Do the Work

One of the biggest issues we can ever face in our lives is the thought that our challenges are somehow unique to us—that a) we’re the only ones experiencing fear/Resistance/fill-in-the-blank-negative-thing + b) we’re experiencing it because something is inherently wrong with us.

That’s a fantastic recipe for ick sauce.

My coach Steve Chandler once wisely pointed out: “You’re not experiencing this stress/etc. because you’re YOU. You’re experiencing this because you’re HUMAN.”

← That’s a huge (!) distinction.

Researchers on self-compassion call this having a sense of common humanity. It’s *INCREDIBLY* liberating.

Here’s how Kristin Neff puts it in her great book Self-Compassion (see Notes): “Sadly, however, most people don’t focus on what they have in common with others, especially when they feel ashamed or inadequate. Rather than framing their imperfection in light of their shared human experience, they’re more likely to feel isolated and disconnected from the world around them when they fail.”

That sound like you at times?

Remember: It’s not because it’s YOU. It’s because you’re human.

Give yourself permission to be human. And the next time you feel the nerves kick up a notch or ten, remember that Henry Fonda—one of the greatest actors EVER—was throwing up before every stage performance at 75 (!) years old.

Let’s embrace the fact that we’re experiencing fear because we care. Let’s remember the fact that we’re not alone. And let’s channel that energy in constructive ways!

The enemy is our chattering brain.

You ever get inspired—super clear on a creative vision? And then that little voice in your head takes over the airwaves and tells you all the reasons you’re not ready/it’s not a good idea/blah to the blah blah blah?

Ignore that voice.

Get started.

As Pressfield says, start before you are ready.

Ready, fire, aim.

Once we’ve taken that first shot, we can see how close we are to our target. But if we just sit there *thinking* about shooting, we’ll never know.

Don’t prepare. Begin.

Now.

P.S. Pressfield is the one who turned me on to Patricia Ryan Madson’s brilliant Improv Wisdom (see Notes). She’s all about letting go over the over-preparation and just showing up as well. Here’s how she puts it: “Just show up. This principle is deceptively simple: Just show up. Where we are makes a difference. Move your body toward your dreams—to where they’re happening—the gym, the office, the yoga class, your kitchen, the improv class, the garage, a cruise ship, the word processor, the construction site, the senior center, the theater. You know where. Be there physically…

It’s surprising how powerful the third maxim is. How often we avoid showing up for the things we need to do in life. Procrastination, laziness, fears—it’s easy to find a reason for not going. The ‘just’ in this maxim reminds us that showing up is already enough. Woody Allen quipped that it is ‘eighty percent of success.’ Prerequisites such as motivation, desire, and warm, fuzzy feelings aren’t necessary. It is a con to imagine you must have these to get going. Improvisers know this. If they had to wait for inspiration or a good idea, few scenes would ever begin. Players step onto the stage because that is where things are happening. They just show up. Then the magic begins.”

P.P.S. Remember this W.H. Murray gem that Pressfield shares: “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance the draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe’s couplets: ‘Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.’ Begin it now.”

As I mentioned in the intro, this book is basically a guide through a personally relevant creative project. Once we get the ball rolling, we need to keep the ball rolling. How?

Keep working. Keep working. Keep working.

Your Resistance will rear its head and tell you all the reasons why your project—which had so inspired you mere hours before—totally sucks. Ignore that voice. Keep working.

The greatest creators get this. They know how easy it is to lose the momentum and have their ideas fizzle away in a cloud of doubt. They know that the simple act of SHOWING up consistently is what invites the muse to join them in their creative endeavors.

Here’s how Stephen King puts the importance of working hard in his classic On Writing (see Notes): “What follows is everything I know about how to write good fiction. I’ll be as brief as possible, because your time is valuable and so is mine, and we both understand that the hours we spend talking about writing is time we don’t spend actually doing it. I’ll be as encouraging as possible, because it’s my nature and because I love this job. I want you to love it, too. But if you’re not willing to work your ass off, you have no business trying to write well—settle back into competency and be grateful you have even that much to fall back on. There is a muse, but he’s not going to come fluttering down into your writing room and scatter creative fairy-dust all over your typewriter or computer station. He lives in the ground. He’s a basement guy. You have to descend to his level, and once you get down there you have to furnish an apartment for him to live in. You have to do all the grunt labor, in other words, while the muse sits and smokes cigars and admires his bowling trophies and pretends to ignore you. Do you think this is fair?

I think it’s fair. He may not be much to look at, that muse-guy, and he may not be much of a conversationalist (what I get out of mine is mostly surly grunts, unless he’s on duty), but he’s got the inspiration. It’s right that you should do all the work and burn all the midnight oil, because the guy with the cigar and the little wings has got a bag of magic. There’s stuff in there that can change your life.

Believe me, I know.”

Remember: Keep working. Keep working. Keep working.

Thoughts vs. Chatter.

There’s a big difference between the two. And, a wonderful, inverse relationship between them. In short, more chatter = less thoughts.

Want to increase the quantity and quality of actual creative thoughts? Reduce the chatter.

How?

Well, that’s the focus of our entire work together! :)

Create a solid foundation of physiological health. Exercise. Eat well. Sleep. Train your mind. Reduce consumption of meaningless media. (← That’s a big one. If you want to create something meaningful—whether it’s a play or a biz or a great family—you’d be wise to notice how often your mind is chewing on the latest TV show you watched vs. how you can optimize!)

Pressfield tells us: “Where do our own real thoughts come from? How can we access them? From what source does our true, authentic self speak? Answering that is the work you and I will do for the rest of our lives.”

Here’s to doing the work one baby step at a time for the rest of our lives!

Those are the first words of the final section of the book: END.

We have the BEGINNING where we conceive and initiate the project. The MIDDLE where we do the work. And the END where it’s all about one thing: SHIPPING!

After fighting through all the initial Resistance, we meet the final and perhaps the most difficult challenge. It’s time to share our work with the world. It’s time to ship.

There are the grand moments of showing up on Broadway or in the store, but those moments only arrive if we muster the courage to do all the little micro ships along the way.

Send the email. Publish the blog post. Update the copy on your web site. Initiate a long-anticipated conversation.

Ship. Ship. Ship.

I feel this Resistance every day. Every single time I write a Note like this or record a PNTV episode, that little voice of Resistance pops up and tells me all the reasons why it’s not *that* great and gives me plenty of reasons to make it perfect before I ship.

Of course, there are typically edits that need to be made, but much more often, it’s just my perfectionist, Resistance-powered little self showing up. So, I wave hello to that fear, and I ship.

It’s a practice for me—disciplining myself to FINISH and send my work out into the world. Knowing full well that it’s not perfect, but valuing the process of finishing more than trying to achieve the impossible perfect ideal.

How about you?

What do you need to ship in your life?

Would it be a good idea to strengthen your shipping muscles? How can you do that?

I got a big smile typing those last words.

It’s 1927.

No one had ever flown solo and non-stop across the Atlantic. A big prize was established for the first one to do it. Some of the best aviators of the day had died trying.

You’re an unknown kid who thinks he can do it.

Imagine the Resistance you’d get (internal + external) trying to make that happen!!!

What would sustain you? The DREAM.

Simple question: What’s YOUR dream?

This is my dream: _____________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

That’s the last passage in the book. Pressfield’s endings to each of his books are simply genius.

As Joseph Campbell tells us, the great life is one hero’s journey after another. Finish one dream project? Well done. Take the rest of the day off. And start again tomorrow! :)