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Listen to a well-coached player talk about their game plan, or talk about the loss they just had. Almost all great players will say something along the lines of “It’s about the process, coach talks about developing good habits. Win or lose we focus on habit building, onto the next game.” I’m paraphrasing but think of the Tom Bradys, Nick Saban-coached college players, or Kawhi Leonards. Win or lose, they will always preach process.

These are the greatest athletes in the world. You’re probably not. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from them, implement their processes, and become great at whatever we consider our sport. Becoming great isn’t something that happens overnight, it’s the repetition of habits that leads to greatness.

Developing Habits Like Athletes

Peak athletes have gone through some of the most challenging rigors their bodies and minds can handle. Not only do they have to fight off not feeling 100% and giving intense effort in the weight, athletes also have to win the mental battle. My cross country coach used to say “running is 10% physical, which you want to be 100% at your peak, and 90% mental.” In order to improve their mentality, athletes adopt great habits.

There’s a reason why baseball players are so superstitious and have batting routines. They’ve trained their muscles, muscle memory, to react based on their habits. Every time they repeat a good habit they get better. Same in basketball. Even when losing by 20 points basketball coaches preach fundamentals and making sure to not play the scoreboard but the next play.

Good Habits Breed Greatness

Good habits help good become great and greats become better. We marvel at the feats of athletes all the time, but we really should focus on the feats of ourselves, our peers, and the entrepreneurs around us. They’ve figured out the good habits that help them get better or at least they are trying to find those habits.

In order to become great, in whatever we want to be great in, we must preach the process. Whether we’re having a good, bad, or okay day, the process of daily habit building will pay dividends or sink the ship. I’d much rather build good habits, get better, and become great than to get into bad habits and live for someone else.

In the world of entrepreneurship, start-ups, and tech-wizzes there’s a method of creation called proof of concept. Basically you come up with an idea, you create a proof of concept to prove your idea, and then you move forward. You start implementing the concept with a minimum viable product (MVP), a product based around the hypothesized idea for the minimum cost/effort, and judge the reaction to your product. This allows you to be lean and nimble while exploring the best path for your product.

Proof of Concept in Daily Habits

You can develop good habits in a similar way. You come up with an idea, say dieting and then explore different diets, their effects on your body, and the best ways to achieve a diet. Once your research is complete you can start with a proof of concept. Maybe you go a week or two dieting the way you researched. Then explore how your body reacts, research if those reactions are normal, and make a few tweaks. This can be applied to almost any habit: getting up earlier, cutting down on caffeine, reading daily, or many other habits you want to get better at.

Minimum Viable Product and Side-Project Creation

If you are interested in becoming an entrepreneur or small business owner you can start applying the proof of concept and MVP approach to a side project. Instead of starting with a big idea and trying to start from the top of the pyramid, you can break the business idea down to smaller chunks.

With the first smaller chunk you can employ a proof of concept and create a MVP in a couple of hours. Although this isn’t your finished product, it gives you an idea of what potential clients are looking for. You can then go back to the drawing board, tweaking this and that, until you find a solution. Over time each chunk has been proven successful and you can build your pyramid by combining the chunks.

Think Like an Entrepreneur

Using this mindset helps you develop ways to tackle new problems that arise on a daily basis. It teaches you how to cope in difficult situations, how to improve your habits, and build a company from scratch. Although you may not consider your thought process as a proof of concept, a lot of times that’s how we think. Being cognizant of these two phrases can help you formulate new ways of finding solutions.

Yesterday I promised a perspective post. Here it is.

Imagine for a minute you’re dropped onto a remote island somewhere in the middle of the ocean. You don’t remember anything except falling asleep in your bed and waking up on this island. Once the initial panic wears off, what will you do? You’ll probably walk around the island until you’ve made a mental map of everything: the landscape, fresh water (if there is any), types of food sources, and verification it’s an island and not connected to mainland. Once you’ve done that you can form a game-plan.

Perspective Finding

No one’s about to kidnap us in the middle of the night and strand us on a remote island, at least I hope not. But that’s the mentality we need to have when pursuing anything. Walking around the island is opening our senses to opportunities. The opportunity to survive, subsist, or escape, are all being developed while exploring. Life is similar to a remote island, but much bigger.

In order to find our perspective in life we need to attack each situation with perspective finding. First we need to know the rules we’re playing in. Second we need to find the resources that can open-up opportunities. And last, we need to find a perspective to view our situations in. Each time we put ourselves in new places, positions, careers, circumstances, or social circles, we develop new perspectives. Stepping outside our comfort zones helps in finding perspective.

Pursue It

We all have the option to live comfortably in our little bubbles. We can shield ourselves from different cultures, ethnicities, social-circles, etc., but that isn’t going to increase our capabilities and will not increase our perspective. Instead we must step out of our comfort zones and pursue learning experiences. We need to pursue remote islands that we have no idea our surroundings.

Each time we put ourselves on a remote island we force our perspectives to be expanded. Each time they’re expanded our minds grow out comfort zones. Expertise in a field doesn’t come from constantly studying a certain subject, but mastering the ability to explore lots of subjects. Expanding our comfort zones provides us with the resources to explore new places because we’re comfortable with the old places. Pursuit of perspective is a never-ending quest of bettering ourselves.

 

Perspective is Everything is a thought I’ve been thinking a lot about. However, it’s late, I’ve been traveling, and I need a little time to ponder and write something cohesive. Expect a much more expansive post tomorrow.

Changing your surroundings and the environment you’re in helps in many ways. We develop habits and routines that make us successful on a daily basis, however, they confine us into specific roles. By focusing on our daily lives, we restrict other possibilities. Change, specifically changing environments, forces us to step out of our comfort zones, develop new ways of interacting, and build up our resilience.

If you haven’t made a change recently, I recommend trying to change something. Start something new and figure out a way to succeed. It’ll help break from the day to day that our lives are so easily confined by.

Relax. In time life will set it’s path for you. Doing the things that make you complete, happy, and whole, are the things you need to focus on. Let go of the struggle, let go of the angst, and in time your relaxation will repay you.

A few years ago I developed an interest in learning about modern art. I downloaded a book titled “What Are You Looking At?” It was a look at the 150 year history of modern artists, their paintings, and the place each piece holds in the story of modern art. It had a profound impact on me when looking at modern art, and has taught me valuable lessons in more parts of my life than just art.

What Makes Modern Artists Great?

Pablo Picasso, Monet, and other great artists didn’t become sensations overnight. Actually, if they were alive today they might be surprised at their place in modern art history. The path of modern art is winding.

The great artists spent years perfecting their craft, but as non-mercantilists know, value isn’t created by how much time you spend on something. Great art is no different. Great art also needs to find it’s place within the story. A painting needs to fit the timeline or, if it doesn’t fit the timeline, have a large enough following to pivot the path of modern art.

Modern art history is like a serpent, slithering back and forth and constantly moving forward. Great modern artists of today don’t know their place on the serpentine path until it’s been written. They can guess by trying to fit the political, social, and directional climate of the art world, but there is no way of truly knowing where the snake-like path will slither next. There’s no bypassing this fact.

For every Picasso there were hundreds of great artists who failed to find their place in the archives of modern history. Were they less talented? Maybe, but probably not much less talented. They failed to solidify their spot because the path didn’t slither close enough to their work. They missed the boat. That’s not to say their work was all-for-not, actually quite the opposite.

Finding Your Place

Pretend for a minute you want to be the Picasso of whatever industry you’re interested in. What would you do? You’d probably spend everyday working on your craft. Your craft probably isn’t painting but it might be teaching, accounting, marketing, or some other skill. Everyday you’re going to do tasks related to those skills and one day your skills will be Picasso-level in that field.

But wait, you thought you were trying to find your path, and perfecting a skill isn’t finding your path. Exactly! Remember, for every Picasso there were hundreds of artists with painting mastery. They failed to fit into modern art history because the path never slithered close enough to them. However, the skills the non-Picasso painters developed allowed them other opportunities, to live a fair lifestyle, and be equipped with tools to find happiness.

Lesson For You

This same methodology can be applied to CEOs of companies. Not everyone is going to be Mark Zuckerberg, but that doesn’t mean not trying. There are thousands of other companies needing CEOs who have mastered their craft. Although the path didn’t turn every CEO, who worked hard daily, into Zuckerberg, that doesn’t mean an unhappy life for them.

Finding your path isn’t something you should strive for. Your path will find itself in time. Instead, your focus should be on daily improvements, and hard work, which leads you to a place you want to be. This will equip you with the tools to succeed in whatever role you end up in. Maybe your industry’s path will scoop you up and fast track you to Picasso or Zuckerberg successes. But if it doesn’t, you have the ability to achieve personal success because you focused your time on yourself, not your place in the path.

This morning I have been trying to put into words the journey my mind has taken the past two months, since quitting my job. I started jotting down notes, and came up with the title “Breaking Brainwash.” Although not as eloquent as some other euphemisms used to describe my mind’s journey, I liked the phrase as it was an alliteration similar to Breaking Bad. As I was putting together my thoughts I read an article by Dan Sanchez titled Self Discipline Must Be Selfish.

Dan’s article has allegories to George Orwell’s Animal Farm, likening our learned discipline to that of cattle. This quote stood out to me, “To achieve true self-discipline, you need an exorcism. You need to exorcise the ghosts of past taskmasters that are haunting your psyche. Your life’s endeavors need to become truly and deeply about you and for you.”

Authoritarian Brainwashing

Whether you call it an exorcism of past taskmasters, or breaking the brainwash of authoritarian society, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is putting your mind in a place to break these habits. Whether you were home-schooled, went through typical schooling, went to college or not, we all have been raised in an authoritarian society. Our habits have been formed not from ourselves, but an authoritarian overseer. We must find out what our brains really want in order to vanquish brainwash.

My Past Two Months

I was unemployed, by choice, in 2015 for a few months. I focused on things like Bitcoin, blockchain, and starting a Paleo diet. My last two months of unemployment have been something different. I have spent my time figuring myself out. What makes me tick? What doesn’t? What emotions am I feeling and why? These are questions that help me in breaking brainwash.

I have learned that a lot of my concerns aren’t actually concerning. I have a strong mind and I know how to use it for the stuff I want. My self-taught lessons have shown me that I have let society brainwash me into the person they want me to be. But I don’t want to be society’s person, I want to be my own person. Looking deep within myself, and my emotions, has opened me up to the person I want to be and started eliminating habits my brainwashed self believed.

Call it an epiphany moment, or an exorcism, call it anything you’d like, but I can tell you looking inside yourself will teach you many lessons. Knowing the the extent of society’s grips on your mind, coupled with inward looking, can lead you to an exorcised mind. Seeing clearly, and acting for yourself, are steps that keep you from being cattle, prodded by the farmer.

Sometimes the best step is a step back. To look for the reasons behind your actions before partaking in further actions. Consistently being intentional with your mindset helps in breaking brainwash, and living a life for you, not someone else.

“What do you do?” The dreaded question that is bound to come up at any networking event, party, or when meeting new people. I dread this question. I think a lot of people do too. But we all seem to ask it without hesitation. It’s the universal go-to question. It was far more prevalent while living in Washing D.C., but it still gets asked far more than I’d

Looking Inward

Over the last few months I’ve been looking inward often. Probably part of my Stoicism reading. I take situations and try to get to the core of my feelings. If something makes me angry I ask why. If something makes me excited I again ask why. One of my recent feelings was a feeling of confidence, of self-worth. Again, I asked myself why. Why do I feel my self-worth rise? What is the story behind it? Why is this important?

My most recent self-worth feeling was being able to finish above-average on some tests I was taking. It was the first time in a while I received objective confirmation that I was actually pretty good at what I thought I was good at. I immediately felt my self-worth levels rising. Why, I asked? I believe this “why” was from an understanding that a lot of our projections of ourselves come from the question “What do you do?”

Like a Filing Cabinet

We live in a society that judges based on superficial standards. What do you do is such a pervasive question because it allows us to pigeon hole people into a place in our minds. It allows us to put a tag on you, file you away, and move on with the conversation, knowing exactly where your file is located.

This filing system also infiltrates our mind. When you tell someone “I’m a marketer” everyone assumes a sleazy salesman, and in your mind your role as marketer takes a hit. I know marketers who aren’t sleazy people. I read a lot of copywriter’s materials, they are far from sleazy. But they’ve developed self-worth in spite of the marketer stereotype.

Living For You

Knowing the anxiety “What do you do?” causes for me has changed the way I approach the question. I try to ask something along the lines of “What makes you tick?” or “What hobbies are you pursuing?” This turns the question on it’s head. It validates what someone is passionate about and doesn’t pigeon hole someone into an industry, a job, or a predetermined stereotype.

Your self-worth isn’t validated by the type of job you hold, the house you live in, or the car you drive. No, your self-worth is validated by what makes you tick, the essence of being alive. Next time someone asks “What do you do?” exclaim what makes you come alive. I promise they’ll be blown away.

Look up articles on time management, or how to be productive, or habits of successful people. You’ll be inundated with hundreds, probably tens of thousands, of experts teaching the “10 Rules to Effective Time Management” or an article on successful people who follow their daily ritual each and everyday so you should too. My time management advice: relax.

Relaxing

I’ve always had a hard time with time management. I am good at getting tasks done, but when I have to schedule a bunch of my time for different tasks throughout the day I start getting stressed. Mathematically I have the time. Two hours here, three hours there, a few 30 minute projects, a couple breaks for food and leisure, and another hour long project. That’s a complete day.

But when I sit down for the first two hours my mind can’t help itself from thinking about projects 2, 3, 4… and how to get those done. Soon my two hour project becomes stressing on my other projects and nothing gets done.

Here’s where my advice comes in. Relax. Focus on the task at hand, do it to the best of my ability, and stop worrying about everything else. Once task number one has taken it’s necessary allotment of work, move onto task number two. Relaxing, and taking tasks one step at a time, is the only way to work through a pile of projects. Otherwise nothing gets done.

Gameplan

Relaxing isn’t the only thing I do. My other process is to create an effective gameplan. The gameplan helps put my mind at ease and let’s me relax while focusing on the task at hand.

I like to map out my time at least a few days in advance. Ideally I’d map out my large time goals 60 to 90-days in advance and work back from there, but sometimes far-off goals aren’t so easy. So, I at least try 2-3 days in advance.

Creating a gameplan of tasks I want completed, and the priority of completion, gives me confidence that what I’m spending time on now must be the most productive use of my time. Completing the highest priority, usually the hardest, task first, commonly referred to as eating the frog, is my first step. After that I plug away at my task list as best I can.

If I don’t complete everything on my task list, I relax. Stressing about what I could’ve done won’t improve anything. Instead, I focus my energy on planning for the next day, so I know what I need to do to propel myself forward. Taking a relaxed mentality is my secret to managing time.