Do the Thing
This is my modus operandi:
- Have an idea
- Sit down to work
- Work on something different
- Let the idea die
When I decided to make developer training videos,
I sat down and built a multi-tenant app for selling video subscriptions in a hawt-shit web framework I didn’t know.
I didn’t make a video.
I’ve missed out on a lot of opportunities because of that.
But I learned something invaluable about work.
Creation is a battle with ego.
Ego hates the indignity of work.
It hates simple things.
And when forced to work, ego redirects effort toward bigger, brighter, bolder goals.
This is why your blog looks like a dream but has no posts.
It’s why your manager adds “just one more thing” before presenting your work to the executive team.
And it’s why you won’t contribute a dime to your 401k before identifying the perfect funds.
Ego refuses to look foolish.
So it counters your little idea with a noble obstacle.
Resist.
Keep your head down.
Do the thing.
Feel the shame of it.
Embrace the smallness.
Don’t let ego derail you.