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There are many ways to get things done. My way is to muddle through it.
By the way, according to muscletest, this is the way 70% of humanity can get things done… if they can break through the barrier I am experiencing now.
I don’t do well with planning and working my plan… Why? I think a wheel has dropped somewhere from my four wheel drive… I can’t do it.
I have tried. The moment there is a plan, I become stilted, and all creativity, all inspiration. all my connection to Source and the beyond go out the window, and I am remaining: bored, stiff, and boring.
I am 72 years old. I have had four, maybe five businesses if you count my years being a massage therapist, countless projects, and my only way to be having a good time is when I am muddling through.
And because I have a principle I try never to violate is: I don’t do anything unless I have a good time doing it… Luckily I have the skill to set the context, creatively, and effectively enough, that everything I have to do I have a good time with… and some of those things are hard work, or maybe even painful… but because context is decisive, I only do what I enjoy doing.
But creating a new project is one of those things I am not easily enjoying.
Even if the project has the potential to enrich me and enrich my clients, students, fans, friends, etc.
Like creating a mobile app.
At this point it is still an ‘insert moan sound here’. Not arrgh… moan…
Not pleasure moan, mind you… lol
So I am officially stuck… meaning: I feel stuck. I can’t see my way through it, so I am not energized, I am not excited, I am not creative… but I will muddle my way through, by hooks and by crooks.
So I want to share what I did to unstuck myself to the degree so that I can say, with certainty now, that it will be done.
Drumroll please! I asked for help.
First I asked for help to set the app up. It cost me $250. I felt it necessary to explain that I am old and not with the ages… but it was not necessary. You can need help, want help for any reason, or no reason at all. Actually, I don’t think they appreciated that I needed a reason.
So I have my first session with the helping person, and, of course, I am afraid: we’ll find out that I am stupid, dense, old, confused… whatever. But so what? I have already known that, and what this person thinks of me is her business, not mine.
And then I asked two of my students who are also somewhat business savvy to have a brainstorm with me, so I can decide what actually publish on the app.
It became clear to me that my fear that caused me to go stupid and confused and depressed and not do anything was a fear of doing the wrong thing.
The moment I realized that doing the wrong thing is a ‘so what?’ issue, I got freed up.
So what if I do the wrong thing? Wrong things, like the first draft in writing are the basis of the next thing.
All writing is rewriting, all first steps are there so you can see what it looks like, what it sounds like.
No big deal. In every single endeavor, sport, writing, language, invention, architecture, the first draft will be crap… But without that first draft the project is a non-starter.
It does take courage and ‘breaveheart’ to take it, to show it, to take the criticism, but so what?
Most people are good at criticizing, judging, but not good at producing.
One of my students went to a Toastmaster session and did a presentation about a topic he knew nothing about. He sent me the video. I criticized him. He got discouraged.
But it was a good base to build on!
No matter what you do, some people will not like it. Don’t let that dishearten you. Don’t even consider it a feedback, it probably isn’t. Feedback is constructive, if you can take it.
It tells you what was wrong with your first step, but it should never say: you should stop now, while you are ahead.
The job is to find the kernel, the tiny kernel of good, and strengthen that.
This is how I built all my businesses, on that tiny kernel.
I am just a normal gal, with limited resources… but I have built on those, and now I actually feel quite accomplished.
Isn’t that what you want? Instead of whining that you can’t get started because you are lazy, or worthless, or tired, or don’t know what to do?
Yesterday I had the maiden session of my Seven Boulders workshop. How did it go? If you ask the participant, it was fantastic, or good, or great, or whatever they will say.
I can see the kernel that was good, and next time I’ll do it differently. When is the next time? If there are enough participants, next Wednesday. But I may even practice a bit this coming Saturday, in two days time, on my What’s the Truth About You workshop.
This one isn’t free…
Go to step 2
