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I've been obsessing over the following for a while:
Loving the idea vs. doing the work.
The more I think about it, the more I realize how we're usually stuck and unable to escape the first phase.
Here's an example:
I know plenty of people who love the idea of exercising daily. Few of them, however, manage to do it consistently.
And that's just one example.
We, people, commonly stuff our headspace with lots of ideas that remain unrealized. We romanticize about something - whether this will be a career shift, starting a business, or something else entirely - but that's typically the only thing we do.
We share our ideas with friends and family. We daydream about the moment our ideas will become reality. But more often than we care to admit, we fail to think about the two things that matter most in relation to ideas:
- Idea realization.
- Maintaining the new reality.
The first one is kind of obvious.
If you want to publish a book, you need to stop talking about becoming a writer and focus your efforts on the actions that will transform you into one - i.e., getting your ass on a chair and putting words on a piece of paper.
That's the well-known part number one. "Ideas without action are just dreams", as they say.
The second component is a bit more interesting - and sadly rarely discussed.
Say that you do publish a book. Congratulations! But now what?
- Can you market the book?
- Can you be a guest on a bunch of podcasts to talk about the book?
- Can you give a talk to present the book?
- Can you attend all the book signings?
- And the most important one... Can you do it again? Have enough willpower, creative energy, and ink to write another book? And then another one?
Ideas don't just happen. They change your reality. This means that it's not enough to reach a goal, it's also about your ability to maintain a healthy life when the goal is reached.
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