More from Val Sopi
In business, the success of a product, depends largely on “who” made it. That is the entire story. And I am talking about the products you rely on. Not the electrical outlets anyone can make. I was reading a really bad Hemingway short story and it occurred to me how it could have been written by anyone, but the bigger–than–life person behind that story is what got it published. Look at all the products you use, there is a pull you feel towards the “who” is behind it. What really brought home this idea to me is that I am about to cancel a product I like because of who is behind it. So the opposite and the negative is true as well. How do you become a person people care about to buy from? You become unapologetically yourself. Not arrogant. Not brash. The “You” you. In your ideal world. And you put a lot of care in the omelette that you make. And you don’t make that omelette just to exchange some cash. You want the person who eats it to feel what you feel when eating such an omelette. You want to improve their life. You want to elevate their human experience. And doing this is really hard if you’re working on something you don’t like. Find your omelette, and go all in. People crave elevating experiences. And yes, the omelette is the software you’re making. But, it can be an actual omelette as well. PS: I love omelettes, hence the analogy.
I was walking on the beach. Hadn't walked on a beach in a while. Was loving it. The sea breeze. The waveless sea surface in the morning. After a while, maybe out of boredom, I started placing goals. Rather, my mind started placing goals: "I'll walk up to that grove" or "I'll walk up to that dock and then make my way back". I quickly caught my brain doing this. What happend with me just enjoying the walk? Putting one step in front of the other. Marveling at the scenery. Why do I have to burden myself with goals? After all, goals are limiting! What if you could go way father than your mind's goals? And in business too. Goals as an end of it all, are detrimental. Goals as values is where it all should stand —— I enjoy helping clients daily I enjoy making a sale I enjoy people discovering BlogMaker These are value based goals which will get us way farther than limiting goals that makes us enjoy less the steps in between. At the end of my walk, I reached the dock my mind set as a goal. And that was good. But, since I was aware of this goal that "my own mind" was chasing, I made sure to enjoy my steps up to there. I looked at the fishermen. Stared at the never ending liquid horizon. Thought about how a beautiful grove along the way could have been way better if someone cleaned it up a bit. We can't escape our minds, but in the middle of it all, we can make sure we're enjoying the little steps that make it all valuable.
I always think that I’ll be happy when everything is running smoothly. When X visitors are flowing in, conversions are steady, the app works flawlessly, and revenue is predictable. But that’s not life. And nor is business. Life is messy. And there’s no such thing as perfect. At least, not the version of "perfect" I have in my head. Messy is the perfection. Every chaotic piece, every moving part, somehow coming together to make it work. Look at our bodies: an intricate mess of cells, signals, and systems, all in constant motion, working toward a common goal. What's more, nothing runs in a chronological order. That's only our perception. Things are constantly out of sync. Dancing in the background. Building our simple reality. I want to embrace this more. The unpredictability, the imperfection. The beautiful and disorderly relentless mess of it all. I don't want inbox zero. I don't want to have my life in order. I want to let go more. Not hold the beautiful bird on my hand every so tightly that I squeeze the bejesus out of it. Do more. Do less. Whatever. Live as it comes. PS: I wish I lived more like my writing above.
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