The reward is a distraction. It distracts us from our process and the work that we need to do. The universe keeps providing rewards for the work that we do and the more we look at them like a wage worker looks at his wages, use it for what the family needs, save the rest
Keep writing. The voice inside your head will ask you to stop. It will ask you to do something else instead. It will tell you that the idea you are writing about is corrupt, that you should change track, that there might be a better way of writing it, that this will
What would you do even if you'd fail? This is another way of asking what is important to you, what is non-negotiable for you, and what is it that you can't leave alone. Which process are we willing to commit to irrespective of whether we get the outcome or not? A sales professional who loves to
If only I did not have to do marketing. Many entrepreneurs, freelancers and creatives cringe when they talk about marketing. All they want is to do the work they are good at. Why do they even need to do marketing? One factor that causes this distress is that they have not yet worked on building the skill of marketing.
Amateurs, hacks & professionals. Amateurs work when they feel like it. Hacks work when it pays. Professionals work.
A professional is an imposter. There is no true professional, to begin with. There is only acting like one. You sit down to work on time, like a professional. You do the work despite not wanting to, like a professional. You show up, day after day, countering the voice inside your head, like a professional
The fear of new. We stick with jobs that don't fulfil us, we prolong relationships that we should have ended long ago, we hang out with friends we don't feel like hanging out with, we live in cities we don't feel a belonging to, we stick to habits
Making & keeping promises. That's what entrepreneurship and creative work come down to, doesn't it: Can we make and keep promises? Promises to our clients, for sure, but more importantly, promises to ourselves. Because in most cases, no one's watching and no one knows what we are working
Trust or doubt? We always have a choice: are we trusting ourselves or are we doubting ourselves? When we doubt ourselves, we become sheepish, we try to place safe, we hide. Moreover, we stop growing and expect good things to happen to us without putting in the effort. On the other hand, when
Self-sabotage. Steven Pressfield writes about accidental incapacitation in his book "Turning Pro" where he talks about soldiers in WWI who shot themselves in the foot just so that they can skip going over the trenches. We, as entrepreneurs and creatives, do that too. The force of self-sabotage within us
Instead of eliminating fear, dance with it. If our goal is to eliminate fear, then it's quite easy. If we decide not to do anything outside our comfort zone, fear will simply go away. But, in that case, instead of fear, we will end up with misery and a lousy way of living. When we
Would we do that in the real world? The digital world has brought magic to our doorsteps. When JK Rowling introduced apparition in the Harry Potter books, we were amazed to see the ability of wizards to instantly go from one place to another. But now we can do that too. We can switch from an office meeting
Pushing against resistance. Resistance is the repelling force coming from a work in potential. When we sit down to work on an important email or task, we feel a strong force that resists us from going forward. It tempts us to change track and do something else instead, anything else. Most of the
How we feel? Our feelings and emotions get affected throughout the day by different stimuli and actions. And they can affect how we act, and how we show up. But the more our actions are derived from how we are feeling, the more likely it is that we won't do the
When to quit and when not to? In his book, The Dip, Seth Godin talks about 3 kinds of curves: the dip, the cul-de-sac & the cliff. The cul-de-sac is the dead end. Things never get better. Today is exactly as yesterday was. The cul-de-sac is linear and it is a busy job. Examples of cul-de-sacs: Dead-end
Pending emails or going awol. This is seldom a problem for someone who is working within an organisation. Their job mostly revolves around replying to emails and ensuring that nothing gets left un-replied. On the other hand, for a solopreneur, there is no defined deadline and no hierarchical structure to ensure that we keep our
Merely, do the work. Without drama. Without emotion. Merely. The less the drama, the less the emotions involved, the better and more consistent the work is. Resistance uses emotion and drama to distract us from what really matters, and that is to show up as our best self, our most generous self. The drama
Pick a date, any date. It's important to pick a shipping date and make it non-negotiable. It leads to forward motion. It makes you do things because now it is imminent. Without a date, we can keep going without actually shipping anything. As soon as a date is picked, everything changes. The key
Compounding efforts and sunk costs. Compounding takes place, whether we want it or not. If we are spending our time on activities or projects that we don't want to continue, then that's time & effort lost. We are investing in building something we want to eventually throw away. Instead, if we
How to get into the zone when you are feeling overwhelmed and distracted? There are times when we are in the zone, working on things that need to be done. And then, many times, we are out of the zone, overthinking, overwhelmed, distracted, and stressed. What can we do to shift from a distracted state of mind to one where we can get
What am I not doing that I need to do? It's good to have to-do lists. It's even better to tick things off your to-do list. But, what is the one thing that you need to do that's not there on the list or is there but is always left at the end of
Will the real entrepreneur please stand up? Imposter syndrome is okay. Fighting your self-doubt is too. But, if you are an entrepreneur, there is only one question you need to answer: How many sales pitches did you make in the last one week? A runner runs. A writer writes. An entrepreneurs sells. No pitch, no entrepreneur. Simple.
Get into the ring. You can't become a runner without getting tired. You can't become a guitarist without your fingers paining. You can't become a swimmer without getting wet. You can't become a boxer without getting punched. You can't become an entrepreneur without getting
Overcoming perfectionism. Perfectionism is resistance's way of delaying our journey. It gives the illusion that the work is about choosing the perfect project rather than working on the one that's in front of you. What gives this more power is that starting projects is easier and switching projects
Let's not be rational. Rationalisation is what makes procrastination okay. It is what makes self-doubt okay. It is what makes hiding okay. Without rationalisation, shame would take over and we'd act. But instead, we rationalise and choose to explain why we don't.