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One of my teachers, Sean teaches that instead of starting a business is start a project, not a business.
But most people don’t know diddly squat about building, creating a project.
They know goal setting… daydreaming… wishing, wanting, etc.
But projects?
I first encountered this issue when I was coaching a program in Landmark, (SELP) where the whole methodology was to put people through a project of their own invention, and coach them every step of the way.
Before coaching it, I was first a participant in the same program. And even I did NOT complete my project. I blamed my ‘coach’. I said ‘She was like a cheerleader!‘. Neither the blaming, nor the cheerleading helped me complete my project. Even though it was a great project.
But truth be told: I didn’t do all I could do.
I did about 10% of what I could do, what I could have done.
It’s morning, and I just watched my best teacher, Robert, teach a tutorial. When I measured how much of what he can do he put into his project, the number was 30%. He is faster, better, has better tools, has more skills. Nothing held back? No. He held back 30%.
Most people hold back 91%.
And put into what they are doing how much? 1%.
Al Williams famously said: All you can do is all you can do, and all you can do is enough.
What he didn’t say overtly, and what people didn’t hear. I didn’t hear it! is that if you put in 100% of all you can do, then it is enough. Enough for what? Enough for you to get to where you want to get to. Get the result.
What do you do instead of putting all you’ve got into what you are doing?
A few things.
First, more than anything else, you put fulfilling your wants. 91%
Your want for excuse. Your want for being right, looking good, dominating, winning every minute, justifying, explaining, analyzing, talking-talking-talking, and avoiding responsibility.
Does that list sound like the payoffs of the racket? Yes? Yes. That is: you are ‘running’ your racket.
But it would me more precise to say: your racket is running you.
Depending on the individual, this can be as much as all the 91% of the time, effort, energy, passion, whatever you got. The doing.
Second: you are trying. 30%
Trying this and quitting. Trying that and quitting. Pretending.
- Pretending that you can’t be trusted.
- Or pretending that you can do all, and you can do all at the same time. Playing the superhero.
- Some of you pretend that it’s easy… and come up with solutions, actions, that don’t even TOUCH the doing that is needed.
Third: You are beating yourself up. 20%
As if it made you better. As if it gave you more results. You seem to think that it’s a strategic tool. If you do enough of it then everything will be better. 20%
Fourth:You give yourself an out. 10%
You are too busy, too old, too lazy, too stupid, too sick. You don’t have the tools. Don’t have the skills. Don’t have the support. Maybe you don’t like the doing. Maybe you don’t want the result. 10%
Producers
So you see why only a tiny segment of the population is producers… My favorite teacher, Robert, is a producer. He is. Even though he invests only 30% of what he can do. But he has more in that ‘all you can do’ than most people. Sean is the same.
Even I am a producer with my 10%. Not a high producer, but a producer nevertheless.
But unless you cut back on wanting, cut back on the ‘reasons’ why you don’t, why you don’t want to, why you can’t, you’ll be stuck with the 1%. Meaning you won’t be a producer. and like with most things 1% doesn’t even make a wrinkle.
I have a crude analogy with penis size. won’t repeat it here. but you can imagine it for yourself.
Life is best lived through projects.
…or we could say: the best lives are lived through projects.
For plants, for animals, it is living through, growing, ‘multiplying’, surviving, etc. Also getting food…
Now, if you wanted to get better at ‘doing’ projects, your number one job would be to actually learn how to do projects.
Because you don’t know. And you don’t have the skills, you don’t have the tools, you don’t have the knowledge…
Land, labor and capital are the traditional condition to meet when you want something, a venture, to succeed.
A project is a venture. It also has conditions for success.
Skills, tools, and knowledge.
We, at least somewhat know sills and knowledge… but tools?
Tools
- Let’s consider money, capital, a tools. Let’s even consider your attitude a tool. it is! Time is a tool.
- Designing, knowing the steps, beginning with the end in mind: also tools.
- Knowing what people want to do with what you create… market research… also a tool.
- Seeing what is hidden, but is important… also a tool.
- Formulating the specific, measurable results you want, setting the time correctly is also a tool.
So you see, although the saying: all you can do is all you can do. And all you can do is enough is not really true, when you consider that
anything you want to accomplish is essentially a project.
And you don’t have the ingredients. And at this point you probably don’t even know that you need them, and you don’t know how to get them.
This is why Sean says: to create a business, start with a project. And then another project, and another project.
The projects you need to start with are to gather the ingredients, the skills, the tools, the knowledge that you’ll need to build a big project that is, maybe, a business.
Some say: the purpose of a business is to make money. Other say: the purpose of a business is to generate a customer.
Whichever way you look at a business, unless it makes money, more money than meeting the costs, it is not a business, it is a hobby.
Or a job.
I am leaning towards creating a challenge, a program, that teaches the elements, and the process, so you can actually get someplace.
So you can grow yourself and your life.
Even the best of you are weak at projects.
Your hardest and most important step will be to envision the end result of your project…
What does it look like? What does it feel like? And what is there that was unpredictable, that wouldn’t be there without succeeding with the project.
Who else will be excited? Who else will benefit? What becomes possible for you or for the world because you succeeded with this project?
Get a headstart, start contemplating today… get prepared.
One of my students wants to create an entrepreneur community in Sweden. That is his big project. So far he wants it for himself. So it is not really moving. What is he not seeing? What it would mean for others?
Anyway, I promised to pull his anchor to doom this morning, and I better get to it…
If you want your anchor to doom pulled, the new way, you can… It will likely reduce that 91% you block yourself from succeeding.
Get your Anchor to Doom pulledWhat I pull in essence is your want, the want that keeps you anchored to your doom.
