It’s rarely, if ever, the last time.
Even when it feels like you failed, and you’ll never get a shot again, you will*
*If you keep showing up
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Tag: show up
Get to the Second Draft
The first draft is important. It’s also the first barrier.
Granted, it helps us frame what we want to say.
That draft, however, isn’t what you ship. It is the first hurdle.
Thinking that the first try is worth shipping is a trap for the amateur. It creates a feedback loop. You may move fast while making. If so, you risk shipping work that isn’t your best.
You also have a built-in excuse: “It was something I just threw together.”
You stop yourself from doing better work when you ignore a first draft’s primary purpose.
That purpose is simple. The first draft exists to get to the second one.
Things get better with time and intentional work.
Go to work, show up
Every day you show up, something happens.
Sometimes that “something” is external. We earn accolades, money, validation.
Those are nice and necessary. Helping someone or making something happen feels good.
However, the external isn’t permanent. If that were it, then showing up wouldn’t be nearly as important as it is.
Something happens to our brains when we “do.” The change that happens is internal. We earn a little more know-how, form habits, and understand the language of what we do.
We take those things with us.They make up our foundation. The starting block for our taste.
There is always a prize for showing up.
Recognize, however, that no one else may see that prize.
Then show up anyway.
Consistency wins in the end
I think asking the question, ‘How to I succeed?’ isn’t the most important one.”
It’s valuable, don’t get me wrong. There are good results when we take the time to visualize and understand the difficulty of the “finish line.”
It just isn’t the most important one.
I think a more important question is “How do I show up every day?”
Making something is hard work. There will be days where you don’t want to engage. How will you respond?
It’s difficult to think about us “losing” and “failing,” however it is necessary if we want to make things consistently. If we don’t, we allow ourselves places to hide.
Time gets away from us all if we let it.
Don’t let yourself hide from possible failure, because it opens the door for real failure to show up.
Categories
Ask Selfish Questions
Have you asked a question just for you today?
Questions like:
- What do I have to do to make this happen?
- So, how I understand this is… is that right?
- When do I need to show up?
These are “selfish” questions and are great if you feel stuck. As much as they focus on you, they allow one clarity to start working on the right things.
From the desk of Adam Thomas 