I have a bad habit. I’m constantly looking for an answer, a book, a guru, a leader, something that will let me in on the secret that all of you have been keeping hidden from me. Whether it is the key to how to program really well, go faster on my bike or start and run a business – I’m constantly searching for something.
Recently though it has been dawning on me that it is time to stop. There isn’t an answer to any of it. Sure there are small facts and little details that I have picked up along the way. This blog is full of that garbage. All of it can be learned easily through Google and a willingness to read and experiment with the information gathered.
In the realm of programming I’ve been long done with the search. I don’t know if I’m great, but there isn’t much that worries me when it comes to developing software. The other areas of my life are another matter. Particularly the desire to be an entrepreneur. I’ve read piles of books, most people who have read as much as I have at least have an MBA to show for it. Me, I’m still searching. Or at least I was. Two things just happened to me that have changed my mind.
First I attended a class on internet marketing. I learned a few things, but they were not necessarily what was on the agenda for the weekend. I ended up blowing off the second two days. From reading the work book this class was really aimed at people that had no idea how to operate WordPress, register a domain or use social media. Those are all things that I really don’t have any trouble with. I did figure out a few things about keyword research and how I use my blog that I will be doing differently. I also figured out, or they shouted it enough that it got through, that the problem isn’t “knowing what to do”, the problem is “doing it”. Plenty of people who want to lose weight know what to do, they just don’t do it. Same thing here, I know that the way to sell products and get cool lucrative consulting engagements is to advertise and market. I just don’t do those things.
The second thing that happened was a brief call to a person I thought would have answers for me. Or even better: “THE ANSWER”. Turns out he really doesn’t (great that it only took me 6 months to figure this out). It doesn’t mean he isn’t successful at what he does, he just doesn’t have the ability to transfer it to me. Plus, it is likely that what he is doing and what I am doing are too far apart to cross pollinate. Whatever it is, no hard feelings but I’m going to stop looking for answers.
Instead what I’m going to do is spend my time actually doing and making my own answers. There will probably be a lot of wrong answers that I’ll make. I’ll probably take a lot longer than some people would, but I’ve already been at this for nearly two years. What’s another year or two? The search for other people’s answers is really just an attempt to short cut the learning process.
Enough with trying to know it all, it is time to start doing it.