Fear, change & generosity. The key element of generosity is change. Without change, there's no generosity. And fear and change go hand in hand. Too much change, too soon can be too scary for many people. So, it makes sense to break it down into micro-steps and allow others to enrol in
Creating abundance. Creating an abundance of knowledge and skills: Invest time & money in books, courses, podcasts, and workshops. Creating an abundance of people: Reach out, initiate, instigate. Have coffee chats. Be interested in other people. Figure out who you find interesting and find and connect with more people like them. Creating
Until it's done. Don't leave the seat. Don't change the tab. Don't make an exception. Don't stop doing what you are doing. Until it's done.
Neutral zone. During the day, any stimulus can trigger us into the negative zone, the zone where emotions are high, the zone where we doubt ourselves, the zone where we think more and do less, and the zone where we can't see anything good about us or the world. Sometimes,
Who's incharge? Is the project not going the way it's supposed to? Why? Who's incharge? Are you? If not you, then who? If no one's incharge, is it a wonder that things are in a mess right now?
2 kinds of projects. One is the predictable kind, the one with a set recipe which we simply need to follow. This kind of project can be drawn out on a Gantt chart. It's similar to driving from one city to another using a GPS system. You can tell exactly where you
The hard work. Doing the job is not the hard work. The hard work is creating something out of nothing. The hard work is initiating. instigating, leading. making things imminent. The hard work is listening, empathising, building trust and connection. The hard work is getting the right people in the room. There are
The cliffs and the cul-de-sacs. “If It Is Worth Doing, There’s Probably a Dip” - The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick), Seth Godin The cliffs are the addictions. The activities that give a slight high every time we do them but have massive withdrawal symptoms
The illusion of rest. Spending time on YouTube, Instagram, and Netflix is not taking rest. That's an illusion that we have created. Rest leaves you in a calmer, relaxed, more energised state. These activities don't. Mostly, they leave us drained.
Thank you, next. When we start showing up with intent, there are chances that we do not get what we are seeking. The potential client we reach out to does not sign up. The girl/guy we ask out for a date does not agree to go out with us. The jobs we
What are you working on? That's the question, isn't it? What's your priority project? What does it look like when it's done? What's the deadline? What's left to do? What's the next action step?
"Is it done?" May be a better question than, "Is it good?" And an even better question than, "Is it perfect?" When it's done, it may be good enough. On the other hand, when it's good enough, then, may be, it's done.
More of better. Doing less of something is difficult. When we focus on doing less, we create a vaccuum and more often than not that vacuum will be occupied by something else on its own. Instead, what we can focus on is doing more of something else, something better. The more we engage
Better together. It's tempting to take up the challenge of creativity and entrepreneurship alone. Even if you prefer working on your own, it helps significantly to create a community of fellow creatives not only to keep yourself accountable but also to feel connected. Many times, this would require you to
Action steps. It's easy to talk about your project, your dreams, your goals, and even your challenges and pains. It's easy to seek validation from your friend, your family member or your coach. But what matters is what are you going to do about it. What action step
As inspiration waits... When we do creative work, we schedule a time to work with inspiration. Inspiration syncs her calendar with ours and shows up on time. But many times, we show up late or don't even show up. We keep inspiration waiting. And then, we say that we lack inspiration
Professional mode on/off? You can't be in professional mode all the time. You need to know when you turn it on and when you turn it off. Every decision you take then will follow the single decision of whether you are in professional mode or not.
What's the next action step? Yes, you have dreams, you have goals, you have an idea, you have a problem, you want to discuss. Yes, that's okay. But what's the next action step? And by when can you get it done? And who can follow up with you about that? It&
Emotional pain. Emotional pain is different from physical pain. With physical pain, you don't have a choice. No matter how much it hurts, you can't say, "I will tackle it later." But with emotional pain, we can always put it off for later. And so, it
Empathy is the key. When we can feel what the other person is feeling, when we can relate to them, we can take action that can help them. We can design our product or service, our interaction, our relationship keeping that in mind. It requires emotional labour to move from making the story about
One step at a time. That's how big, crazy, ambitious projects are done. One step at a time, one day at a time. Each day matters. Each step matters.
Butterflies in the stomach... When we start being our best selves, when we start shipping, when we show up, we start getting butterflies in our stomachs. This happens because we have created tension not only for others but also for ourselves. The tension is an indicator that we have taken action which might not
Getting to the other side. Shipping is like crossing the river and getting to the other side, the client's side. The heavier we make the stuff that we need to carry across the river, the more difficult it would be to get to the other side. What's the minimum that you
Do the hard part first. It's easy to get bogged down by urgent stuff and to say that I will do the important work later. But it never works like that. Once you give in to the urgent, it's very difficult to come back to the important. Instead, if you focus
Change happens through action. Whether it is about getting into a better shape or finding someone you would like to date or improving your income, everything is about creating change. Change is scary and there is a tendency to procrastinate when we seek to make change. Plans and discussions often give an illusion of
