Empathy is hard. And empathy is what the work is all about. What does the person you seek to serve believes that you don't believe? What do they care about that you don't care about? What do they want that you don't want? What do they see
Treat projects like milk. Starting a project is relatively easier than getting it to the other end. And starting a new one before we ship the one in progress is tempting. It's all okay as long as we are clear about what's in progress and what needs to be shipped,
Promises to keep. As professionals, we make and keep promises. To our customers. And to ourselves. That's what this is about.
What does it look like when it works? Before we begin any project, it is helpful to see what it would look like when it works and also, when it doesn't. If you are preparing for a marathon, would you be happy if you complete the marathon or only if you win the marathon? In any
Action first, permission later. What actions can take things forward, change our identity, and make things better? It’s tempting to wait for permission, wait for instructions, wait to be selected. But the more we select ourselves, the more we act without waiting for permission, the more we will see ourselves getting selected to
The deal(s) with the devil. I don’t need to work on myself. Things are good/decent as they are. I have enough on my plate already. I can’t afford to invest in myself. I need someone to give me instructions or permission. I can't manage myself. I am not creative enough.
Embracing the finishing mindset. Done is better than good. - Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic The planning mindset is addictive. It is a devious trap of procrastination because it gives the illusion of progress without anything happening. It's motion without action. Planning and preparation can help but not in the prime time, not
Books a solopreneur must read. This is Marketing by Seth Godin: Learn how to market with empathy and connection by earning permission from the people you seek to serve. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield: Understand how self-doubt & procrastination and other self-sabotage forces stop you and learn how you can overcome these forces
Organise it yourself. There are many things in life that we want, that we would like to have. There are changes we want to see in the world, communities that we would like to be a part of. But if we wait for someone else to initiate, someone else to do the hard
Trusting our selves. The search for certainty and guarantee in our work comes from our lack of trust in ourselves that we will figure things out when we get there. Most times, we want to be sure of the outcome before we even get started. Until then, we are okay with delaying the
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
