“Every day, bite off a little more than you can chew… And chew it.” – Michael Singer
Howdy 🙂
It’s been a minute.
Forgive me if these emails are a little inconsistent at the moment.
I’m in the dead center of the busiest summer I can remember…
- Running FounderLab
- Prepping a full week of fresh material for our August retreat
- Coaching a group of one on one clients
…Plus all the usual stuff on top of it.
A few months ago, I was speaking to a friend about how crazy this stretch of time will be.
She listened calmly, patiently. Smiled. Looked me in the eye.
And replied, very simply:
“Get bigger.”
In other words…
When you have no choice but to grow, something amazing happens:
You do.
Forcing yourself to chew what you’ve bitten off isn’t always comfortable, but damn it works.
There’s a trick to making it work, though, that most people skip because it’s the hard, scary part:
You can’t give yourself a way out.
I have no choice but to produce ~2-3 hours of fresh FounderLab course material every week…
(which takes ~10-15 hours to create)
…Because every Saturday morning, 15 hungry entrepreneurs will show up for our next session ready to work.
Meanwhile, I have no choice but to produce a full week of new material for our August retreat…
…Because, ready or not, the crew arrives in 3 weeks — and they expect me to deliver.
And you can be damn sure I will.
Same goes for one on one coaching:
There are people — people I deeply care about — who depend on me to do whatever it takes to guide them through the maze of growing their business.
And being “busy” is no excuse not to deliver.
In other words, I’ve given myself no way out.
I bit off more than I could chew, and now I’m chewing it.
And each day, I realize:
I can chew more than I thought.
But if I didn’t have strict deadlines, and people who depend on me meeting them?
I’d almost definitely take the easy route and spit some of it out.
Which is the whole trick:
There can be no easy route.
No way around the mountain but to climb it.
So that’s what I’m doing this summer.
If you want to do the same, here are a few ideas…
- Organize a launch before you’ve built the product — with a date, a sales page, and people expecting delivery — and you will find a way to build it in time.
- Sign up for a Vipassana retreat where you have no choice but to meditate 10 hours a day, and you will meditate 10 hours a day.
- Sign a lease in a new city before you’ve found a job there — and you will find a way to make rent.
- Take on a client project beyond your current capabilities, and you will find a way to develop those capabilities.
If this sounds risky, that’s because it is.
But that’s also the point.
Take the leap, and you’ll have no choice but to grow wings on the way down.
Apologies in advance. And, you’re welcome.
Godspeed.
T
P.S. Next week, we’re remixing one of our most popular series’ from last summer.
Stay tuned 🙂
In the meantime, here are…
3 things to make your weekend better
That Will Never Work
Founder of Netflix tells his story. A little less dramatic than Shoe Dog (also highly recommended), but entertaining and very useful. I’m enjoying it.
Her
The first time I saw this trailer I thought: “That looks stupid.” But I’m doing a deep dive on AI right now, so I watched it — and turns out, I’m the stupid one. Completely understand why it won an Oscar and was nominated for four more. So, so good.
The AI scientist shaping the world
Speaking of AI… This short mini-doc on OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever was excellent. (don’t watch if you’re easily disturbed by AI-talk).
“Being lost in thought while you’re awake is like dreaming without knowing that you’re dreaming.” – Sam Harris
