Taking action

Whenever I think of a new project or idea, I always start by thinking that I have to dream up the perfect name, and build something huge and fantastic. (Even if it’s the simplest idea.)

Then I realise how much work it will take, and I get disheartened and move on.

But in the last couple of weeks I’ve had a few thoughts swirling in my mind. These have been driven by the content that I’ve been consuming online, on places like Hacker News and Twitter.

These thoughts are at the forefront of my mind right now. I might be feeling differently this time next week. But I wanted to document them now so that I remember them. (You can click on the links to find the sources/inspiration for each)

1. You learn faster by doing (Naval) → So I’m going to try to do more, different things. It’s better to learn by shipping small things consistently, than spending months reading and learning.

2. The more times you try, the more chance you have of succeeding. (Pieter Levels’s original 12 apps in 12 months experiment) → I’d like to build an income from side projects. So I’m going to build more things. Even tiny things.

3. Don’t compete with others, only compete with your past self (Anne-Laure Le Cunff’s excellent thoughts on competition) → It’s fine to see at what other people are doing, but not to use it as direct comparison. I now understand that the best motivation for me is to compare what I’m doing now versus a year ago.

   Comparing myself to another person is never going to work. It’s like comparing two roads: they start and end at different points.

4. Learn in public (Jack Butcher) and build a reputation.

   I haven’t done this much in the past, usually out of fear of getting something wrong or coming across as spammy or self-obsessed. But I’m trying to share more now.