Just a little bit every day...

You probably remember all the times you brushed your teeth, right?

No?

Well, in that case you probably remember every single meal you ever had before.  Right?

Nooo?

Well, of course you didn't.  I mean -- who would.  But, what would your teeth look like if you didn't brush your teeth every day?

I have a tendency to want to over do things.  You know -- if I want to start something new, like go to the gym - or make a certain number of phone calls.  I'm like -- "Ok, I'm going to make 200 phone calls today!"

Well, there's a lot of things wrong with that.  But, think about it -- if you make 5 more phone calls a day, that's 25 more phone calls a week, that's 100 more phone calls a month, that's 1,200 more phone calls a year.

5 phone calls ads up.

Think of it as the positive version of the Starbucks effect.  You ever find yourself wanting to save a little money -- stop Starbucks.  5 dollars a day, times 5... that's 100 bucks a month.  I mean, that's legit.  1,200 on coffee drinks?  That's a down payment on a car (granted, probably a used, or sub-par car -- but I think you see where my head is at)

So, besides being overwhelmed.  What little thing can you do every day that will add up?

You don't build a wall.  You put one brick on top of another.  So, what kind of bricks you building with?  What can you do 10 minutes a day that will add up?

Habits...

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." 
Aristotle 

There are no mountain top experiences.  You will not go to summer camp and come back unchanged.  I mean... sure, there are things that can happen in someones life that will change them forever.  But, those things are few and far between.  Those are right up there with falling in love.  Or meeting someone you want to be with for a long, long time.  Those moments don't just happen that often.  

So, what's left?

Habits.  

There was a point of my life where I was drinking a lot, watching TV, schlepping around... and I remember one day looking at myself thinking, "if you are what you do.... then what am I?"

What do you do every day?

Let's face it.  You may THINK you're one thing.  You may WANT to be something.  But, it's what you do every day that matters. 

You THINK you're a writer, but you don't write every day...?  Well, maybe there's some room for improvement. 

You THINK you're a recruiter, but you don't get on the phone and make your calls.... ?  Well.... you see what I'm saying?

I've read articles about guys who wake up every morning and write out their goals, what they want, why they want it, and what they are doing today to get it.  

Crazy.  

But, I'll bet they're a lot more focused on things then the rest of us are. 

So, if you are what you do.... what are you doing today?

So you wanna do a startup, eh?

This is a favorite slide of mine.  I found out about the slide originally from Patrick Neeman at www.usabilitycounts.com  Here's the slide here.  If you've ever wanted to do anything -- and it ended up getting hard -- well, that's because doing anything is hard.

I think the only things that come easy are fast food and maybe masturbation.  Neither of those is particularly fulfilling.  Every once and a while, hey -- what's a little McDonald's REALLY gonna do to you -- you have it every day... now that's another story.

It's hard to eat right.
It's hard to work out.
It's hard to come in and do your job effectively every day.
It's hard to put in the work needed for a healthy relationship with friends, family, girlfriends, boyfriends (you know, anyone other than yourself)

Anything worthwhile is hard.

I read a quote in a book, "The Best Damn Sales Book Ever" and it talks about how most people don't want to succeed, they just want to NOT fail.

Wake up this morning and want to succeed.

That puts you in the top ten percent. (because the other ten don't want to do anything).

Enjoy the slideshow: http://www.slideshare.net/missrogue/so-you-want-to-do-a-startup-eh