Hello, World!

Just wanted to say hi after all this time. Maybe I’ll bring this blog back.

John

Trailblaze

(Some) people take comfort in the fact that whatever they want to do has been accomplished before. They think, "Great! Someone else has already done this, so it isn't impossible." They are happy to follow a path thats already been set for them.

Others aren't. They gain their motivation from the fact that they are the first (ever) to do this particular thing. They believe it's possible and they're the ones to do it. They don't care if they're ridiculed or mocked while they (currently) fail. They understand that barriers are there to keep the first group out. Not them.

The first group succeed more often than the second.

But the second group have their names in textbooks.

Go.

You will never get today back. Go make the most of it.

Shoot for the moon

Start something, now. Go make something and show, give or sell it to the world. Could you fail? Of course.

But the only things that really succeed and make a splash are things that could've gone south.

I use the analogy of target shooting. Most people shoot at the ground directly in front of them. They get predictably mediocre results, every time. You will hit the ground 100 times out of 100 that you shoot for it. Successful people, however, shoot for the moon. Will they hit it every time? Nope. They might not hit it within the first two thousand times.

But that one time they do, they're set for life.

If you knew...

If you knew you were Bill Gates or Timothy Ferriss or Rihanna, and no one else knew it yet, what would you do? Would you do the same things or go to the same places everyone else does?

Or would you act, think and be different?

If you were special, I think you would be starting a business, or writing a book, or promoting yourself. I imagine you would be doing amazing things.

None of these people started out extraordinary. They are extraordinary because they do extraordinary things. Not vice versa.

So, why not be spectacular, brilliant, and original? Why not start something that could fail?

Why School Misses The Point

When you write, do you try to drag it out as long as you can? Do you fill the reader with useless information before getting to your real point? Of course not. Why do schools teach us this is the way to write?

I have been blogging and freelance writing for about 5 months now and I've had to unlearn everything I was taught. I don't need 1,200 words to get my point across. I need 300. I respect my reader's time, and therefore will not waste it writing a 1,200 word essay. Another thing, I don't do any prewriting. I don't sit down and chart out everything I want to say. I just write. There's a reason I get things done in 24 hours when other people need a week.

Don't get caught up in closing sentences, or making sure that your paragraphs are indented. Just write something people want or need to hear, and everything else works out.

Why talent gets overlooked

When you see someone street performing, do you ever stop and listen? Do you ever say, "Hey, this guy is good! I think I'll stop and listen." to yourself? You generally have somewhere to be when passing by, but I don't believe this is why most people don't listen. Too many times we let talent go unnoticed or even worse, discouraged. It's because they truly can't tell when someone is (or is going to be) talented.

I see talent (and the potential for talent) everywhere. Does that mean that everyone who has the potential for making great music will make it? No. But as long as you recognize when someone is passionate about their art and striving to get better you'll be able to appreciate talent in the rough. In the wild. Before the mass market rewards this person for doing what they do so well. And that takes imagination.

Imagination is a virtue. Not everyone has it, but every child does. That's why all the children were trying to stop and listen to Josh Bell when he played in that subway in Washington D.C. Most of the adults didn't, but a few had enough imagination to listen for a few minutes. Obviously, most people don't have enough imagination to see talent in the wild. That's why when Micheal Jordan was in tenth grade, he was cut from the varsity team. Same reason Tim Ferriss was rejected by 26 out of 27 publishers.

Even when whatever they're doing isn't the best now, it totally could be. They are creating. Art isn't created from safety. It's created "out on a limb", says Seth Godin and I agree. It's easy to be a critic when there is nothing on the line. Critics aren't creating, and all they do is judge those who do. There is no such a thing as a world class critic.

Next time you see someone doing art on a small level, use your imagination. Think about where they could be, not where they are. See their drive, their passion and their talent. Then encourage them. Tell them what they could maybe work on, and what you really enjoy. What they go on to do might even surprise you.