The Practice
Seth Godin
A good set of reminders about how trusting the process, refining the process and putting in the time and work is the most important thing, even in creative work. (Also how choosing an audience and solving their specific issues is really important)
- Process over product. Make the process right and the product will take care of itself
- Modern society lies to us and says well measure by product and you can get it with this process. Then the money * comes slower than you were promised and you're still working your ass off
- It's about starting not finishing, about improving not being perfect,
- Need a good boss (yourself), trust yourself, the process, believe in self. Understanding of failures but still * pushes you
- A decision can be good even if the outcome is bad (even if you crash driving could have been a good decision)
- Imposter syndrome is a good sign that you're on the right path.
- Confidence is thinking you will win in an instance, trusting the process is believing you will get their and * embracing the wins and failures along the way
- Do than be. Identity can come after starting to do the thing. Just start then be the label
- Daily practice in service of identity
- Selling might feel bad, but if you can do it and provide real value and they will be happy knowing what you know * it's good.
- Don't hord your voice. Share the good things. Don't be afraid you'll never have a good idea again. Sharing ideas * creates more ideas, collaboration
- When was the last time you did something for the first time
- Diversity, creates weird ideas. Weird ideas solve problems. Because if it isn't solvable it's not a problem, just * a situation and if it was obvious without a weird idea, it would be solved already
- You don't make a hit by trying to please everyone
- Produce work you're proud of not necessarily that will have tons of views or sales
- Be eager to suggest an alternative to your work. Suggests a posture of generosity
- If you knew you were certain to fail, what would you do after. If we failed would it be worth the journey
- If the problem can be solved, why worry? And if it can't worrying won't help anyways. Worry is simply looking for * guarantees, get back to work
- Focus on your work, that's whats in your control.
- Consistency, spend an hour a day and see what happens
- Get better clients (no Fiverr and coffee shops) get real fans and repeat customers not people who will use you * once and immediately forget about you
- Many times, everything has a purpose (often times it's vanity or status). Familiarity at the expense of * efficiency or other things like this. Quite interesting
- What's it for for meetings. Nothing out of habit especially when it's not effective
- A degree / credentialing is an invisible barrier to you actually just do the thing. ( Similarly a degree doesn't * actually imply caring or experience)
- Criticism, from most sources is bad because it's a critique of the person behind the work not the work itself or * someone who the product isn't made for complaining about how it isn't made for them
- A generous critic, who understand your project and intent and explains how it would work for them is invaluable
- Sunk costs are real and must be ignored
- We stall because of fear all the time,