Get Out. Get Moving. Start.

Action always beats intention.

A dream you don’t have to fight for isn’t a dream—it’s a nap. One changes your afternoon. The other changes your world. Keep fighting.

Categories

Does the world need your dream?

FinishYear/ Quitter March 26, 2012 • Comments

Every dreamer is afraid that the world doesn’t really need whatever it is they are working on.

I’m afraid of that right now as I write my book.

The fear is that your dream will prove to be about as necessary to the world as the items in the Sky Mall catalog. (Does anyone need a showerhead that has a built-in neon light to change the color of the water? No, no they don’t.)

But let me give you a quick response to this fear that has helped me continue marching through the project I’m engaged in right now.

Does the world need your dream?

Maybe. Maybe not. But that doesn’t matter yet. Why?

Because you need it.

The book you’re writing is extremely critical to you.

The dream you’re growing is wildly necessary for you.

The question of whether the world needs it is moot. You need it. To do it. To complete it. To wrestle the demon of doubt and know that you made it through.

“Does the world need your dream?” is the wrong question to ask first. The right question is “Do I need this dream?” And if the answer is “yes,” and it should be if you’re working on the right thing, then keep working.

VIDEO: The thumb test.

Blogging/ Creativity March 23, 2012 • Comments

How do you write a blog that is unique to you? How do you design a product that is unique to your company? How do you create anything that is unique to who you are and what you do?

Here in a 90 second video I explain the thumb test, something I learned working in advertising. (What I don’t explain is how to not have the opening frame look incredibly goofy. Look at my crazy half smile. Ridiculous.) Big shout out to Patrick Tohill for putting together the video!

Question:
If you put your thumb over your last blog post, book idea or project, would it pass the thumb test?

How to have shorter meetings.

Random March 21, 2012 • Comments

I don’t know anyone who absolutely loves meetings.

I’ve never heard anyone ever say the phrase, “I don’t have enough meetings each week.”

I’ve never met anyone who felt more productive because they attended more meetings.

If anything, I’ve heard countless people say, “I was in meetings all day and didn’t get any ‘real’ work done.”

So what’s the solution to this meeting dilemma? It isn’t to stop having meetings. Some of them can be critical to the success of a project.

The answer is to have shorter meetings.

Or, rather, to meet like a sea captain.

Keep Reading —›

The hardest part of writing a book.

Creativity/ Writing March 19, 2012 • Comments

Right now, I’m in the beginning stages of writing my fourth book. And though I’ve learned the lesson I am going to share with you a million times, it hit me last week as if I’d never seen it before in my entire life.

The hardest part of writing a book is that every good book hides behind a bad book.

To write a good book, you have to write your way through a bad book first.

Scratch that. Let’s make that a horrible book.

And you know this is true. We’ve heard brilliant authors like Anne Lamott share this wisdom time and time again, but I promise when you sit down to start a new book you will think:

“Every sentence must be perfect.”

“I can’t waste time on this first draft.”

“I can’t throw away any of these words, they have to start great.”

But the truth is, for me and for you and for anyone who will ever write a good book, they are very easy to find.

They’re hiding behind the shadow of a bad book.

That’s where they are. Write your way through them. Go find them. Clear the bad book out of the way so you can get to the good one.

Question:
Have you ever struggled with perfectionism?

How to take a compliment.

Leadership March 16, 2012 • Comments

If you complimented me in the last 36 years, I’d like to apologize to you.

Chances are, when you said something kind to me, I immediately deflected your words.

If you said, “Great job on that speech, book, or helping an old lady across the street,” here is how I responded:

Keep Reading —›

What do you need to start working on your dream?

FinishYear/ Quitter March 12, 2012 • Comments

Most of us spend most of our lives trying to earn enough money to one day buy back the soul we lost along the way.

But those years are unfortunately never for sale again.

Choose wisely how you invest the years of your life.

Want to chase a dream but think you need money first? Think again. You’ve already got the most important resource there is: time.

Don’t wait until you’re 80, and wake up with a bank full of opportunity but no years left to spend it on.

Start dreaming today.

Sunday Summary – FinishYear Week 10

FinishYear March 11, 2012 • Comments

Week 10, done and done! (It’s not too late to join FinishYear with us! Here’s what we’re doing.)

Every Sunday during March, let’s share a quick summary of how we did that week on our Finish List.

Here’s my list of goals, and the summary of the progress I made:

1. Make the Quitter Conference awesome for people who attend.
We’re hard at work at a fun announcement about this goal. Stay tuned.

2. I am going to finish reading 12 non-fiction books this year. One per month.
This one is a slow go. Have you ever read Henri Nouwen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son? There’s so much in each sentence that you can’t really speed through it. (Which is not a bad thing.)

3. I am going to finish running the Nashville half marathon Saturday, April 28th in under 2 hours and 10 minutes.
I ran three times this week and completed my 9 mile run. I was able to complete the 9 miles with an average speed of 9:31 so I think I’m in good shape for this one.

4. I am going to finish writing a new book in 2012.
Best week I’ve had as far as the book is concerned. I’ll probably tweet more about this later this week, but I found the 4 words I’ve been looking for in the book. It took me a while to get there, but I finally did.

5. I am going to finish a box of thank you cards this year as a sign of my gratefulness.
Wrote 0 cards this week. No progress here.

6. I am going to finish handwriting out the entire book of Proverbs in a moleskine notebook.
I’m in the middle of Proverbs 18 and still really enjoying this goal.

That’s my week.

How was yours?

What on your Finish List went well? What on your Finish List needs more attention next week?