Facing our fears and insecurities through practice and reflection.

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Shaving and brainstorming

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I wanted to talk about something I've been thinking about that I've heard referenced a few times by others, and something my friend and I talked about yesterday. It's in regards to the virtually infinite number of interests and hobbies that are out there. Whether it's a particular type of art, philosophy, comic book, fictional movie, trading card, exotic travel, cars, cartoons, you get the idea - anything and everything that one might be into as a hobby or interest.

What's interesting is that whatever it is, we can be sure that there are likely millions of others into the same thing, and if not millions, then hundreds of thousands, and if not hundreds of thousands, the tens of thousands. There are over 300 million people in the US, and if just 1% of the population is into something, that means at least 3 million other people are as well. One-tenth of a percentage would mean 300,000 others are into the same thing.

We see examples of this at large conventions where it brings people of the same interests together. It becomes its world where everyone one around shares this interest. Amongst the normal population, it's just not seen much at all, but when brought together, we see just how many people are into whatever the interest may be.

The great thing about the internet is it allows us to connect with people of these interests and network and communicate with them, which opens up possible work and career opportunities. Since it's something we're already passionate about, it's likely, and we'll be able to provide value to an organization within that industry. And it's also possible we'll excel and enjoy it much more than a random job because we're passionate about it, and we'll likely avoid burnout and boredom from doing something we don't like.

What is also interesting and cool to think about is that if we're a creator or performer, and we deliver something for people in the specific niche that is like ourselves, even if a tiny percentage has the same interests, that's a vast number of people. The more specific we are in how we present and cater to someone, the more likely we'll resonate with the person with those particular interests. The more we are ourselves, the more we will find these connections, and more possibilities open up with this network. The more I think about this, and it seems it's the only way to find them. Otherwise, we'll try to please everyone, which ironically will please no one.

Whatever you think may be different or weird to be into, know that there are millions of other people out there that are into the same thing. And we can leverage this to benefit us.

A great article that touches on this concept is an article written by Kevin Kelly, who I found through Tim Ferriss, so thank you, Tim, and it's called 1,000 True Fans. And Kevin goes more in-depth in the concept of finding your niche audience and your true fans and then allowing this network to help sustain the career that you have passion for and love.

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The entrepreneurial mindset and work flow.

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“After a few days you'll have a chain. Just keep at it and the chain will grow longer every day. You'll like seeing that chain, especially when you get a few weeks under your belt. Your only job is to not break the chain.” Jerry Seinfeld

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Limiting distractions to focus on the things we want to do is required to make significant progress. All it takes is one night out, one event, one unplanned trip, to throw us off track and then that leads to lost time. That’s all fine as things happen and come up, but we’re more likely to discontinue what we’ve worked so hard to get on track. For instance we may be on a great streak at the gym or exercising at home, writing, working on a project, then something comes up and the story then becomes oh I was doing so well at the gym until this happened. Or I was writing or practicing the guitar until this came up. We have to be proactive in keeping those streaks alive, so we can make the progress we set out to do.

We take for granted having time to work in the things we choose until we no longer have that time available. An event or emergency could be right around the corner that requires our time.

It’s interesting how it takes something to remind us how good we have it.

It’s how we treat the time we have consistently, day by day, that leads to the results we get. We have to acknowledge what we’re doing with our time and understand the importance of how we choose to spend it.

Marketers want to make you feel like you have to buy the stuff you don’t need to take trips to places you don’t need to go to. Those can be great things, but make sure you’re remembering why you’re buying things and taking trips for you. Not for someone else. I don’t consume TV commercials and radio ads for this reason. I don’t want other people telling me things I need. I want to do things that make me happy and content. People that I pay attention to that have accomplished a lot, especially creatively, running a business, guard their time, and understand the importance of that. They understand why they are doing something and therefore have an easier time saying no to other people’s agenda for their time.

Understanding when the time comes to take a break after putting in work until burnout that we need to go back into that productive mode whenever possible. It’s easy to find excuses and distractions to not get back to the work we know needs to get done.

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This episode explores the ability to focus intensely on something but also realizing we need to take time to rejuvenate and refresh. How can we plan better for the dips and burnout that will inevitably come from intense focus? We can work on this by switching to other productive activities, rather than unproductive things that won’t do much for us. We can be pro-active by recognizing these patterns and planning what we will do when the time comes. Thanks for listening! Have a great day!

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This episode is about avoiding placing blame and taking responsibility for our conditions and environment.

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My friend Leo reached out and asked if I'd like to record a podcast on the topic of a particular known philosophical statement that he had chosen.  I enjoy speaking with Leo, and I think this is a great and thought-provoking idea. 

I decided to include our phone conversation leading up to the actual topic, so you'll get some back round as well. I hope you enjoy the conversation! Thanks for listening!

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Rest and rejuvenate.

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