I was watching the season premiere of Burn Notice last night and for the first time, saw a car actually plow through a roadblock (instead of the traditional “Oh no, there’s a roadblock! Let’s act like we’re playing chicken, but we’re actually going to skid to a stop before actually hitting the cars that are blocking the way.) Ok, they didn’t actually go through the middle of the two cars, but there was a reasonably valid option to go around the roadblock (while taking out some sort of prop-like structure) and they did.
So what, right? Well, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time lately thinking about building a new business — I’ve given a respectable try to “working for the man” and I’d really rather build something more lasting, more authentic, more interesting, useful, and fun. I’m just not quite sure what that is and it seems the more time I spend thinking about it, the more roadblocks I encounter (create?) So this time, instead of stopping at the roadblock, I’m just going to go through or around them, even if it means sustaining a few bumps and bruises along the way.
Anyway, with that (long) introduction out of the way, here’s what I really wanted to share with you — some of my free-writing around the roadblocks I’m facing. (Note: I copied these excerpts from my journal and, in the spirit of free-writing, they probably ramble a bit and may be a little repetitive but the purpose is to capture my thought process not to be perfectly written or error-free.)
January 22 – One of the roadblocks I keep putting in front of myself is that someone’s already doing what I thought of doing. How crazy is that? As I walk down the street at lunch time I can see two hot dog cart vendors — like *that* hasn’t been done before! Of course it has, but there they are on their respective corners, each with a little crowd gathering. The pretty blond vendor has a few more men at her cart; the older male vendor has a few families, but there’s plenty of business at each. And on the larger scale look at Dell and HP, Boeing and Airbus. None of those founders went in saying, “Oh well, someone already makes [computers/airplanes/software/etc...], so I guess I won’t do that.” We wouldn’t have any businesses if that happened. So I just need to get over the “unique” thing — at least as it applies to the business idea because whatever I decide to do will be unique because I am unique (just like everyone else). No one in the world has the exact same package of skills, experience, personality, etc. that I do, but because we are all universally more alike than we are different there *will* be people who recognize in me and my words and my works, themselves. Those are my customers, my clients, my friends, my “target audience”.
Another roadblock I create is around being “not good enough” or having a “lack of skills/experience”. Well, there will always be people out there who are smarter than I am, who have more experience, who are more savvy, who are friendlier, who are better at sales / finance /accounting / etc., so what? There are also plenty who are at the opposite end of the scale. I mean, seriously, I have three degrees from some top schools, strong recommendations from colleagues and mentors, and I’m always trying to learn something new and improve my skills — I think I’m fine. Maybe I won’t be a neurosurgeon or a rocket scientist, but otherwise I should be okay, I can learn what I need when I need to and my experience will come from trying.
Also, why would I ever acquiesce to someone else’s definition of knowledge/experience (or my perception of such)? Am I not qualified to perform XYZ task just because John Doe is already doing XYZ task and he has a website, pages of accolades, lists of speaking engagements and white papers and seminars and books – all that means is that he person was willing to take the time to put something together, create valuable and meaningful content, and take the risk of sharing it with the world. That doesn’t mean I can’t learn from those who’ve gone before me and those who are making progress now, but it does mean that I am capable of doing the same thing. I am capable and qualified to express my opinions and share them with the world and I should do so, because no one else can…
Photo credit te.esce. Available under a Creative Commons license.
