It’s hard to believe it’s been over a half a year! For better than 6 months, I have been writing a blog post here each and every day. It’s Saturday morning, as I write this, and here I am, typing away. The experience has been enlightening in many ways, and it has forced me to stretch myself. Ed Mylett talks about being successful starts with “keeping promises to yourself,” and this has been that for me.
But one thing it has truly taught me is what I DON’T know. I don’t know what it going to work or resonate. I don’t know what is going to help people. Here is an example from this week. On Monday I posted a blog that I wrote a few years ago. It was 5 Business Lessons you can learn from Garth Brooks. I was watching a concert with him at Notre Dame Stadium and that seemed appropriate. It was a blog post that did very well.
Then on Friday I posted 5 Business Lessons you can Learn from Adam Sandler. (I had seen him on the sideline of an NBA highlight). I enjoyed writing this and thought it would really take off. I linked to outside sources. I referenced movies. This post was viewed 8 times LESS than the one above.
Was it because Garth is better than Adam?
Is one better written than the other?
Was it the time of day? Could it be the day?
What was the reason that one of them took off…and the other did not? The honest answer–after 6 months of doing this every day–is I have no idea. I think this is a strange little mind game that holds people back. They just don’t know what is going to work. So they think about it. Then they think about it some more. Then they talk about it and plan about it…and do nothing. This question of whether it is going to work creates a “paralysis by analysis.”
They literally “think” themselves out of taking action.
What I have learned from this exercise of writing every day is we need to do just the opposite. We need to lean into action, precisely because we don’t know what is going to work! That consistency of taking action is what will create the outcome we are looking for. It’s not the one action. It’s the many.
*In sales, we don’t make the sales call because it’s not the right time of day, week, year, etc. But you don’t know. So you might as well make the call.
*In fitness, we don’t start working out because we are going to wait for the next new workout plan. Just get on the treadmill.
You get the idea. Will it work? Will it fail? Will this be the magic video that goes viral? The answer, if we are honest, is we don’t know. Will this be the blog that has an impact and creates a mindset of change for you? I don’t know. So I will hit publish to find out.
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