Seth's Blog : SUSDAT

SUSDAT

Abbey Ryan has painted a new painting every day for 8 years.

Isaac Asimov published 400 books, by typing every day.

This is post #6000 on this blog.

Writer's block is a myth, a recent invention, a cultural malady.

More important than the output, though, is the act itself. The act of doing it every day. When you commit to a practice, you will certainly have days when you don't feel like it, when you believe it's not your best work, when the muse deserts you. But, when you keep your commitment, the muse returns. When you keep your commitment, the work happens.

It doesn't matter if anyone reads it, buys it, sponsors it or shares it. It matters that you show up.

Show up, sit down and type. (Or paint). 

       

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More Recent Articles

• For less than it's worth
• Thanks, let's write that down
• The 2% who misunderstand you
• More of a realist
• Attitude is a skill

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Seth's Blog : For less than it's worth

For less than it's worth

The only things we spend time and money on are things that we believe are worth more than they cost.

The key words of this obvious sentence are often miscalculated:

Believe, worth and cost.

Believe as in the story we tell ourselves. Believe as in the eye of the beholder. Believe as in emotion.

Worth as in what we'll trade. Worth as in our perception of its worth right now, not later. Worth as in how we remember this decision tomorrow or next year.

and Cost, as in our expectation of how much it will hurt to get it, not merely the price tag.

If people aren't buying your product, it's not because the price is too high. It's because we don't believe you enough, don't love it enough, don't care enough.

       

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More Recent Articles

• Thanks, let's write that down
• The 2% who misunderstand you
• More of a realist
• Attitude is a skill
• Industrializing, professionalizing, scaling...

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Seth's Blog : Thanks, let's write that down

Thanks, let's write that down

One way to deal with clients, with criticism, and with feedback is to not insist on resolving it in the moment.

Taking feedback doesn't have to be the same thing as resolving feedback. 

It's tempting to challenge each bit of criticism, to explain your thinking, to justify the choices. This back and forth feels efficient, but it fails to deliver on a few fronts.

First, it makes it more difficult for the client to share her truth, to feel heard.

Second, it escalates the tension, because it's almost impossible to successfully resolve each item in real time.

If you write it down, you can accept the feedback without judgment.

And then, after it's all written down, after the feedback is received, people can change roles. You can sit on the same side of the table, colleagues in search of the best path forward.  You can rank by expense, by urgency, by importance. You can agree on timelines and mostly, say, "what do we do now?"

       

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• The 2% who misunderstand you
• More of a realist
• Attitude is a skill
• Industrializing, professionalizing, scaling...
• The banality of the magazine rack

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Seth's Blog : The 2% who misunderstand you

The 2% who misunderstand you

Sometimes, it's essential that you be completely understood. That every passenger knows where the emergency exit is, or that every employee knows how it is we do things around here.

But most of the time, if 2% of your audience doesn't get the joke, doesn't learn what you seek to teach them, doesn't understand the essence of your argument, it's not the problem you think it is.

Sure, the 2% who are underinformed can write reviews, tweet indignantly and speak up. You know what? It doesn't matter that much.

If you insist on telling everyone on the airplane precisely how to buckle their seatbelt (!), then yes, of course you're going to not only waste the time of virtually everyone, but you're going to train them not to listen to the rest of what you have to say.

If you insist on getting every single person in the room to understand every nuance of your presentation, you've just signed up to bore and alienate the very people you needed most.

When you find yourself overwriting, embracing redundancy and overwhelming people with fine print, you're probably protecting yourself against the 2%, at the expense of everyone else. (And yes, it might be 10% or even 90%.... that's okay). 

When we hold back and dumb down, we are hurting the people who need to hear from us, often in a vain attempt to satisfy a few people who might never choose to actually listen.

It's quite okay to say, "it's not for you."

       

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• More of a realist
• Attitude is a skill
• Industrializing, professionalizing, scaling...
• The banality of the magazine rack
• #WeAreAllWeird (3 contest updates)

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Seth's Blog : More of a realist

More of a realist

When did being called a 'realist' start to mean that one is a pessimist?

Sometimes, people with small goals call themselves realists, and dismiss those around them as merely dreamers. I think this is backwards.

"I guess I'm more of a realist than you," actually means, "I guess I've discovered that a positive attitude, a generous posture and a bit of persistence makes things better than most people expect."

Hope isn't a strategy, but it is an awfully good tactic.

       

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• Attitude is a skill
• Industrializing, professionalizing, scaling...
• The banality of the magazine rack
• #WeAreAllWeird (3 contest updates)
• Dreams and fears

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Seth's Blog : Attitude is a skill

Attitude is a skill

You can learn math. French. Bowling.

You can learn Javascript, too.

But you can also learn to be more empathetic, passionate, focused, consistent, persistent and twenty-seven other attitudes. 

If you can learn to be better at something, it's a skill.

And if it's a skill, it's yours if you want it.

Which is great news, isn't it?

[PS Starting today, we're running a seven-day email sequence to teach you about the upcoming altMBA workshop.  Find out more here.]

       

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More Recent Articles

• Industrializing, professionalizing, scaling...
• The banality of the magazine rack
• #WeAreAllWeird (3 contest updates)
• Dreams and fears
• Tires, coffee and people

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