Scrappy
We're all ambitious here. “I want to do things better than anyone has ever done them before!”
For some of us, our ambition perverts itself into a perfection we can never reach. “I want to do things the absolutely right way.”
If you wait until you’re ready you’re going to miss opportunities.
Business opportunities and opportunities to make money, yes. But also opportunities to avoid your anxiety over what might go wrong.
If you wait until you have all your ducks in a row and you’ve researched everything, and you are 100% confident in what you’re doing, you start to build the thing up in your mind. “This is going to come out REALLY WELL. It has to now, I’ve put so much time in.”
I was in a group coaching session for entrepreneurs this morning. The leader said, “We have to be scrappy in this time. We have to try things, see if they work or not, and then move on.”
My clients are usually really surprised to hear that I value scrappiness.
I guess people are surprised to hear that someone who coaches people to find their ONE, BIG, BOLD idea - the idea that will define them as a thought-leader in their industry - also thinks we should do things off the cuff.
Well, YES, I do. Because scrappiness saves you from the anxiety that comes with overthinking. I hate feeling anxious and I am sure you do, too. There's a time and a place for careful planning.
But trying something new isn't always one of those times.
The whole process is the exact same thing as when you stand on the diving board. (Captured in this brilliant short film.)
You can think and think and think.
Or you can just jump.
Either way, if you stay in business long enough, eventually, you’re jumping.
But scrappiness protects your energy from all that pre-jump anxiety. AND it saves you from talking yourself out of jumping, too.
“We have to be scrappy in this time.” If you weren’t practicing scrappiness before the catastrophe, try it now. You can always go back to your way later.
M
PS: Remember, you can think and think and think. Or you can jump.