Colin Robertson's Blog

# Rule #8: To Reach Your Goal, Shape the Path.

Imagine that you and I went back 100 years to a time when cars were first made available to the average person.  It’s an exciting time. This disruptive change in technology has given us the freedom to reach destinations beyond what we dreamed possible.  **But there’s a catch.**

Imagine that you and I went back 100 years to a time when [Henry Ford](http://www.willpowered.co/learn/simpler-is-better?utm_medium=Referral?utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path) first made the automobile available to the average person. 

It’s an exciting time.

This disruptive change in technology has given us the freedom to reach destinations beyond what we dreamed possible. 

But there’s a catch.


Although we have dreams of driving our new cars to far off destinations, it’s not going to be easy.

The roads will be bumpy.

The directions won’t be clear.

And intuition won’t be much help if you get lost along the way.

Now, I don’t know the exact statistics of successful trips from “Point A to Point B” 100 years ago, but it’s safe to say that it was significantly lower than it is today. 

* Despite all of the dangers we face in the world today…

* Despite all of the flaws of human nature that are still apparent…

* Despite all of the uncertainty about the future…

There is one thing you can rely on — when you leave your home, you are almost certain to reach your destination.

Why is this?

Despite what you may think, it’s not necessarily because we have better vehicles today than we did 100 years ago…

The reason we’re more successful today is that we have shaped the path.

Paved roads, licenses, speed limits, stop signs, street lights, GPS; all these things put together have provided a framework for us to reach our destination with unprecedented success.

Take these things away, however, and it doesn’t matter how great you are at driving — reaching your destination will be difficult if not impossible.

Equally, with these structures in place, even a terrible driver will reach their destination nearly every time. 

Neglecting this crucial insight is why so many of us fail to achieve our goals. 

We invest in amazing technology, gear, and gym memberships, but spend almost no time on:

1. Specifying what we’re trying to accomplish (The Destination)

2. Learning how to achieve it (Getting Directions)

3. Clearing the path ahead of time (Roads, Rules, etc.)

In other words…

We choose to drive a brand new car on terrible roads with vague directions, and “trust our gut” to handle any setbacks along the way. 

Then, of course, we blame ourselves when we don’t reach the destination. 

After all, if you have a great car and neglect the whole concept of a map, what other explanation is there for why you didn’t reach your destination?

Insert self-criticism and/or self-justification here

Clearly, this is not a formula for reaching your destination.

So is it any wonder that so many of us struggle to reach our goals?

## SHAPING THE PATH

Think of the profound implication of this.

A terrible driver in a “clunker” with paved roads, stop signs, and GPS will always beat the great driver with treacherous roads and vague directions. 

That’s the power of the path.

Yet, when you think of what it will take to “turn things around” in your life, what do you focus on?

* Yourself?

* Your coworkers?

* The endless list of problems and the lack of time available to solve them all?

These undoubtedly merit your consideration, but you’re not going to change anybody — including yourself — overnight. 

You can, however, change your path. 

## HOW TO SHAPE YOUR PATH

The first principle of shaping the path is recognizing that you’re not aiming for perfection.

The path to your goal will likely never be as clear as the path you take to work.

However, there is a lot of room for improvement between that level of clarity and what you probably used when you began the journey to your latest goal.

To illustrate this, I’m going to show you how I’ve built Wilson to make sense of the unknown and overwhelming journey of Entrepreneurship. 

Not through perfection, but through progress.

### GETTING THINGS DONE

There’s probably no more widely useful and effective Checklist than the [Getting Things Done (GTD)](http://gettingthingsdone.com/?utm_source=Willpowered&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path) method by [David Allen.](http://gettingthingsdone.com/meet-david?utm_source=Willpowered&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path)


GTD involves emptying all the “stuff” in your head (to-dos, ideas, reminders, etc.) putting them into an in-basket, and identifying what action you need to make progress on every single idea next. 

Nearly every person who uses this method sees extraordinary results – getting organized, making progress, and enjoying stress-free productivity.

Then, like me, they stop following the checklist…

The GTD Checklist is incredibly boring. You have to process EVERY TASK using the flowchart in the picture.

Trying to identify the next action to take on all of your to-do items is tedious — and so easy to put off.

But if you can summon the discipline to do it…The feeling of calm and clarity you get after you’re done processing your in-basket is priceless.

However, most people who feel this sense of calm, slowly but surely let stuff pile up, lose control, then…

Are back to being constantly nagged by wandering thoughts of something we don’t want to forget about — but can’t do anything about right now. 

This was my story far too often — but I was determined to take the boredom out of the process.


### ← So I turned this

###  

### Into this →

Now all it takes for me to follow the path from a huge in-basket of stuff to complete organization and mental clarity is just the tap of a button.

I even set it up so I can process my inbox completely hands-free!

So I can walk outside, enjoy the weather, and process all my tasks at the same time. 

And so can you.

If you join the Consistency Challenge this Spring, you will receive access to all the apps I’ve built like this to make it easier to get to your desired destination. 

If you can’t join us this Spring, these tips will help point you in the right direction:

### 1\. SPECIFY THE DESTINATION

This seems absurdly obvious.

But how often when you set a goal do you take the time to specify exactly what “success” will look like?

What are you trying to achieve by going to the gym?

* Look better?

* Feel more confident?

* Set a good example for you kids?

Your answer likely seems so implicit and obvious, that it seems tedious to respond those questions. 

But when you face the inevitable temptation to take a day off, making this answer clear and meaningful to you could be the difference between a failure…[and a habit](http://academy.willpowered.co/p/consistency-challenge?utm_source=Willpowered&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path)

Here’s how Wilson helps me:

[→ Get this workflow on iOS](https://workflow.is/workflows/d9a748bf53bb46a3933bf8581ea51242)

### 2\. GET DIRECTIONS

Pay attention to this step…

This is the most important step that almost no one deliberately takes.

How do you “get directions?”

Find someone who has already reached achieved your goal and learn how they did it.

No matter what your situation is, there is someone who has been in a similar situation, with a similar goal and overcame similar obstacles.

Will Smith explains this best:

In the context of your goal, this person is an “expert.”

Learning their story probably won’t be able to give you “turn-by-turn directions,” but it will clear up a considerable portion of your map.

Learn the stories of several of these “experts” and getting from where you are, to where you want to be, won”t seem nearly as daunting.

Here’s what I built to always Get Directions

[→ Get this workflow on iOS](https://workflow.is/workflows/97170fb135cf4ae185bc5f52ecf12f7d?utm_source=Willpowered&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path)

### 3\. CREATE “RULES OF THE ROAD.”

As you can see from this post’s title, this is a “Rule of the Road” for me. 

I created this list for the same reason we use speed limits, stop signs, and insurance.

Structure. 

There are so many unknowns that you’re going to come across on your journey — but not all unknowns are created equally.

You may be driving to a completely new destination, but you know there will be stop signs, stop lights, and can count on other drivers adhering to them. 

This structure frees your mind to focus on more important things.

“Rules of the Road” are your principles, values, and rules that you can turn to when you need to make a tough decision in an unknown situation. 

With each goal, there will be at least one value or principle of yours that will be challenged in some way. 

Before you embark on your journey into the unknown, you need to know where your “line” is.

* How much time will you devote to this [goal over other priorities](http://www.willpowered.co/learn/think-and-not-or?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Willpowered&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path)?

* How will you respond when you [face setbacks?](http://www.willpowered.co/learn/never-give-in-to-guilt?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Referrall&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path)

* How will you deal with the[ temptation to quit?](http://www.willpowered.co/learn/principles-before-practicality?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Principles)

You may not know the specific that will challenge you on these questions, but you will likely face some challenge to your principles or values. 

So create a plan for how you will respond.

Here’s what I built to ensure I know which rules to apply:

[→ Get this workflow on iOS](https://workflow.is/workflows/d9a748bf53bb46a3933bf8581ea51242?utm_source=Willpowered&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path)

 

### 4\. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!

When you shape your path with a clear destination, expert directions, and your principles and guidelines to reach it — follow it!

Again, I know it seems obvious, but it will not seem obvious when You’re exhausted, stressed out, and hit a bump in the road.

That’s why we need a Checklist. 

We need to remember the specific directions to follow we mapped out when we weren’t tired, stressed and emotional.

The problem — I’ll admit it — checklists are boring. 

* They feel like a chore.

* And if they feel like a chore, you’re not going to use them.

* And if you don’t use them, the small things you miss will add up.

Like it or not, Checklists are the best tool you have for bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Why?

Becuase Checklists…


###  

### ← Turn this

 

### Into this →


They take the vast amounts of knowledge from experts, practitioners, and case studies, and put it into a framework that’s actionable.

But it’s not enough. 

Just because something is actionable, that doesn’t mean it’s useful.

And that’s why the path ahead for Willpowered is dedicated to taking Checklists one step further to the next step by…


###  

### ←Turning this

###  

###  

### Into this →


So your path is clear, your progress is tracked, and the next step on [your journey to greatness](http://academy.willpowered.co/p/consistency?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Shape_the_Path) takes nothing more than a click.

Imagine that you and I went back 100 years to a time when cars were first made available to the average person.

It's an exciting time.

This disruptive change in technology has given us the freedom to reach destinations beyond what we dreamed possible.

But there's a catch.

Although we have dreams of driving our new cars to far off destinations, it's not going to be easy.

The roads will be bumpy.


The directions won't be clear.


And intuition won't be much help if you get lost along the way.

Now, I don't know the exact statistics of successful trips from "Point A to Point B" 100 years ago, but it's safe to say that it's significantly lower than it is today.

Despite all of the dangers we face in the world today...


Despite all of the flaws of human nature that are still apparent...


Despite all of the uncertainty about the future...

There is one thing you can rely on — when you leave your home, you are almost certain to reach your destination.

Why is this?

Despite what you may think, it's not necessarily because we have better vehicles today than we did 100 years ago...

The reason we're more successful today is that we have shaped the path.

Paved roads, licenses, speed limits, stop signs, street lights, GPS; all these things put together have provided a framework for us to reach our destination with unprecedented success.

Take these things away, however, and it doesn't matter how great you are at driving — reaching your destination will be difficult if not impossible.

Equally, with these structures in place, even a terrible driver will reach their destination nearly every time.

Neglecting this crucial insight is why so many of us fail to achieve our goals.

We invest in amazing technology, gear, and gym memberships, but spend almost no time on:

Specifying what we're trying to accomplish (The Destination)
Learning how to achieve it (Getting Directions)
Clearing the path ahead of time (Roads, Rules, etc.)

In other words...

We choose to drive a brand new car on terrible roads with vague directions, and "trust our gut" to handle any setbacks along the way.

Then, of course, we blame ourselves when we don't reach the destination.

After all, if you have a great car and neglect the whole concept of a map, what other explanation is there for why you didn't reach your destination?

Insert self-criticism and/or self-justification here

Clearly, this is not a formula for reaching your destination.

So is it any wonder we fail to reach our goal 90-95% of the time??

SHAPING THE PATH

Think of the profound implication of this.

A terrible driver in a "clunker" with paved roads, stop signs, and GPS will always beat the great driver with treacherous roads and vague directions.

That's the power of the path.

Yet, when you think of what it will take to "turn things around" in your life, what do you focus on?

Yourself?
Your coworkers?
The endless list of problems and the lack of time available to solve them all?

These undoubtedly merit your consideration, but you're not going to change anybody — including yourself — overnight.

You can, however, change your path.

HOW TO SHAPE YOUR PATH

The first principle of shaping the path is recognizing that you're not aiming for perfection.

The path to your goal will probably never be clear as the path you took to work today.

However, there is a lot of room for improvement between that level of clarity and what you probably used when you began the journey to your latest goal.

To illustrate this, I'm going to show you how I've built Wilson to make sense of the unknown and overwhelming journey of Entrepreneurship.

Not through perfection, but through progress.

GETTING THINGS DONE

There's probably no more widely useful and effective Checklist than the Getting Things Done (GTD) method by David Allen.

GTD involves emptying all the "stuff" in your head (to-dos, ideas, reminders, etc.) putting them into an in-basket, and identifying what action you need to make progress on every single idea next.

Nearly every person who uses this method sees extraordinary results – getting organized, making progress, and enjoying stress-free productivity.

Then, like me, they stop following the checklist...

The GTD Checklist is incredibly boring. You have to process EVERY TASK using the flowchart in the picture.

Trying to identify the next action to take on all of your to-do items is tedious — and so easy to put off.

But if you can summon the discipline to do it...The feeling of calm and clarity you get after you're done processing your in-basket is priceless.

However, most people who feel this sense of calm, slowly but surely let stuff pile up, lose control, then...

Are back to being constantly nagged by wandering thoughts of something we don't want to forget about — but can't do anything about right now.

This was my story far too often — but I was determined to take the boredom out of the process.

← So I turned this Into this →

Now all it takes for me to follow the path from a huge in-basket of stuff to complete organization and mental clarity is just the tap of a button.

I even set it up so I can process my inbox completely hands-free!

So I can walk outside, enjoy the weather, and process all my tasks at the same time.

And so can you.

If you join the Consistency Challenge this Spring, you will receive access to all the apps I've built like this to make it easier to get to your desired destination.

If you can't join us this Spring, these tips will help point you in the right direction:

1. SPECIFY THE DESTINATION

This seems absurdly obvious.

But how often when you set a goal do you take the time to specify exactly what "success" will look like?

What are you trying to achieve by going to the gym?

Look better?
Feel more confident?
Set a good example for you kids?

Your answer likely seems so implicit and obvious, that it seems tedious to respond those questions.

But when you face the inevitable temptation to take a day off, making this answer clear and meaningful to you could be **the difference between a failure...and a habit

Here's how Wilson helps me:
 

 
2. GET DIRECTIONS

Pay attention to this step...

This is the most important step that almost no one deliberately takes.

How do you "get directions?"

Find someone who has already reached achieved your goal and learn how they did it.

No matter what your situation is, there is someone who has been in a similar situation, with a similar goal and overcame similar obstacles.

Will Smith explains this best:

 

In the context of your goal, this person is an "expert."

Learning their story probably won't be able to give you "turn-by-turn directions," but it will clear up a considerable portion of your map.

Learn the stories of several of these "experts" and getting from where you are, to where you want to be, won"t seem nearly as daunting.

Here's how Wilson helps me:
 

 
3. CREATE "RULES OF THE ROAD."

As you can see from this post's title, this is a "Rule of the Road" for me.

I created this list for the same reason we use speed limits, stop signs, and insurance.

Structure.

There are so many unknowns that you're going to come across on your journey — but not all unknowns are created equally.

You may be driving to a completely new destination, but you know there will be stop signs, stop lights, and can count on other drivers adhering to them.

This structure frees your mind to focus on more important things.

"Rules of the Road" are your principles, values, and rules that you can turn to when you need to make a tough decision in an unknown situation.

With each goal, there will be at least one value or principle of yours that will be challenged in some way.

Before you embark on your journey into the unknown, you need to know where your "line" is.

How much time will you devote to this goal over other priorities?
How will you respond when you face setbacks?
How will you deal with the temptation to quit?

You may not know the specific that will challenge you on these questions, but you will likely face some challenge to your principles or values.

So create a plan for how you will respond.

Here's how Wilson helps me:
 

 
4. FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!!

When you shape your path with a clear destination, expert directions, and your principles and guidelines to reach it — follow it!

Again, I know it seems obvious, but it will not seem obvious when You're exhausted, stressed out, and hit a bump in the road.

That's why we need a Checklist.

We need to remember the specific directions to follow we mapped out when we weren't tired, stressed and emotional.

The problem — I'll admit it — checklists are boring.

They feel like a chore.
And if they feel like a chore, you're not going to use them.
And if you don't use them, the small things you miss will add up.

Like it or not, Checklists are the best tool you have for bridging the gap between where you are and where you want to be.

Why?

Becuase Checklists...

 ← Turn this

 

Into this →

They take the vast amounts of knowledge from experts, practitioners, and case studies, and put it into a framework that's actionable.

But it's not enough.

Just because something is actionable, that doesn't mean it's useful.

And that's why the path ahead for Willpowered is dedicated to taking Checklists one step further to the next step by...

← Turning this Into this →

So you can shape a clearer path to whatever greatness you seek.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again on this blog…

There is nothing special about me.

Throughout school, I was a B student…

I was never talented at sports…

And my English teachers would laugh if they knew I made a living from writing.

However, this lack of talent forced me to learn several crucial life skills:

I had to develop a strong work ethic.
I had to practice habitually.
And I had to learn how to learn.

But I never would have developed these skills without one crucial factor:

I’m willing to look stupid.

And it is better to look stupid than perfect.

WHY WE AVOID LOOKING STUPID

The desire to be liked by the crowd is in our DNA.

We survived the harsh living conditions of our ancestors by sticking together in a tribe.

Due to our unique ability to work together, the tribe was safe. To maintain our place within it, we tried to show our strengths and hide our weaknesses.

Thanks to social media, showing your strengths and hiding your weaknesses is easier today than ever before.

You can craft the exact persona you want to show the world — and don’t need to reveal your vulnerability.

If I don’t want you to see the areas in which I am weak or ignorant, I can leave those off my Facebook “highlight reel.”

With enough time, effort, and filter selection, I can make it look like I’m living a perfect life.

Why admit to the world that I had to move back in with my parents, when I can just highlight the fact that I’m a published author!

Why take a chance, start something new, and risk falling flat on my face?

Why look stupid, when I can look perfect?

THE BIG PROBLEM WITH LOOKING PERFECT

Nobody is perfect.

We all have flaws. Being imperfect is part of being human.

We all know this.

So trying to look perfect will only isolate you from your friends and from reality.

Rather than confront your issues, your weaknesses, and become more self-aware — your strategy will become denial.

You will begin to avoid anything that reveals your weaknesses, you will run away from challenges, and you will cover up anything that doesn’t fit your idea of perfection.

Eventually, you will spend the majority of your time and energy hiding your flaws — rather than improving them.

IMPROVING YOUR FAILURES

Whenever I tell someone that I create content for a living, it’s usually followed up with some version of the question,

“…that’s your full-time job?”

I don’t blame people for asking this question. Of the dozens of content creators I have met over the years, there are fewer than five I know who do it full-time.

Simply put, this is a tough way to make a living.

Beyond being a struggle to make rent each month, you are consistently putting yourself out there to be judged by the world.

You are setting yourself up for constant criticism — especially from the person you see in the mirror.

As Ta-Nehisi Coates — winner of the MacArthur genius grant — said:

“The challenge of writing is to see you horribleness on the page. To see your terribleness and then to go to bed.

Then wake up the next day, and take that horribleness and terribleness and refine it. And make it not so horrible and not so terrible.

And come the next day and make it…not so bad. Then go to bed the next day and make it maybe…average.

Then after one more pass, if you’re lucky, maybe you get to ‘good.'”

And this is coming from a writer who was so good that he won The Genius Grant!!

If he’s claiming that at best he produces something that is merely “good,” what chance do you and I have to produce anything worthwhile?

Slim to none — but there’s still a chance.

The difference comes down to your will to look at your own failures, your own weaknesses, and your own stupidity. Then come back the next day and make your flaws just a little bit better.

It is in this state of mind which I have thrived.

MY STUPIDITY — AND WILL TO IMPROVE IT.

When I started Willpowered I had a simple goal:

Write 1,000 words every day.

I knew that I could not control my talent for writing; I could not control who would come to my site and I could not control whether or not people would relate to my message.

But I could write 1,000 horrible, terrible, and embarrassing words today.

Then the next day, I could write 1,000 words that were just a little bit less horrible, less terrible, and less embarrassing.

Then do the same the next day…and the next.

I have now almost written 1,000,000 words — But I’m still horribly embarrassed by every first draft I write.

But I am less embarrassed by the drafts I write today than the ones I wrote last year. And I know I will be even less embarrassed by the drafts I write next year at this time.

I will never write a perfect article, a perfect paragraph, or even a perfect sentence — but that’s not the goal.

The goal is to write 1,000 words per day that help you understand abstract scientific concepts and use them on your journey to become your best self.

And no matter how stupid I may look to myself or others, I will do everything I can to make that happen.

CONCLUSION — MAKE YOUR WORRIES CONCRETE

Much of our concern about “what people will think” comes from our fear of the unknown.

I still worry every time I publish a new article that I’m going to get “hate mail” from a subscriber who was shocked and offended by the horribleness of my writing.

This worry, however, only exists in the unknown. I’ve written over 200 articles, and have only received 1 harsh email that really stung — which was over 2 years ago now.

So when I receive a subscriber email, I force myself to open it up and read it.

Otherwise, my mind will wander to negative places about what it might say — despite the 99.5% chance that it will be positive or constructive.

Whenever you’re worried about what people may think when you, “put yourself out there,” use that as a cue for action.

It won’t be easy at the moment, but if you can summon the courage to open yourself up to criticism, you will find that it’s better to look stupid, than perfect.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again on this blog...

There is nothing special about me.

Throughout school, I was a B student...

I was never talented at sports...

And my English teachers would laugh if they knew I made a living from writing.

However, this lack of talent forced me to learn several crucial life skills:

I had to develop a strong work ethic.
I had to practice habitually.
And I had to learn how to learn.

But I never would have developed these skills without one crucial factor:

I'm willing to look stupid.

And it is better to look stupid than perfect.

WHY WE AVOID LOOKING STUPID

The desire to be liked by the crowd is in our DNA.

We survived the harsh living conditions of our ancestors by sticking together in a tribe.

Due to our unique ability to work together, the tribe was safe. To maintain our place within it, we tried to show our strengths and hide our weaknesses.

Thanks to social media, showing your strengths and hiding your weaknesses is easier today than ever before.

You can craft the exact persona you want to show the world — and don't need to reveal your vulnerability.

If I don't want you to see the areas in which I am weak or ignorant, I can leave those off my Facebook "highlight reel."

With enough time, effort, and filter selection, I can make it look like I'm living a perfect life.

Why admit to the world that I had to move back in with my parents, when I can just highlight the fact that I'm a published author!

Why take a chance, start something new, and risk falling flat on my face?

Why look stupid, when I can look perfect?

THE BIG PROBLEM WITH LOOKING PERFECT

Nobody is perfect.

We all have flaws. Being imperfect is part of being human.

We all know this.

So trying to look perfect will only isolate you from your friends and from reality.

Rather than confront your issues, your weaknesses, and become more self-aware — your strategy will become denial.

You will begin to avoid anything that reveals your weaknesses, you will run away from challenges, and you will cover up anything that doesn't fit your idea of perfection.

Eventually, you will spend the majority of your time and energy hiding your flaws — rather than improving them.

IMPROVING YOUR FAILURES

Whenever I tell someone that I create content for a living, it's usually followed up with some version of the question,

"...that's your full-time job?"

I don't blame people for asking this question. Of the dozens of content creators I have met over the years, there are fewer than five I know who do it full-time.

Simply put, this is a tough way to make a living.

Beyond being a struggle to make rent each month, you are consistently putting yourself out there to be judged by the world.

You are setting yourself up for constant criticism — especially from the person you see in the mirror.

As Ta-Nehisi Coates — winner of the MacArthur genius grant — said:

"The challenge of writing is to see you horribleness on the page. To see your terribleness and then to go to bed.

Then wake up the next day, and take that horribleness and terribleness and refine it. And make it not so horrible and not so terrible.

And come the next day and make it...not so bad. Then go to bed the next day and make it maybe...average.

Then after one more pass, if you're lucky, maybe you get to 'good.'"

And this is coming from a writer who was so good that he won The Genius Grant!!

If he's claiming that at best he produces something that is merely "good," what chance do you and I have to produce anything worthwhile?

Slim to none — but there's still a chance.

The difference comes down to your will to look at your own failures, your own weaknesses, and your own stupidity. Then come back the next day and make your flaws just a little bit better.

It is in this state of mind which I have thrived.

MY STUPIDITY — AND WILL TO IMPROVE IT.

When I started Willpowered I had a simple goal:

Write 1,000 words every day.

I knew that I could not control my talent for writing; I could not control who would come to my site and I could not control whether or not people would relate to my message.

But I could write 1,000 horrible, terrible, and embarrassing words today.

Then the next day, I could write 1,000 words that were just a little bit less horrible, less terrible, and less embarrassing.

Then do the same the next day...and the next.

I have now almost written 1,000,000 words — But I'm still horribly embarrassed by every first draft I write.

But I am less embarrassed by the drafts I write today than the ones I wrote last year. And I know I will be even less embarrassed by the drafts I write next year at this time.

I will never write a perfect article, a perfect paragraph, or even a perfect sentence — but that's not the goal.

The goal is to write 1,000 words per day that help you understand abstract scientific concepts and use them on your journey to become your best self.

And no matter how stupid I may look to myself or others, I will do everything I can to make that happen.

CONCLUSION — MAKE YOUR WORRIES CONCRETE

Much of our concern about "what people will think" comes from our fear of the unknown.

I still worry every time I publish a new article that I'm going to get "hate mail" from a subscriber who was shocked and offended by the horribleness of my writing.

This worry, however, only exists in the unknown. I've written over 200 articles, and have only received 1 harsh email that really stung — which was over 2 years ago now.

So when I receive a subscriber email, I force myself to open it up and read it.

Otherwise, my mind will wander to negative places about what it might say — despite the 99.5% chance that it will be positive or constructive.

Whenever you're worried about what people may think when you, "put yourself out there," use that as a cue for action.

It won't be easy at the moment, but if you can summon the courage to open yourself up to criticism, you will find that it's better to look stupid, than perfect.

There is no worse state of mind than desperation.

You forget your values.


You compromise your principles.


You truly lose yourself.

You become so focused on getting out of whatever jam you're in, that you lose sight of the consequences of your actions.

Since starting Willpowered, I have almost always been in the state of desperation to one degree or another.

This desperation forced me to confront a lot of temptation to compromise on my values of integrity, honesty, and long-term focus.

When the rent is due in 3 days, it's easy to see everyone who comes to your site as a means to your own end.

Especially when you can justify such thinking by saying, "I'm doing important work for the practical use of science — I deserve their money!"

But even in my most desperate moments, I avoided this mindset by adhering to Rule #6:

Principles before practicality.

PUTTING PRINCIPLES BEFORE PRACTICALITY

Marketing is a beautiful thing — when done right.

Thanks to this ad by Apple in 1997, when Steve Jobs returned to the company, I will be an Apple customer for as long as the spirit of this message is alive.

It shows me that Apple is building its products for the type of people I want to be like — and even inspires me to approach my daily work with their mindset.

As an Apple customer for the last six years, I can feel the passion behind the products they make, and how they help me become more like my heroes in that ad.

This beautiful mix of marketing and products is what happens when a company puts principles before practicality.

When that ad was released, Apple was a terrible company.It was so terrible that Michael Dell — founder of Dell Computer — said if he were the CEO of Apple, he'd shut the business down.

The practical pressures on Apple were enormous.

Yet, instead of releasing an advertisement touting the concrete benefits of buying a Mac over a PC, they had the audacity to promote themselves as, "helping the next Einstein change the world."

I started out in marketing, and I always tried to follow this method in all of my messaging.

Unfortunately, many of my colleagues have not done the same.

PUTTING PRACTICALITY BEFORE PRINCIPLES

Unfortunately, a lot of marketers today seriously ask themselves, "how can we trick people's primitive brain, so they buy from us?"

You can find endless articles about how to..

Create false scarcity...


Get customers to ACT NOW!


And improve marketing metrics to boost your bottom line...

The worst example of this is when marketers try to lower their unsubscribe rate by making the process unbearably confusing and ineffective.

Think about what is happening here...

You have a college-educated individual using their limited time on this earth to:

Make the unsubscribe link as hard to find in the email as possible.
Naming it something other than "Unsubscribe" so it confuses you.
Then if you do make it to the unsubscribe page, adding options so you only unsubscribe from the particular category that you just received.

They spend their time doing all of this instead of...I don't know...

Working to improve their content!!

Nope, they'd prefer to make life miserable for the people who had the audacity to sign up for their email list and support their work.

Anyone else see something wrong with this picture?

If you are a content creator, marketer, etc. who has done this in the past, I understand. It is a noisy world, and you want to do whatever you can to get an edge to get your voice heard. And this is a very tempting way to improve your metrics.

But this is a waste of your time, skills, and intelligence.

And it will only end up hurting you and your subscribers in the end.

HOW TO AVOID THE PRACTICALITY TRAP

Marketing is just one example, of course.

In your life, I'm sure there is a practical solution you can think of that goes against your principles or what is best for the long term.

The best way to avoid this trap is to remember what your real goal is.

When I faced the temptation above, I reminded myself that my total number of subscribers doesn't matter.

What matters is how many people find my work valuable when they apply it to their daily lives.

With this goal in mind, my total subscribers — or unsubscribers — does not give me any information on how well I'm progressing.

A much better measure is the click-thru rate.

How many people click the link from my email because the idea resonated with them?

That metric is the only one that matters when it comes to the email list — so that's the one I focused on.

And what happened?

Well, a "good" click-thru rate is somewhere around 2-3% in my industry. But I've been steadily increasing mine to 13.6%

4X better than the benchmark for my industry.

How did I do it?

BECAUSE I DIDN'T WASTE MY TIME PUNISHING MY SUBSCRIBERS BY CREATING A CONFUSING UNSUBSCRIBE PROCESS!!

Instead, I spent my time...

Learning who my subscribers were...

Discovering my true value to them...

And writing better content.

None of these things provided immediate results — but they are the reason I'm able to wake up every day and do work I'm passionate about for the rest of my life.

All because I put principles before practicality.

CONCLUSION

Until the day I die, I will always have a short term, viable solution, that is practical at the moment, but goes against my principles.

By recognizing this, I was able to continue making long-term, disciplined decisions; even when I faced moments of desperation.

A practical, short-term, easy way out will always be there to tempt you. The next time you notice it, just remember...

Principles before practicality.

You're probably familiar with the saying,

"Hit two birds with one stone."

But imagine for a second that this saying was your reality.
Imagine you were trying to hit two birds with one stone because you relied on those two birds for dinner.

If you didn't hit those birds, you wouldn't die, but you would go to bed hungry.

Your hunger through the night would serve as pretty good motivation for you to get up the next morning and get to work practicing your throw.

In fact, after you reach the limits of practice, you may even start analyzing which stones work best.

You may start reading about how to quiet your mind and focus all of your attention on that moment when the flock of birds flies by.

Now imagine that your practice, learning, and discipline pay off. When the birds fly overhead this time, you nail the two birds with a brilliant strike — reaping the rewards of your hard work and practice.

How skilled do you think you might get at hitting those birds if this was your reality for the next month?

What about the next six months?

How about the next six years?

The scenario above is a vivid analogy for my life over the last six years.

Over the last six years of my entrepreneurial journey, I have had a constant pressure to accomplish more with less. And if I didn't, there were real consequences.

With this scarcity of time, money, and even willpower, I have become extremely skilled at not just hitting two birds with one stone, but four, five, or even six.

And the most valuable lesson I learned through the process is to:

Think AND not OR

And when you're 100% dedicated to being an entrepreneur, that means if you don't find a way to make sales, the groceries are going to be sparse, and the landlord is going to be angry.

Live with that combination for five years, and you'll learn to do as much as possible with as little as possible.

THE ART OF KILLING MULTIPLE BIRDS WITH ONE STONE

In the last year, I accomplished a lot. I don't say that to brag; it's just a fact.

Here are the highlights:

I finished writing a book
I published and released that book
I saved my company from the brink of failure
I raised $20,000
I taught myself how to code
I learned three computer languages
I built a digital employee
I exercised and meditated 363/365 days
I achieved financial freedom
I discovered a purpose at the intersection of my passion, talent, and value to society.

None of this was easy.

It required a great purpose, many sacrifices, and harnessing the mental strength that I built over years of deliberate effort.

However, the techniques I used were simple and immediately useful.

MAKE A BIG LIST OF PROBLEMS

In the fall of last year — as I was building Wilson — I was finding it harder and harder to find time to:

Write one thousand words/day
Exercise for an hour/day
Keep in touch with my Chicago friends
Explore things to do in my new hometown of Saint Petersburg

We all face situations like this. You probably have different specific goals than I do, but I'm sure your categories are similar:

Creative goal
Health goal
Relationship goal
Appreciate life goal

Faced with all of these priorities, the first thing you want to do is

BE CONCRETE AND SPECIFIC

Most people have these goals in mind, but they aren't concrete about what exactly they want and — more importantly — why they want to achieve them.

Notice that my goal wasn't to "write more." It was, "write 1,000 words/day." And the reason why I want to write is clear in my mind — it's my creative outlet.

Whatever those nagging goals in the back of your mind are, make them concrete and purposeful.

You don't necessarily have to write them down, but you do need to know what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve them.

IS IT WORTH IT?

The next step is to simply ask yourself if your concrete goal and the purpose behind it is worth the effort it will take to achieve?

With my goal to keep in touch with my Chicago friends, I realized that I would have to venture outside of my comfort zone and ask my friends to chat on the phone.

I'm not sure what your experience is with phone calls, but I had never really just called a friend to chat. In my circles, it's just not what guys do.

So setting up regular phone calls was new territory for me — and my friends.

But then I asked myself the question I always ask when venturing outside my comfort zone — is it worth it?

If the answer is "yes" to that question — whether it's a small thing like being the one to awkwardly ask your friends to chat on the phone or a big thing like writing and publishing a book...

Then let go of the need to whine, complain, or find excuses; and focus all of your energy on making it happen.

If it truly is worth the effort, then you'll only cause yourself pain and suffering by complaining.

So remember your purpose, remember that it's worth, and focus on finding the solutions — not adding more problems.

IT'S ___ AND YOU ACCOMPLISHED ALL THESE GOALS. HOW?

It's the end of the day and I just wrote 1,000 words, exercised for an hour, had a great conversation with a friend, and explored a new area of town...how did I do it?

Thinking emoji...

I biked to one of the national parks nearby, went for a hike, used the dictation tool on my phone to write the first draft of this post, called a friend to catch up, then biked home.

That's right. The first draft of this post and more like it were written through a dictation tool on my phone while I was hiking in a new area of town.

If you check "My Dashboard" on the navigation bar at the top, you'll see that I get over 20,000 steps in per day by doing this. As a bonus, I also found that:

I'm more creative when I'm dictating rather than typing
I write at least 2x as fast
I don't have to worry about the health consequences of staring at a computer screen or typing on a keyboard
Have explored even more of the city than a lot of people who have lived here their whole lives
More polished at making professional phone calls now that I have "practice" from catching up with friends

And all of these are just bonuses!

But this post isn't about any of these specific points — it's about changing your mindset.

CONCLUSION

One of the most underrated pitfalls in our way of thinking is believing that something needs to be this OR that.

In my experience, 90% of the time you can accomplish this AND that — if not more as in my example above.

The difference typically comes down to discipline.

It takes discipline to follow the steps I outlined above.
It takes discipline to find the connections between your goals and understand how you can accomplish both at the same time.
And it takes discipline to follow that understanding with action.

I won't lie, however, sometimes you really can't make AND happen. I have faced situations where AND led to overextending myself and losing control over the situation.

But there are at least 9X more instances where I found a solution that not only allowed me to do this AND that but infinitely more bonus benefits that I didn't even consider at the outset.

So the next time you complain that you don't have time to exercise, spend time with friends, OR cultivate your passions — pause and follow the steps above to find the way to exercise, spend time with friends, AND cultivate your passions.

When you think of the great entrepreneurs through history, there is one name that is almost certainly going to come to mind —Henry Ford.

Ford is thought of by many to be the "father" of the auto industry...but why?

Did he invent the first car?

No...

Did he invent the internal combustion engine?

No...

Did he have the best design or greatest parts in the marketplace?

No...

Ford was relentlessly driven to succeed, but he was far from a genius.

So if he didn't invent the car, the engine, or design the "best" model on the market, why is he so highly regarded today?

Because Ford knew a profound truth — simpler is better than better.

THE POWER OF SIMPLICITY

Ford took one of the most complicated and technologically advanced products of his era and made it simple enough for uneducated workers to manufacture.

His factories provided jobs to thousands of working class people. His assembly line ran so efficiently that Ford pioneered the 8-hour workday. 2

His Model Twas the embodiment of the incredible feats humanity can achieve when we combine the rigor of science, with the innovation of entrepreneurship.

Thanks to Ford, a whole class of people were able to experience a rich, beautiful world beyond the limits of their horizon.

THE ENEMY OF SIMPLICITY

Thanks to the efforts of Henry Ford and the many great minds who followed, today's world is limitless.

Despite all of the problems we face, we are living in an unprecedented time of opportunity for individuals to create their future.

So why doesn't it feel that way?

Because we are overwhelmed by the greatest enemy of simplicity — ambiguity.

Nobody can predict the future. Change is happening faster than ever and is only accelerating. Since there are an infinite number of directions the world can go from here, we are left paralyzed by the equally endless opportunities at our disposal.

To continue with the car analogy, imagine you're about to enter a car race.

You can choose from 10 unique and technologically advanced vehicles, which are all specialized for various roads and conditions (winding roads, muddy roads, flat roads, etc.).

But here's the catch — there's no map!

Everyone starts on a dirt road, but nobody knows what the conditions will be for the majority of the race. So nobody knows which car will prove to be the most useful.

For all you know it's going to be nothing but dirt road for the entire race so you should get a four-wheel-drive.

Unless, of course, it's nothing but flat pavement — then you're going to feel pretty taking four-wheel-drive over the sports car...

With all of these choices and so much unknown, which car do you pick?

This choice is on the mind for many people in my generation.

There are so many great options, but we have no idea which one will even be viable down the road, and we're terrified of picking the wrong one.

If you can relate to this...

The worst decision is not picking the wrong car; it's wasting precious time and resources constantly trying to find a "better" car.

That is why simpler is better than better.

HOW TO FOCUS ON SIMPLICITY

Let me start by saying, I'm no master of simplicity yet.

I still suffer from overconfidence and sometimes lose discipline to stay within my core strength (see my articles on addiction).

However, by using the simple techniques below, I vastly improved — and continue to do so.

1. FIND YOUR HEDGEHOG

Over the last six years, I've had a clear purpose in mind — To discover the intersection of my talent, passion, and value. This article goes into detail on each significant step.

The mere fact of getting closer and closer to this point with each passing day gave me the confidence to stay on the path — even when I hit setbacks and Made poor decisions.

Do the hedgehog exercise yourself. You don't need to know what the connection is yet. You don't need to be fantastic in every area yet. You do, however, need to be authentic in your answers.

2. CHOOSE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN YOUR 3 CIRCLES

One of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing the right opportunity is skipping the hedgehog step and immediately trying to determine the best option.

In an uncertain future, what does "best" really mean?

If you have a general idea of your Hedgehog, best is the option that is as close to the intersection of your three circles as possible.

If you jump immediately into comparing your opportunities, however, your mind will use societal conventions like money, prestige, or "coolness" of the opportunity to judge its value.

While all of these may be valuable, they will distract you from evaluating factors that are more important to you; such as work hours, learning opportunities, and what you want out of life.

With your hedgehog in mind, however, it will be obvious which positions will allow you to combine your passion, talent, and value — while tuning out the distractions.

3. DETERMINE YOUR PHILOSOPHY

In an uncertain, unstable, and unpredictable world, you need a simple idea that will give you strength and stability to push your comfort zone.

If nothing comes to mind right away, try to think back to a challenging time in your life when you found the inner strength to rise to the occasion.

Why did your mindset shift?


What ideas helped you persevere?


How can you put those ideas into a clear guideline for the future?

For example, my philosophy is to confront the brutal facts, yet never lose faith.

Confront the brutal factsrepresents my passion for science, discipline, and neverending quest for the truth — even when it's tough to hear.

Never lose faithrepresents my passion for entrepreneurship, perseverance, and unwavering belief in the greatness at the heart of every individual.

Maintaining this simple philosophy has provided the flexibility to adapt to ever-changing circumstances, and the consistency to keep moving forward.

Conclusion

Six years ago I read these words from one of my heroes, Jim Collins:

"In today's world, change is both constant and accelerating. This is neither good nor bad. It just is. Like gravity."

In such a world it is impossible to know which opportunities will be the best down the road. So instead of focusing on "the car," you must focus instead on "the driver."

Find the simple concepts that will work for you and be ready to adapt to a changing world. Because, despite all of the problems we face, we are still living in an unprecedented time of opportunity for individuals to create their future.

There are two things I'm sure everybody reading this has experienced at some point:

Failure & Guilt.

Everybody has tried...
Everybody has failed...
And everbody has felt guilty about letting friends, family, or themselves down.

But does feeling guilty really motivate you to "get back on track?"

To find out, psychologists Claire Adams and Mark Leary invited young women who were watching their weight into the laboratory and encouraged them to eat doughnuts and candy (for of science, of course). 1

Although the experiment seemed cruel, it led to a profound insight to the question:

Will people indulge in less junk food if they forgive themselves?

Most people, including me, will find that question absurd.

If people don’t feel guilty, then what is stopping them from eating ALL of the doughnuts and candy?

How will they hold themselves back if they don’t feel bad about giving up on their diets?

THE EXPERIMENT

To find the answer, the researchers separated the dieters into two groups — a self-deprecating group, and a self-compassionate group.

They told each group that they were going to take part in a study of food on a person's mood and a taste study of several candies.

In the mood study, each woman was asked to choose between a chocolate or glazed doughnut and finish it within 4 minutes. Then they washed it down with a full glass of water.

The combination of the doughnut and the water made each woman feel both guilty and uncomfortably full at the same time.

Before the second study, the self-compassionate group received a message to help relieve their guilt.

The note read:

"Sometimes participants feel guilty about eating a whole doughnut, but you shouldn't be too hard on yourself about it. Remember that everyone indulges sometimes."

The “feel guilty” group didn’t receive any message — leaving them to embrace their guilty thoughts and feelings.

Then the researchers gave both groups three large bowls of candy:

Reese’s
Skittles
Peppermint Patties

And asked each woman to sample some candy from each bowl and rate it. They were encouraged to eat as many candies as they’d like to achieve a “definite rating."

THE RESULTS

After each group of women had eaten the candy, the researchers weighed the bowls to measure the difference.

Here are their averages:

Self-compassion group — ate 28 grams of candy

Self-guilt group —- ate 70 grams of candy

Feeling guilty led to almost 3x more binging!

Since then, researchers have repeated similar experiments to test our guilty reactions and come up with shockingly consistent results.

Feeling guilty always leads to letting loose.

WHY FEELING GUILTY DOESN’T WORK

Now, you may be thinking:

"Okay, maybe this works for others, but I know that I need to feel guilty! Otherwise, I won't learn my lesson!"

That's certainly a fair concern, so let's take a look at what happened in the brains of the two groups of participants.

When each group broke their diets by eating the doughnut, then made it worse by feeling bloated from the water, they activated an area I call "The Primitive Brain."

The Primitive Brain is all about the short-term. It is where cravings for food, sex, and even shopping sprees get their motivation.

By feeling guilty, the dieters were unknowingly fueling it. [2]

However, when the other group received a supportive and rational message that everyone indulges sometimes they could see their situation with greater clarity. It wasn't the end of the world.

Their mental activity stimulated the rational, "Modern Brain" — which is responsible for self-control and discipline.

By seeing a guilty situation objectively and forgiving yourself, the situation remains under your control. [2]

ALTERNATIVES TO FEELING GUILTY

Many of us have become so used to feeling guilty when we slip that thinking about an alternative seems strange.

So I laid out three scientifically proven strategies that you can use to rebound from a setback and stick with your goals:

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL YOUR BEST FRIEND?

Imagine your best friend just had a bad day and skipped their diet or exercise routine.

What advice would you give them?

Would you try to make them feel guilty about what they ate?

Would you call them lazy and hopeless for skipping the gym?

Of course not. You know intively that making them feel worse won't help. Right now, they need your support to stick with it for the long-term.

Are you any different? What would your best friend tell you?

When we think about helping our best friends, we gain perspective on the reality of our situation. This is why we give our best friends better advice than we give ourselves.

We let go of the short-term emotions, which helps us think clearly. 3

The next time you start to feel guilty about a setback, pause.

Think about what you would tell your best friend if they were in your situation. The advice you give him or her may be the difference between a slip, and crash.

**2. MAKE DELIBERATE MISTAKES

The first long-term goal every one of us sets in life is far from easy...

Learning how to walk.

From the moment we saw the grownups walking upright, it inspired us.

For months we tried and failed. We fell again and again, but did our parents make us feel guilty about it?

NO! (At least I hope not :/)

Babies somehow understand that falling is part of the process. It is a necessary setback that every person deals with when learning how to walk. When we fell, we got back up.

Eventually, we started walking on our own — taking each step with pride.

Unfortunately, many of us forget this crucial life lesson and start worrying about being judged as a "failure." So we don't even try.

Any goal worth achieving is going to push you out of your comfort zone. And just like learning how to walk, you will fall. Sometimes it will be your mistake, somtimes it will be bad luck.

You can't always will yourself to success — but you can will youself to get up.

Wounds heal for a reason. When they do, it's time to try again — not wallow in guilt.

3. KEEP A PROPER PERSPECTIVE

I've honestly lost track of how many failures I've incurred over the last six years as an entrepreneur.

But there's no question that the one that doomed me to move back in with my parents was the hardest.

I had worked so hard for so long, and it felt like a big step backward. It was a shining example of my failure as an entrepreneur.

That was my "fall down" perspective.

However, through another perspective, moving back home was a sign of my refusal to quit, my willingness to suffer through the embarrassment, and do whatever it takes to save my dream.

That was my "get up" perspective.

Both perspectives were important. It would do me no good to deny the reality of my situation, try to defend my lifestyle to the outside world, and get comfortable living there.

Equally, it would do me no good to feel sorry for myself, feel guilty about failing, and accept that I was just a loser.

Eventually, I struck the right balance between the drive to get out of there ASAP, and the confidence I needed to make it happen. [4]

Additionally, my willingness to see myself through both lenses helped me overcome the insecurity I felt because of it. We don't like to think about our insecurities because they reveal our weaknesses.

This leads to a horrible downward spiral as we all hide our weaknesses, talk only about our successes, and feel even more guilty about failing when we inevitably hit bumps along the road.

Everyone falls. Everyone hurts. Not everyone gets back up.

CONCLUSION

I realize this is all easier said than done.

Our brains are always wary of how others may judge our success and failures. That judgment was once the difference between the safety and security of the tribe, and facing the wild alone.

Thus, we all have an internal judge who makes us feel guilty whenever we don't live up to its standards of perfection.

Defeating this internal judge is no easy task. I doubt anyone ever silences it completely. But understand that you are not imprisoned by your guilt. You have a choice.

You can choose to think about what you would tell your best friend. You can choose to learn and grow from your failures, and you can choose to keep everything in the proper perspective.

When you fall, you can choose to get up.

[Sources][2]

What are you passionate about?

The answer to that question is the key to motivation through good times and bad. 

Since starting Willpowered, three things I'm deeply passionate about have reminded me why the exhaustion, doubt, and failure I've experienced over the years was worth it.

Sharing useful scientific knowledge...Using technology to share it further and make it more useful...And seeing people use the information to achieve whatever greatness they seek.

Waking up every day with these three factors motivating me has helped me see even the darkest days as an opportunity, not an obligation. 

But these factors would mean nothing if I didn't put them into action through...

Consistency.

THE FALSE PROMISE OF INTENSITY

Before 2013, my relationship with New Year's resolutions was fairly typical. 

Get excited by the promise of a New YearSet a plan to exercise regularlyEat healthyRead a book every daySave money by eating at homeTake more time to "enjoy life"

I always started off great. 

I'd stick with the routine for two or three weeks and feel confident this time I was going to make all of my new habits last.

But the burnout always came eventually...

I'd wake up exhausted, skip the gym, skip my diet, and be on the slippery slope toward skipping another year of progress...

This is the false promise of intensity.

In order to make a "real change," we need to completely overhaul our lives with maximum effort. But in the end, we usually end up right back where we started...or worse.

The willpower, determination, and belief that "this time" will be different that we all feel with the promise of a New Year are all valuable resources that will motivate you to reach your goals...

And focusing on intensity is a terrific way to squander them. 

In 2013, I was tired of squandering the promise of a New Year.

So I followed Jim Collins' strategy from Great by Choice, and implemented my SMaC Formula (a "Specific, Methodical, and Consistent" list of habits to complete every day).

That decision changed everything.

THE SMAC FORMULA

Almost every success I've had over the last 4 years traces back to my SMaC Formula:

Wake up every weekday at 4 AMPlan my transportation ahead of timeFollow my exercise planLog the food I eatLog the cost of the food I eat

That's it. Just achieving these 5 points daily led to great habits to reach my goals.

Goal Progress %

Plus, I didn't achieve any of those 5 points perfectly — especially not at first.

I simply marked down "Achieved" or "Failed" at the end of the day.

By doing so, I killed 4 birds with one stone:

 

I learned how to build new habits.  The strategies in books like The Power of Habit are terrific. But the only way to truly learn something is through experience. Filling out my SMaC Formula every day taught me how to build every other great habit since. 

I learned from failure with an objective perspective. i.e. Discovering that I skip the gym more at night because there are more distractions. Easy switch to the morning, and I don't have to feel "hopeless" or "lazy."'

I achieved more than I thought was possible. Consistency creates a snowball. With every push, the results grow bigger and bigger. As long as you keep pushing, they grow beyond what you thought was possible at the beginning of the year. 

I set new goals based on my progress, not my enthusiasm. We see our future selves as a superhero with more time, energy and willpower than Superman himself. So, we set unrealistic goals...and fail them. By tracking my progress, I overcame this flaw and set goals that I knew were possible. 

THE CHALLENGE

After that, consistency became my "go to" strategy.

I used it to reach the Top 10 of the Spartan RaceI used it to build an audience of 30,000 Willpowered subscribers in 6 monthsI used it to write The Will of HeroesI used it to learn how to build WILSONI used it to achieve financial freedomAnd I will use it to achieve my ultimate purpose: to use science and technology to help every individual achieve whatever greatness they seek.

I'm not sharing these things to brag, I'm sharing them to do my best to convince you to resist the temptation of quick results this year.

The passion, ambition, and hope that you feel with the promise of a New Year are resources too precious to waste. 

Overhauling your life through intense effort is THE FASTEST way to turn those resources into exhaustion, frustration, and hopelessness. 

That's why this January, I'm launching The Consistency Challenge. 

You will get to create your own SMaC Formula, track your own progress, and get access to the technology and course material that will help you reach your 2017 goals. 

 

CHALLENGE RULES:

1) Enter up to 6 habits you can complete every day. Before the challenge, you will receive a personalized checklist and dashboard.

2) Make a pledge to yourself. You pay what you want to join the challenge.

3) Complete the list for 60 days in a row. If you fill out your checklist with "Achieved" / "Failed" / "N/A" for 60 days without breaking your streak, you will receive a refund!

4) Every day you miss, you will lose 20% of your remaining balance. The penalty is 20%, rather than a whole number, so you will always have a balance to work for.

CONCLUSION

I created this challenge because consistency means so much to me.

It has helped me handle uncertainty, overcome setbacks, achieve exponentially growing results, and stay in the game long enough to catch a break.

My goal is to do everything I can to help you create the habits that will help you achieve even better results in your life. 

Then, hopefully, you'll look back on 2017 with the same gratitude I have for 2013.

 

On November 4th, four days prior to Election Day, President Obama sat down with Bill Maher to discuss some pressing issues the country faced. 

*Note: I'm just using this as an example, this isn't about either man's politics.

To my great delight, one of the first discussion points was of great importance to me:

How do we find a way for the truth to get eyeballs?

And I was very intrigued by their answers... 

Maher's solution:  Get the profit motive out of the media.

Obama's solution: I don't know the solution yet. 

I couldn't believe it. The President admitting that he didn't have the solution? Regardless of your feelings about the man; in today's world, admitting ignorance is bold.

However, to truly fight for the truth, you must admit that you don't have all the answers.  

Which is why my #1 Rule in life is:

Listen. Understand. Talk. 

THE RULEBOOK

Over the course of my entrepreneurial journey I've developed several "rules" to follow no matter what. 

They serve as my guide for making confident decisions in a world of uncertainty.

Entrepreneurs are explorers. We venture into new territory to see if we can find anything of value. I find this process immensely rewarding, but it comes at a price....

The fear of the unknown.

The uncertainty of venturing into the "wilderness" causes me a lot of head-scratching, a lot of second-guessing, and a lot of self-doubt.

Of course, we all face these feelings. We know they're painful, they're uncomfortable, and even confusing. But ignoring them won't make them go away. So rather than ignore these thoughts, I trained myself to listen to them. 

LISTENING

Despite what you may think, listening is about more than "being a good listener," in conversations.

Listening is embracing your inner curiosity and being aware of the "whole picture." 

We get so lost in thoughts about a problem we're struggling with right now, that we don't see the opportunities right under our noses.

Instead of worrying whether someone will like you, try to listen to their body language as they approach you.

What is she/he communicating to you before either of you even say a word?

How are you reacting?

How might this non-verbal communication affect your conversation?

This process may sound judgmental, but consider what most of us do in a conversation. We assume we must say certain things and act a certain way in order to get the other person to like us.

We turn our attention inward, thinking about what we need to do to make a good impression. 

Listening, however, is a deliberate choice to turn your attention outward.

Your focus is on the person, the subtext, the environment, the opportunities, the list is nearly infinite. Doing this will train your mind to be more open to learning, creativity, and even luck. 

Before moving on, watch the clip again with a greater awareness of what each man is really saying. Try to see "whole picture".

Notice anything different? What seemed "off" to you?  .

After you've taken the time to listen to the clip again, try to come up with questions or insights based on what you observed.

Listen to the facts, then try to understand them.

UNDERSTAND

Below are the key points I picked up from the conversation and the questions I used to gain deeper understanding of each man and his approach to the problem.

Here's what I found:

1. Bill Maher's solution sounds good, but he clearly didn't think it through.

Did he not think about how his solution would actually work?
Would they lock me up for posting scientific information on my blog?
What about a reporter who also has a book for sale?
Or the thousands of self-published authors?

This is one of the biggest mistakes people make by talking before understanding.

If you already have a solution in your head, your primitive brain will lead you toward confirming evidence, and away from questions that challenge your solution.

2. The President, doesn't claim to have the answer, but clearly understands the situation better than Maher.

Aha, so there is a difference between having an answer and understanding the problem.
I wonder what led to the difference in mindset between these two?
Is it possible that others with useful insights are drowned out by those who believe they know the answer?
I've been working on this problem for over a year now, perhaps I should share more of my progress and be more aggressive in getting it "out there."

This was the first time it hit me that I needed to pull back the curtain and share as much of what I understand as possible — and so do you.

Unfortunately, there are those who do not understand your field, skill, or experiences as well as you do. Yet, they will be more than happy to act as if they know it even better.

Not because they're bad people, per-se, but because it's second nature for most people to focus immediately on finding the right answer — instead of finding the right question.

3. Neither man is asking the right question.

Maher is asking, "how do we get the media to focus on the truth instead of ratings?"
But is a focus on ratings the root cause of the problem?
Are people even getting the truth from the media?




Obama is asking, "how do we make the truth entertaining?"
But is the truth being "boring" really the issue?
Do people ignore the truth because it's not entertaining enough?



4. There's a big opportunity here.

Obama cares about this issue.
His mind is open to a solution (he didn't need to pretend he had an answer).
It will be hard to get on his radar, but for all I know, I'm the closest person on earth to finding the solution he's looking for.

Okay, I need to figure out that formula and prepare for the moment when he is ready for it. What's the worst that can happen?

This process may seem ridiculous — but these were my thoughts as I was watching the clip.

I didn't plan to see an opportunity when I turned on the interview, I just thought it would be interesting.

Opportunities and insights are all around us. We don't need "more luck" we just need to pay attention to the luck that's hidden in plain sight.

TALK

Less than two months after watching that interview, I had tinkered and toiled my way to a working prototype, and potential solution to the problem.

If you're still with me, I'd love to share it with you.

Here is the step-by-step process I took form the interview to the prototype.

I went into a lot of detail, so feel free to skim.

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I made this map with help from Mindomo.