- Goalessness. Begin with the end in mind. What are you trying to accomplish? If you succeeded, what would that look like? How would your life be different? If we have no destination, we have no direction. And if we have no directions, we are just wandering, which is not the same thing as being in pursuit.
- Boredom. My son has a Wii, a DS, a dog, and a room full of the coolest stuff on the planet. He still gets bored. And so do I. Boredom has nothing to do with what we have, or own. It isn’t cured by watching movies. It’s cured by living one. I’m not talking about being James Bond. I’m talking about discovering the role that God wants to cast you in. Discovering the unique part you were chosen to play from the foundations of the world, getting over your stage fright, and embracing it. When we find and fulfill that divine calling in our lives, boredom is an impossibility, because we are engaged in the life we were meant to live.
- Hopelessness. All of this stuff is connected. Hopelessness is that big, gaping void that looks back at us when we have abandoned our dream for good. Because we let fear win. We let failure win. We let our tribe crush our passion. Whatever. But one thing is certain. It’s never too late. Ask Grandma Moses, Colonel Sanders, or Mickey Rourke. Second Chances, Second Acts, and Second Helpings can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
- The Critic Within. Our personal Statler and Waldorf, sitting in a balcony in the corner of our minds. Waiting for us to get a brilliant idea so that they can shut us down immediately. Remember, the process of creation (as demonstrated by the Artist Laureate of the Universe in Genesis Chapter 1) is Inspiration, Creation, then Evaluation. So shut up, already.
- Perfectionism. I have previously riffed on this issue, to the point where I even criticized the current King of the World about his penchant for OCD perfectionism (though Avatar is a pretty killer movie, and could have easily sucked if James Cameron wasn’t such a freakin’ perfectionist…oh the irony). Bottom line: unless you have a studio bankrolling your current project (in which case you aren’t reading this blog) most of us struggle with just producing content and getting it in front of the world. Perfectionism will freeze us in the process. Think about this: my first published book should, theoretically, be the worst book I ever publish. That’s enough to stop me in my tracks if I let it. Instead, I am just going to get it out of my system, critics be damned, so I can start working on my next one. It’s hard to get better when we don’t put something out for public consumption. And whatever we put out there could always be better.
- Pessimism. I cannot think of a single person in history who ever did anything great who was a pessimist. In fact, it’s usually irrational optimism that propels them to do the impossible. The down side: your are gonna fail gloriously along the way if you think that everything you do will turn out great. And you will be disappointed if you think a rainbow is on the other side of every new horizon. But pessimism kills the creative urge before it has a chance to take root. Pessimism thinks that the future can only be a rerun of the past.
- Control issues. Rooted in fear. Usually, we want to control things because we fear the unknown. Fact: We aren’t God. So, surrender to the Sovereign One who has already seen how our lives end, and step into the mysterious flow of life.
- Networklessness. Build networks feverishly. Find allies. Find mentors. Find fellow travelers. Find disciples. Find people who are strong where you are weak. Just don’t go it alone, and don’t try and do it all.
- The past. The past is valuable for one thing: it’s a great teacher. After that, it has very little to offer you. You can’t change it, do it over, or reverse it. You messed up, so did I. You made poor decisions, so did I. You wasted so much of your life, and so did I. Learn from your mistakes, and move forward. It’s never too late to do whatever. I could fill this paragraph with a number of feel good cliches. Bottom line: the yesterday is history, the tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift, that’s why it’s called the present (couldn’t resist one good cliche). How is the next ten years going to be different than the last ten years?
- No good shades. If you manage to expel all of these obstacles out of your life, you are almost guaranteed to be a superstar in your choses field. And a superstar needs a good pair of shades. Don’t let your meteoric rise to the top catch you off guard. Invest in a nice pair of sunglasses, because your future, my friend, will be that bright.
This is Day 30 of the 100 Day Challenge.
Post your comments if you thought this article was lame, or it helped you out in some way. Or Tweet it, link to it, or forward it to a friend. Or email me at me@jasonrink.com. I would love to hear what you think!
