’re there nonetheless. It is an everyday struggle to commit myself to the work and not to the judging eyes of others. Others analyze my work using metrics I can’t control, and at the end of the day these judgments will serve no purpose but to drive me insane. The one thing I can control? Pouring myself into my work and making it as great as possible.
But there is never – ever – a shortcut to great work. It always requires walking a path through the dark places. Through the ambiguity, the discomfort of fear, dissonance, and judgment. You must venture through the fire, but you will come out on the other side refined. The creative process is the perpetual assault on the beachhead of apathy.
So don’t worry about the trophies – they’ll take care of themselves. Do brilliant work that will stand the test of time, and let everyone else fight over the recognition.
That’s what Danielle has decided to do, and that really fires me up.
Tags: Focus, goals, metrics, Productivity
Image by h.koppdelaney / Flickr
Since the early days of the Accidental Creative podcast we’ve closed off with the phrase “cover bands don’t change the world – you need to find your unique voice if you want to thrive.” A cover band is a band that plays other people’s music, and they often fill music venues and make money, but at the end of the night people go home singing the music. Cover bands are often quickly forgotten, but the music lives on.
This doesn’t mean that imitation is always wrong. In fact, imitation is a key part of early growth and development. However, we cannot rely on imitation as a short-cut to success. If we do, our success will be hollow, and without a foundation. In order to add lasting, meaningful value, we must – eventually – find our own voice.
But how do we do that? With the pressures and demands of daily work, it can often be overwhelming simply to deliver on expectations, let alone to try to find some unique way of engaging our day. But it’s often in the midst of our work that we will find the best clues for our deeper, resonant vocation. Voice and vocation are both sourced the Latin word vocare, which means “to call, or invoke”. Our voice is the thing that is being called out of us in the midst of our work. It is the underlying why of our passion, even if we’ve never considered it. It is there, like a stalking lion, waiting for opportunity to pounce.
We must actively search for our voice, and clear a path for it to emerge. It is uncovered, not manufactured. We may not even like what we discover at first, but by embracing it we will position ourselves to occupy the unique space for which we’re wired.
Here are a few questions that may help uncover clues to your voice. Set aside some time with a notebook or journal to reflect on each:
What angers you? Every super hero needs a bad guy. Without one, the super hero has nothing to fight against. Are there specific things that evoke a compassionate anger in you? (Key point of differentiation: this is not about road rage, poor service, or leaving the seat up. We’re talking about the systemic things that evoke a desire to intervene in a situation as an act of compassion or to rectify a great wrong.)
What makes you cry? Think about the last several instances that caused you to cry. Movies are fair game too. I’ve noticed that I almost always tear up while watching stories of underdogs who overcome incredible odds. This is a clue to me that my greatest work may somehow involve fighting for those who are oppressed or unheard. (Hence…we call AC “freedom fighters for the creative class.”)
What have you mastered? Are there tasks, skills, or opportunities that you have simply mastered and can do without thinking? These low-friction activities might give you a clue to ways you can continue pursuing your voice. We learn through action, observation, then correction. Start with what you do well, and work your way toward your goal.
What gives you hope? What do you look forward to? What great vision do you have for your future and the future of others? Hope is a powerful motivator, and can give you a clue to the ways in which you may be able to compel others to act.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? We often forget the earliest clues to our voice as we are burdened with the expectations of peers, teachers, parents, and eventually the marketplace. But those early days of wonder – the vast expanses of horizon that hinted at limitless possibility – can give us insight into the deeper seeds of fascination that still reside within us. So…what did/do you want to be when you grow up?
If you had all the time and money in the world, what would you do? It astounds me how few people have asked themselves this question, and it astounds me more how few people can arrive at an answer when they do. We believe that a lack of resources is the obstacle to our happiness and fulfillment, but for many of us the limitation has nothing to do with a lack of money or time. The limitation is our fear of falling short of our own self-perception. We point fingers at others because we can’t reconcile our own fear of engagement. We don’t think about limitless possibility because we are afraid of what would happen if we were to get it.
What would blow your mind? (Thanks to my friend Lisa Johnson for this one.) Take about an hour to list 40 things that would blow your mind if they happened. You’ll get to about 15 before you find it difficult. Keep going. List out every thing that would thrill you if it were to happen, including relational things, business things, travel, ambitions, hopes, etc. My wife and I have done this a few times, stretching each time we do. To date, many of the things on our list have actually happened. Some never will. But it’s a great way to identify patterns in your motivation.
What platform do you own? No need to start over. Build from where you are. What platform do you already have for self-expression? What foundation can you build on to begin affecting the kinds of change you’d like to see? Never trust someone who says they want to see the world change, but can’t affect change in their own neighborhood.
What change would you like to see in the world? If you could identify a single delta - a big change that you would like to see before you die – what would it be? What would be different about the world because you lived? Don’t be afraid to think big, but be specific. You may not be the one to lead this change, but you may be able to play a significant role in it. (By the way…think relationships here too. The biggest change you and I have the capacity to make is in the lives of others.)
If you had one day left, how would you spend it? If you knew that you would evaporate at midnight, how would you spend your last day on earth? What questions would you ask? Who would you spend time with? What work would you do? Again, this is an interesting way to begin identifying patterns within your passions, skills, and experiences.
We need you. You are not disposable, and your contribution to the rest of us is not discretionary. Do not abdicate your contribution. If you do, you will spend the final days of your life wishing you’d treated your time here with more purpose. Today, here, now, in this moment, resolve to uncover your voice and to begin acting to affect change in this world. You may be reluctant to accept the role that you can play, but resolve to engage. Die empty.
Thoughts? Observations? Please share.
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Image credit: Photo by h.koppdelaney shared under Creative Commons license.
Leading creative teams is a perilous task. It can be challenging to keep teams aligned, focused on the right tasks, and collaborating effectively. Wyatt Jenkins, VP of Product at Shutterstock, wrote a fantastic blog post recently called 6 Ways to Foster Product Teams, and in this interview he expands on the tips in his post.
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Tags: interview, Leadership, podcast
What do you do mindlessly? Are there activities or routines that you jump into without thinking?
We are creatures of habit. It’s easy to gravitate toward activities and environments that reinforce our expectations or existing beliefs. In other words, it’s easy to stay in our comfort zone.
The love of comfort is frequently the enemy of greatness. – The Accidental Creative
But hovering around our comfort zone can be a creative death sentence. We can easily slip into repetitious patterns that cause us to miss potential opportunities and brilliant ideas. Here are a few methods for staying out of your comfort zone:
Disrupt your thoughtless patterns. Do something that intentionally grates against your natural tendencies. Choose an activity, a conversation, a method that feels a little unusual to you. I thought about this yesterday evening as I was sitting in my hotel in Boise, ID. I’d just wrapped up a day-long session with a fantastic group (and – as a bonus – had my photo taken on the blue turf at Bronco stadium…), and was sitting in my hotel reading, writing, surfing the web, all of which are my thoughtless tendencies, while ignoring the gorgeous weather and beautiful surroundings of Boise. I decided to get out and do something, and as a result netted a few new ideas for projects I’m working on.
Know your comfort zone and work hard to stay out of it. – riCardo Crespo, 20th Century Fox
Develop a new skill. It is incredibly uncomfortable to try new things. We feel like a failure at first, and perhaps even a little embarrassed. But stretching ourselves and trying something new allows us to expand our platform for expression. It doesn’t have to be directly related to your job. It can be anything. Skill development will push you to expand how to interact with the world. When was the last time you learned a new skill?
Make a new friend. OK, introverts – I carry your flag. I’m perfectly happy on my own curled up in a chair with a good book. But I’ve noticed that this introverted tendency sometimes prevents me from forging new relationships and collaborating with others. While it’s uncomfortable for me to pick up the phone and set a time to get together with a friend, I’ve come to realize that it’s essential for my growth.
I’ve used each of these methods at various times to disrupt my love of comfort and my thoughtless habits. They’ve helped me get out of “the grooves” and explore new opportunities.
Tags: creativity, habits, practices
OK – I’ll admit it. I nearly cried multiple times while watching the short film Caine’s Arcade. I’m a sucker for the beauty of pure, passionate pursuit. I’m especially prone to leap for joy when I see someone unexpectedly rewarded for their effort. I love a good underdog story.
All of that said, I think that this short film is much more than just a feel-good story. I pulled at least three solid, valuable lessons from this film that I plan to immediately apply to my work.
1. Boredom is more of a statement about the person than the situation. “Hey Caine…want to come spend the summer with me in the back of my barely-trafficked auto parts store?” For most kids this would be summer vacation equivalent of the kiss of death. There was no gaming system. No swimming pool. No television. A perfect excuse for “I’m booooooorrrred.”
But NO. Caine looked around and saw opportunity. Everywhere. Cardboard boxes, packing tape, gadgets and doo-dads. He chose not to be bored. It’s totally a state of mind.
My lesson: If I am bored with my work it is my problem, not the work’s. It is my responsibility to stay interested and forward-looking. Stop whining. The world doesn’t owe you anything.
2. Keep working while the world ignores you. How long was it before Caine had customer #1? How many entrepreneurs or artists would have given up by then, or stopped working at their craft and improving their skills? Caine approached his arcade with craftsmanship and fervor, and that’s what I aspire to do too.
My lesson: Attention is a secondary luxury to the artist focused on craft. It may come, and it may not, but devotion to craft is the one thing I can control.
3. Your craft will cost you something. Did you notice the prizes in the arcade? Caine’s own toys. His vision for his arcade required (demanded!) that he use all of his resources to make it work, and this meant forfeiting his own stuff for the sake of his vision.
My lesson: Ask frequently and answer honestly “am I really putting all of myself into this?” I need to make sure I’m fully backing that which I’m asking others to believe in.
These are just a few things I pulled from this gem of a film. What lesson would you add? Please let us know in the comments.
* This article originally appeared on ToddHenry.com.
