Author: Phil Garland

Fear is a big inhibitor for picking your path and creating your future. You come to a fork in the road. In one direction the path is pretty clear. Other people have traveled it before, and you know sooner or later you’ll come to a nice clearing where you can be comfortable. The other path, the path less traveled (thanks, Robert Frost), hasn’t been traversed enough to show you the way. There are a lot of unknowns, and you don’t know exactly what the outcome will be. It’s scary to deal with the unknown, but if you truly want to find your path, you have to take it.

“It Will Work Out”

Basically anytime I come to a fork in the road, I throw fear aside and approach it with an “it will work out” mentality. There’s a really good Q&A section in Four-Hour Workweek where Tim Ferris outlines how to go about making big decisions we’re fearful of making. It’s a seven-step approach to outlining our biggest fears, what they would look like if they came true, and to let go of fear, “it will work out.”

Although it’s nice to have the “it will work out” mentality, it also requires a genuine understanding of self-worth and self-reliance. Throwing fear aside and yelling “It will work out!” isn’t going to cut it. There’s still a lot of work that goes into finding your path by building yourself up to the point where you believe in yourself, and your capabilities to execute.

The Sleep in Your Car Test

Praxis calls this The Sleep in Your Car Test. Basically, who has the desire, self-confidence, and belief in themselves to choose the unknown path. The people who want to travel the path less traveled are the ones who understand life isn’t a guarantee, and they are the only ones who can live life their way.

The world is awash in guarantees.  Those who seek guarantees, and worse those who trust them, are not the sleep in your car type.  The reality is that there are no guarantees.  There are only varying degrees of probability.  And the things with the highest probability of leading you to a life identical to the crowd’s idea of success are often those with the lowest probability of leading you to being fully alive.

People who can pass the sleep in your car test are the people who understand that the unknown path may induce fear, but the guaranteed outcome won’t be fulfilling. “It’s not fearlessness – we’re all afraid – but the way in which fear isn’t treated as an insurmountable obstacle, but a game.”

Living Free

You will never be able to live free if you don’t take risks. Part of personal growth and self-belief comes from taking the unknown path to see where it goes. The “it will work out” approach is about taking your confidence and determination to push yourself into the unknown. Taking the unknown path is a risk. Even if you’re afraid, with enough hard work and tenacity, the right path will show itself. Living free can only be accomplished by forging your own trail, not following the footsteps to guarantees.

How do you execute on your big goals? Execute on small goals.

Zak Slayback has an excellent post titled “Why I Spend 10 Minutes Every Day Making Coffee in A French Press.” In the article, Zak states that by creating something early in the morning you’ve already achieved something.

The idea is simple: if you start your day by getting something done, you’ve already started with an accomplishment before you even get in the shower.

Although creation, and accomplishment, is a stellar way to start your day, teaching yourself how to make a good cup of French press coffee teaches execution on bigger goals.

Perfecting French Press Coffee

Okay, that’s a pretty small goal, making french press coffee every morning. But try perfecting it, and perfecting it for your taste-buds. I guarantee you can’t do it on your first try. But when you start trying, you start realizing all of the factors that go into a perfect cup of coffee.

What kind of bean should I get?

How many coffee beans should I grind?

How much should I grind them, is that even an option?

How hot should the water be?

Should I pour the water over the beans fast or slow?

How long should the beans steep?

When should I start pressing the coffee?

Do I pour all the coffee at once or should I leave it in the press?

These are only a sampling of the myriad of questions you’ll ask yourself. But on your first try, you weren’t even aware these questions existed. You wanted coffee, so you made it the best way you could. Without a starting point, without trying to execute once, you never would’ve known these questions existed.

The only way to realize your path to perfection is to start executing.

Big Goals? Start Executing on Small Ones

Much like perfecting a pot of French press coffee, any big goal you want to achieve is not going to be simple. It might be fun to dream up something you want to do, but it’s really hard to execute on it. Instead of trying to achieve your dream at one fell swoop, try taking the French press approach. Make it your goal to execute on something simple, something on your path to your big goal, but something you know you can achieve.

Eventually, you’ll perfect the smaller goal, raising your competence and confidence, and the next step to achieving your big goal will reveal itself. Without starting, you won’t know the questions to ask or the path to achievement. Start small, figure out the path forward, and work your way up. It’s fun to build castles in the sky, but you won’t build your castle until you sit down and do the work. Your path to achieving your big goal starts from executing on small goals.

The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, have a documentary out (yes, it’s on Netflix) about living a minimalist lifestyle. For most people, when they hear “minimalist” they  probably conjure up an image of owning ten articles of clothing, making their own hand-soap, and living in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.

Although that’s one form of minimalism, it’s not what Millburn and Nicodemus preach. Instead they preach a life without excess, less societal manipulation, and less reliance on material purchases to live a fulfilling life. For a lot of us, living a completely minimalist lifestyle isn’t something we want to start today, but, the documentary did hint at a starting point. Below are actionable takeaways to start taking excess out of your life, and creating your bubble.

1. Cut Out the News

It was never explicitly stated in the documentary, but cutting out the news is the first start to eliminating societal manipulation. I have previously blogged about it, and think it’s highly important to living life your way. If it sounds hard to do, take the 10-day news diet. No news, no articles, no Crisis News Network (CNN), for 10-days. You can do it!

Cutting out the news doesn’t mean you won’t know what’s going on in the world. It means you don’t get inundated with news stories 24/7. There are tons of places that news will seep into your bubble. For me, even my anti-news curated Facebook feed still gets plenty of news into my bubble. For instance, I know there’s a circus arriving in Washington D.C. today…

2. Throw Out Your TV

Okay, so maybe this is minimalist advice. But really, you don’t need a TV. With the amount of content on the internet either with a subscription (Hulu, Netflix, HBO Now, etc.) or to buy (iTunes, Amazon, etc.) there really is no need for cable. Yes, there are still commercials on streaming sites like Hulu, but nowhere close to the abundance of cable.

Also, getting rid of cable and getting Netflix doesn’t mean binge-watch all the Netflix originals. It might feel nice to sit and binge, but you’re going to experience remorse a day or two later. Whenever you get a binge-ing urge, get up and read, go outside, or  stare at a wall. It’ll be much better for your mental health.

3. Turn Off Notifications

The only notifications I get on my phone are vibrations if someone’s texting or calling me. I’m not very popular so it’s not often, and normally when my phone rings it’s either a telemarketer or my mom.

There’s a sequence in the minimalism documentary where a guy is talking about that nanosecond during a conversation when you receive a text and all of the sudden forget what you were talking about. You’ve all been in that conversation where checking your pocket is more important than the person sitting next to you. Don’t be that person. When you’re in a meeting, or getting coffee with a friend, put your phone on silent and forget about it.

I also turn off all notifications from outside apps. No Facebook notifications or email notifications for me. When I want to check them, I check them, but I don’t have a never-ending stream of vibrations. Only text/calls get the privilege of notifying me.

4. Unsubscribe From Emails

I did this a couple of years ago and it was extremely liberating. My personal inbox always got over-cluttered with emails from companies I bought a product from once, or accidentally signed up for a newsletter to. Some of the newsletters I get I actually want to receive. I don’t unsubscribe from those.

My unsubscribe rules:

1. Do I automatically delete these emails when they come into my inbox?

2. Do I skim through the email to look at product offerings but don’t really care?

3. Is this something that wastes my time with very little value?

If I answer yes to any of these then I find the “Unsubscribe” button and get it out of my gmail. This helps keep my email decluttered, and keeps me from un-needed distractions.

Creating Your Bubble

These are all steps to creating your bubble. Within your bubble is everything that brings value to your life. Outside your bubble is the marketers, big companies, media outlets, and the mainstream society the rest of the world lives in. With social media, and our interconnectedness, the important stuff will still penetrate your bubble. You’re not missing anything. If anything, you’re improving your life hundredfold.

You can start creating your bubble today. Cutting out the news, canceling cable TV, turning off notifications, and unsubscribing from necessary emails is a small step towards a minimalist mindset. Putting these takeaways into action will help you live life the way you want to live it, it’ll help you live free.

There are seven billion people in the world and only one you. Nobody can claim your childhood memories, nobody can insist they share identical beliefs, and nobody can mimic the way you see the world. You are the only one in the world, past or present, with your perspective. This uniqueness makes you special, and is your calling card.

Living in an Interconnected World

Whether you like it or not, we are all connected. From being able to interact with people around the globe through social media and email, to being able to send money anywhere and everywhere with a scan of a QR code. The world is interconnected, and it’s not going away.

Being in an interconnected world you’re always going to find someone, somewhere, doing exactly what you want to be doing. It’s bound to happen, the odds are too high for it not to happen. Instead of looking at these people as the enemy, or the competition, you need to look at them as a partner, and proof that your idea can work. They made a business out of your idea, why can’t you?

Authority is About Uniqueness

On top of finding a person already doing what you want to be doing, you find out they’re highly qualified. Maybe they’re an MBA graduate, a PhD, have tenure, or posses advanced certifications. None of that matters. What matters is you and your perspective, your uniqueness is your calling card.

The qualities that you posses, the childhood memories that are yours alone, are what make you a perfect candidate to be an authority. Since you don’t have the schooling, or advanced certifications, you’re not required to follow the establishment. Instead, you can use your perspective to expand upon the knowledge-base without being ingrained in bias.

It might intimidate you to see others excel in your profession, seeing their background, seeing their credentials, seeing their dedication to their craft, but you can bring just as much, if not more, to the table. You see their history, you can learn from their mistakes, and you can improve upon global knowledge by giving your perspective to the world.

The World Needs Your Unique Perspective

There will always be sleazy salesmen, copycats, and people trading their morals for money. These people have existed throughout time and aren’t going away. But you’re better than that. Your authenticity, your unique perspective, is what powers you, and what should help power the world. By forging your own path, you are creating an authentic path for others to follow.

Stop feeling insecure about your knowledge, your credentials, your lack of an advanced degree, all those prove is you can jump through hoops. What really matters is applying your unique perspective to a problem and working to help solve it. Even if there are thousands of people focused on the task and you’re the amateur, if you believe in finding the solution, your contribution will help. You, and your perspective, bear as much weight on our well-beings as anyone else.

Focus on Your Calling Card

Who needs a business card when you have a calling card? A business card is a piece of paper that shows people your name, your title, a way to reach you, and maybe a pretty logo. A calling card shows people who you are and what you stand for. In the interconnected world of today your calling card is what matters most. Your unique perspective, combined with integrity, hard-work, and a dedication to help others, are the beginnings to a better world. Your unique perspective is the foundation to a better life for all.

Seth Godin has a daily blog where he writes about many topics. A lot of the topics have to do with the world we live in. Yesterday he posted a blog titled Economics is messy in which he claimed there were “a lot of myths in the intro to economics course.” I respect Godin’s blogging, but his understanding of economic principles leave a lot to be desired.

Below is a point-by-point economic demythification of his points:

1. Rational decisions

Human beings make rational decisions in our considered long-term best interest.

Actually, behavioral economics shows us that people almost never do this. Our decision-making systems are unpredictable, buggy and often wrong. We are easily distracted, and even more easily conned.

Every time we assume that people are profit-seeking, independent, rational actors, we’ve made a mistake.

Humans might factor their perceived long-term interest into their cost-benefit calculation, but humans don’t posses a crystal ball to foresee their long-term best interests. Instead, humans make decisions based on what they perceive will be best for them. In hindsight, this could be determined irrational, but at the time of the decision they convinced themselves they were making a rational choice. People aren’t rational actors in the sense that rationality is perfect. Humans act in their perceived best interest whether their perceptions are perfect or imperfect.

And let’s not get started on the phrase “behavioral economics shows.” All behavioral economics shows is that a lab can create results in-line with researcher’s desires. To quote the Mises Institute, “Human beings are not viewed as necessarily rational because they act and choose as they will. Researchers view human beings as rational only if they obey certain axioms or models of the researchers. This implies that researchers almost surely will uncover irrationality because human behavior rarely coincides with a model.”

2. The Free Market

The free market is free.

The free market only works because it has boundaries, rules and methods of enforcement. Value is created by increasing information flow and working to have as many contributing citizens as possible.

That’s wrong, the free market is free. “Boundaries, rules, and methods of enforcement” are created by the state.

In an actual free market, value is created by improving another person’s life. It doesn’t matter about information flow, what matters is that the person who desires a product  is supplied that product. If more than one person supplies it then the person who creates the superior product, or offers the lowest price, will win the business. It’s up to the participants in the business transaction to decided if it’s a worthwhile exchange by weighing their perceived costs and perceived benefits.

Additionally, boundaries are unenforceable. In a free market, a monopoly is impossible. If Supplier A and Supplier B collude to charge higher prices to their customers, without barriers to entry (i.e. state-sanctioned business licenses), Supplier C will undercut the price and take the profits. Because of this fear, both A and B don’t collude and they compete for the lowest price. The state’s rules, enofrcement, and boundaries, are the only thing interfering with the free market.

3. Profit Demonstrates Value

Profit is a good way to demonstrate the creation of value.

In fact, it’s a pretty lousy method. The local water company clearly creates more value (in the sense that we can’t live without it) than the handbag store down the street, and yet the handbag store has a much higher profit margin. That’s not because of value, but because of mismatches in supply and demand, or less relevant inputs like brand, market power and corporate structure.

Profit is often a measure of short-term imbalances or pricing power, not value.

I hope we can agree that a caring nurse in the pediatric oncology ward adds more value than a well-paid cosmetic plastic surgeon doing augmentations. People with more money might pay more, but that doesn’t equate to value.

The best way to measure value created is to measure value, not profit.

This is the most mind-boggling statement of them all. Profit is the only way to demonstrate value.

Value is subjective. What I deem valuable, say skis for going to the mountains, has no value to a person residing in Miami. Does that mean paying $300 is overvalued? To me, no. To someone in Florida that has no use for skis? Probably.

Water Diamond Paradox

Let’s put it another way. Say you’ve been lost in the desert for three days. You have no food, no water, and no shelter, all you have is $1,000. A diamond salesman comes along who’s selling diamonds for $10 each. You say, “I don’t want stinking diamonds, I just want water!” He shakes his head and says he’s sorry, all he has are diamonds. A bit later a water truck arrives. The water salesman is selling glasses of water for $500 each. A cup of water for $500! Since you’re near your death-bed you buy two glasses of water and guzzle them down. Seems unfair right?

If you hadn’t been dying of thirst you probably would’ve bought 100 diamonds for $10 each. But at that point in time you didn’t care. What you cared about was being alive. What is valuable to you changes based on your circumstances. The only way that water truck is in the desert is because that $1,000 for two glasses provides enough money (enough profit) for the water salesman to drive around in the desert all day.

4. The Purpose of Society

The purpose of society is to maximize profit

Well, since profit isn’t a good measure of value created, this isn’t at all consistent. More important, things like a living wage, sustainability, fairness and the creation of meaning matter even more. When we consider how to advance our culture, “will it hurt profits?” ought not to be the first (or even the fifth) question we ask.

Maximizing profit is the purpose of society. Here’s the definition of an entrepreneur from the Library of Economics and Liberty, “An entrepreneur is someone who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise. An entrepreneur is an agent of change. Entrepreneurship is the process of discovering new ways of combining resources. When the market value generated by this new combination of resources is greater than the market value these resources can generate elsewhere individually or in some other combination, the entrepreneur makes a profit.”

By maximizing the resources around her, the entrepreneur is able to improve society as a whole. She acts because there is a profit to be made. So, “will it hurt profits?” is a question to be asked because making a profit means combining goods to maximize the value to society.

5. Stock Prices

The price of a stock represents the value of the company.

It turns out that the price of a stock merely reflects what a few people decided to trade it for today. Tomorrow, it will certainly be different, even if nothing about the company itself changes.

There’s very little correlation with how the traders come to value a company in the market and how much value a company actually creates.

I’d agree. This is a myth.

Although, I’m not sure how many people believe a stock represents a company’s value. After a stock is entered onto the stock market, like through an IPO (initial public offering), the company isn’t the thing being traded. A stock is being traded, which is a different commodity than the company itself. Thus, a stock doesn’t determine the value a company creates, it merely reflects the perceived value of the stock.

6. A Company’s Purpose is to Maximize Long-Term Shareholder Value

The only purpose of a company is to maximize long-term shareholder value.

Says who? Is the only purpose of your career to maximize lifetime income? If a company is the collective work of humans, we ought to measure the value that those humans seek to create.

Just because there’s a number (a number that’s easy to read, easy to game, easy to keep track of) doesn’t mean it’s relevant.

This goes back to the definition of value. A company’s main purpose is to maximize profits, which in turn maximize efficiency for society. If a company is consistently innovating themselves then it is able to provide the best product to society. The maximized profit is society giving the company recognition of an efficient service.

Economics Isn’t Messy, Humans Are

The post “Economics is messy” had an underlying tone implying capitalists are evil, and the only people who create value are those who are stuck in the trenches. Although I want to see people with less money grow richer, the way Godin portrayed his points was far from sound economic thought.

Economics isn’t a messy subject. Economics is about creating something better for society, having society agree with the value, and improving the world around us. The study of humans is a messy subject because humans act in their own self-interest without perfect information. Understanding economic principles is important. Making a profit is about creating value for society, value which helps us live in a more efficient world each and every day.

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right.” Henry Ford

“All achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea!” Andrew Carnegie

Do you recognize the names of the two guys quoted above? They may ring a bell? I think they probably know a thing or two about success…

Success is a mindset

Both those quotes require a deep understanding of your self-worth, and your self-belief. Not only do you have to be aware of how much your mind is worth, but you have to believe in yourself to execute your worth. If we have a strong self-worth, coupled with a belief we can, it will come true.

Additionally, if we have an idea, that’s where success (and riches) come from. It all starts in the mind. Combining self-confidence, with an idea, can create something great. It can create the life you want.

So, what’s holding you back?

Is it nerves? Is it a lack of an idea? Do you not believe in yourself?

Nerves.

They can get to us pretty easily. A lot of times we’re so fearful something might happen that we’re scared to start.

For instance, I went skiing over the weekend. I have been skiing since I was a little kid, but that doesn’t make me good. I’m a little above beginner, and I really only like green circles. My friend and I went down the same slope five times. Even after going down the same slope, I still got nervous on our fifth run. At the onset my nerves kept telling me “You can’t do this, what if you fall?” After a few back and forth cuts I regained my confidence and the nerves went away. Even after falling a couple times I got back up and kept going. Yes, I was nervous, but I proved I could do it.

That’s the thing about nerves, it’s not hard to put them to the test, and make them go away. Find your ski slope, fall down a couple times, and grow from your experience.

Lack of an idea.

I’m calling B.S. on this one. You have ideas. Maybe you haven’t mastered the ability to pluck them out of your brain, but they are there. You make 10’s of thousands of decisions each day, if one of those thoughts doesn’t spark an idea then you must be doing something wrong.

If you rack your brain and can’t come up with an idea I’d suggest daily blogging or downloading a note-taking app like Google Keep. When an idea does come to you, jot it down on your phone, and come back to it when you’re ready to think. If you have ideas rattling around in your head but can’t put them into one concrete thought, start daily blogging. Blog about anything! You’ll be surprised how much easier it becomes to put your thoughts into words.

Low self-belief.

This would be devastating to achieving your dreams. A low belief in yourself is definitely not going to help you get to where you want to be. Taking small steps to a better you, and cutting out depressants, like alcohol, are probably the only ways to get out of a lack of confidence funk.

For me, my self-belief comes from doing, and constantly improving. Every step forward opens up the next step to take. It’s not a simple life “hack,” but a long-run journey of improvements. Adding positive days, on top of positive days, will eventually result in greater confidence in your ability. Each step forward will make the next step easier.

Eliminating, or significantly cutting back on, alcohol will also help. Alcohol is a depressant that will definitely affect your psyche. For me, I get depressed by my actions from drinking. Staying out late, drinking too much,  and wanting to binge-watch Netflix to get through my hangover are not going to improve my self-belief. In the following days I’ll regret my decisions. There’s a time and place for alcohol, but if it’s going to lower your confidence, the time is not now. Instead focus your time/energy on positive steps forward.

Stop holding yourself back

You can achieve your grandest of dreams if you believe in yourself, overcome your nerves, have an idea, and build your self-belief. Either you think you can, or you think you can’t. I’d prefer thinking I can, and proving the world I’m right. Stop holding yourself back, and start achieving.

The question isn’t “What will make me happy?” The question is “What will make me come alive?”

This question is important for me, and important for any millennial, to hear. Whether you’re contemplating college, contemplating dropping out of college, just graduated, or in your late-twenties trying to figure out your next step, it’s important to ask yourself “What will make me come alive?”

A little background

I’m 26 years old, and in a couple of months I’ll be 27.  If you asked my 22 year-old self about my life at age 27, I probably would’ve painted a luxurious picture of myself. 27 year-old me would be happy, successful, and have the world figured out. I can write, as of today, my 27 year-old self will not be living a life of luxury. And that’s okay!

Since graduating George Mason I’ve done more than I ever could’ve imagined. I’ve traveled the country, traveled to new countries, transplanted cities, held multiple jobs, and met really awesome people along the way. I also haven’t found what I want. But I keep looking.

When I was living in Washington, D.C. I was working in public accounting. After two tax seasons, and eons in traffic, I decided I had enough. I quit that job in order to find the life I really wanted. That led me to Denver, but again at a public accounting firm. That didn’t come close to making me come alive and I quit within 7 months. After that I gave up on public accounting and became a staff accountant for a private firm. It was invigorating for a while, but again failed to make me come alive. I’ve since quit, and deliberately asked myself “What will make me come alive?”

The curse of accounting experience

I could say I’m a fool who kept trying to make happiness out of something that obviously wasn’t going to make me happy. In hindsight I’m well aware my decisions weren’t going to lead to happiness. But, with a degree in accounting, and over four years of experience (including CPA experience), it’s always been easy to get an accounting job. Each time I accepted a job I convinced myself it’d be different. That I would find happiness eventually and I’m dumb to pass up a paycheck. My mindset has changed.

Finding “Your Thing” isn’t easy, but isn’t that hard

Here’s the advice that I hope you take away, and which I have finally started learning. You can find what makes you come alive pretty easily, quickly, and cheaply, no prior experience required. Before you enroll in a 4-year university, or sign-up for a 12-week training program, think about a quick way to find if you’re even passionate about something.

Just because it sounds cool to be a data scientist doesn’t mean you should spend $3,000 and 12 weeks to start becoming one. Instead come up with a 15-day or 30-day objective. Have an actionable plan which will end in a deliverable. Maybe it’s coding a simple cellphone app, or building an info-graphic with a software.  If you do it for 15 days, and your mind obsesses over it, then it’s probably something that makes you come alive. If it’s a struggle to get yourself motivated, then maybe it isn’t for you. And if it’s not for you, aren’t you glad you didn’t waste 3 months and $3k to find out?

My search for “My Thing”

For me, I’ve been building a company website. It’s taken a lot of research on marketing, content writing, and WordPress integrations, but it’s been a wake-up call. Not only am I passionate about the business I’m building, but the process also makes me come alive. It’s an opportunity to find innovative solutions to the problem at hand. It’s also taught me a lot about time management, and delivering even if  you’re not 100% satisfied.

Because of the lessons I’ve been learning, I can see uses for my skills as a value creator for others. Before I pigeon-holed myself into thinking “I’m an accountant.” Now, I see myself as whatever I want to become. That’s invigorating. It’s extremely exciting to know that I can use my brain, my time, and online learning to create value “out of thin air.” Although it took me a while to figure it out, I’m starting to learn how to quickly find what makes me come alive. I still need to work out some logistics, but I am inching ever closer to being happy with my life, and not living for contentment.

 

I’ve been doing a deep-dive into what it takes to become an entrepreneur, a value-creator. It’s not that easy, it’s time-consuming, and it’s almost certainly risky. But it’s become an obsession, and a journey I can’t not take.

Part of the path is truly thinking about what an authority figure is, and the way to go about making money. I believe that, in order to make money, you have to prove you’re an authority in some form or another, but also, you have to do it with authenticity. Not only do you have to BE YOU, but you also have to do what’s in the best interest for others. Being an authority in any aspect of life is great, but being an authentic authority is exceptional.

Here was a question posed on social media.

Whose point of view would you trust more about a random subject, someone who has never read a book about it or someone who has read extensively but only from one narrow point of view?

Does it matter what the subject is?

And here was a response that I think hit the nail on the head.

I’d probably take both with an equal grain of salt and look for someone with skin in the game.

Authority

The basic question above was one of authority. Do you trust the person with no prior knowledge or the person who’s an “expert” on a specific subject matter? The solution: Take the person who’s trying to make a profit by improving on the random subject.

Authority comes in many shapes and forms. The college professor may have authority on a subject because they have tenure and have researched a topic extensively, but they are also biased by the system in which they operate. The person with a strong opinion, but no prior knowledge of the subject, can also be the authority because they have philosophies, values, and beliefs that can influence the debate. This person also is biased because their argument is based on personal beliefs and not knowledge about the subject.

The third, and most trustworthy authority, is the profit-seeking person. The entrepreneur seeks to create value for other people that want something. In seeking profit, this person must come up with the best solution for the client. Although they might not be an established scholar, they have done enough diligence to provide a solution. And the fact they’re making a profit shows that other people agree it’s a capable solution.

Authenticity

The other side of the coin is being a “conscious” entrepreneur. You can be an authority figure and use your abilities for evil, or use them to pull a fast one over on another. In today’s world of viral social media posts, and interconnected relations, you can’t hide behind your authority without authenticity.

I’ve been reading a lot of copywriters recently (Brian Clark with Copyblogger, Seth Godin, Matt Fuery most notably) and they all share one thing. They all posses a level of authenticity. Yes, Godin’s books may not be that great, but his daily blog is really good. Each copywriter writes for the reader, not because they want to feel good about themselves, but because they want you to be a better you. Maybe they’re really crummy people, I don’t know much about them, but reading their writing makes me trust their authenticity. I believe in their authority.

Being a Leader

Being a leader isn’t about being really great at something. Anyone can be really great at something. Being a leader is about being exceptional, all the time, because that’s who you are. People in leadership positions need not only to be great at something, but they also need to be authentic. The authentic leader is the one who will create a better world, a better future, and bring more prosperity to the world.

Yes, that sounds cliche, but it’s true. The world needs authentic, authoritative, leaders. Exceptional leaders.

Although an allegory about evolution, this question applies to our lives in general. For the profit-seeker what comes first, the product or the client? It’s pretty hard to have a functioning product without at least one client using it. But it’s also pretty hard to have a client without a product. That’s the beauty of it, and the beauty of minimum viable products.

We don’t know what comes first, and that’s great!

Did the Chicken, or the Egg come first? Did the Product, or the Client come first? It doesn’t matter.

What matters is doing something with the knowledge that there is a chicken/egg or product/client. In order to come up with a product you have to seek opportunities to improve imaginative client’s lives. In order to have a client you have to have a product to improve their lives. They’re one of the same.

Leave the “what comes first” question to the philosophical fools (no hate, I’m Phil-osophical myself), and start figuring out where to find the chicken/egg, where to find the product/client. Improvements to people’s lives don’t happen because we think long and hard for solutions, improvement happens because we work long and hard for the solutions. Start solving the problem instead of practicing possibilities.

I’m not a huge fan of Harvard Business Review (HBR). Having to pay for articles is not something I enjoy. But I keep HBR on my Feedly reader because once in a while there will be an absolute, can’t-miss, gem of a post from HBR, and Feedly let’s me preview the article for free. One of those can’t-miss posts is Why I Tell My MBA Students to Stop Looking for a Job and Join the Gig Economy by Diane Mulcahy. If the title wasn’t striking enough, the first couple of paragraphs will be:

When the students in the MBA course I teach on the gig economy ask me for the best thing they can do to prepare for their future careers, I tell them:

“Stop looking for a job.”

This may sound like odd advice to give MBA students.  After all, their degrees are designed to catapult them directly into the upper echelons of corporate America, and most students begin their studies with the goal of getting a job. The problem is, jobs aren’t what they used to be. Growth in the number of jobs is stagnating and full-time jobs are both insecure and risky. Companies no longer make promises of either professional or financial security to today’s workforce.

Students. In an MBA course. Are being told “Your MBA means nothing, you should be an entrepreneur.” Crazy, right?!

Assisting Freelancers

I have written similar posts to that of Mulcahy, I’ve even quoted her in one of them, Life as a Node, where I wrote about the future consisting of many freelance entrepreneurs trying to lead a happier life. My goal since quitting has been to come up with something to assist freelancers. I think the gig economy will consume us all, sooner than we see coming, and we’ll need stability for people taking the entrepreneurial plunge. So, I decided to do something about it.

My Entrepreneurial Plunge

At this moment I don’t want to elaborate on what I’m working on, I’m sure you’ll find out in the coming days. But I do want to point out what an entrepreneur is. An entrepreneur is someone who sees a market failure, who sees an opportunity, and instead of sitting back and waiting for someone to create the solution, they go out and create it. Ramit Sethi said it perfectly in a recent email of his titled “The most annoying person in your family”:

The Great Idea Guy who’s always cooking up a business/invention/app and constantly bemoaning how he “had that idea first”

That last one is the worst. Next time you see him, he’ll be on to a different idea. A different invention. A different business he’s “going to start.”

It made me think about this study of what elderly people regret most: “I never pursued my dreams or aspirations” was NUMBER ONE!!

Here’s something that should terrify you: Everyone who wants to start a business is just a half-step away from being “great idea guy.”

Anyone can find a business idea — just google “business ideas.” The difference between the “great idea guy” and an entrepreneur who can take 3 months off next year is going the extra step to find a profitable idea.

I vow to not be the “Great Idea Guy.” I also vow to help freelancers. That’s my goal, that’s what I’m working on, and that’s my entrepreneurial plunge.