Category: by Jason Kong

We all have bad ideas that we know are bad ideas. They’re often the byproduct of trying to come up with good ideas, so we normally keep silent about the bad and share the good.

But imagine you’re faced with a complicated problem with no obvious answer. This may be a time to voice a bad solution that has no chance of working.

By taking this step, you have:

1. Given others a starting point to come up with better ideas
2. Broken the ice by going first and made it easier for others to contribute
3. Perhaps generated some momentum when there was possibly none before

Because you don’t want the responses to devolve into mockery and non-useful tangents, you’ll probably want to announce that you know it’s a bad solution before sharing the details. It’s also helpful if you explain your thought process so that others can make the right connections.

I’ve seen this process work at my day job, but the best example I’ve seen is Scott Adams (of Dilbert fame) on his blog.

Making sure the student is willing to learn.

Obvious, right? You can be the top expert in the world, a master communicator, capable of breaking down a complicated domain into easily digestible units, but if you’re trying to teach someone without motivation, no learning takes place.

As a parent, I often forget this. If I’m angry and my child is angry, chances are slim that he’ll absorb anything from my 20 minute lecture on why I’m frustrated with his behavior. The only thing he’s learning is how to tune me out.

Yes, good teachers can elevate the enthusiasm from their students. But good teaching is only possible when someone is ready to be taught.

Lots of people join the gym to get in shape. Lots of people fail to do so.

Why?

Because fitness requires consistency. Multiple times a week, month after month. If getting fit is the only reason for going and the results aren’t coming fast enough, then quitting early becomes likely.

Now suppose instead of joining a gym for exercise, someone chooses to play in a tennis league because he enjoys the sport. With all the scheduled games and the practices, he stays active for a whole season.

There was no hardship to stick with tennis for the long haul, because he was having fun. Getting fit was the happy byproduct.

Sometimes the reason why we want to do something isn’t motivating enough to put in the required effort. In those cases, we may be better off having the desired result be the side effect of an activity driven by a powerful incentive.

Increase your odds of success through smarter design.

What’s the difference between your expenses being $10 less than what you earn, versus $10 more?

By direct comparison, not very much. Probably won’t make or break you either way.

But over time, if the pattern continues, then the gap becomes more pronounced. $10 a week is over $500 a year.

That’s $500 in savings vs. $500 in debt.

Now imagine if we were talking about a higher rate than $10/week. Or if the money was subject to compounding. The disparity would be even greater.

Being on the right side matters.

Not just for the direction you’re heading, but because you’ll be further influenced by habit, momentum, and self-reinforcing behavior.

Lots of little actions can add up to a lot. Stay on the right side as much as you can.

(applies to other situations too, not just money-related ones)

“Do what you love.”

Good advice, right? A path to being happier is to fill your life with the activities that you enjoy, and subtract the ones you don’t.

I’m intrigued by another approach: finding joy in whatever you do.

You know that classic trick of overcoming boredom by making a dull activity into a game? That’s one way to find joy. The big shift is in the perception.

Trying to do more of what you love is fine. But loving what you do works too. Sometimes even better.

Probably not on price.

Big companies have the advantages of scale and more resources. They can charge less to win market share. Mom-and-pops cannot compete with Amazon and Walmart on price, not in the long run.

What do small businesses have? Someone with the highest levels of motivation and authority making most of the decisions — the owner.

An owner does have to push through bureaucracy, nor consult multiple departments. Things just get done, quickly and effectively.

Take customer service, for instance. For a big company, this role is often handled by a junior-level employee. Someone with limited experience, possibly underpaid, just doing her job. Now compare that to the small outfit, where the owner knows that keeping customers happy is critical to repeat business. Which customer service is likely to be better?

Owners care more because they have the vested interest in doing so. And a business that cares more is a competitive advantage in any market.

With the New Year comes hope, promise, and unlimited possibilities.

We get to turn the page on old habits that weren’t working, and welcome changes that help us move forward.

But why do we have to wait for the next calendar year to create a new beginning?

Why not next week?

Tomorrow?

Today?

Your fresh start can be now, this moment, if you choose. Reserve next year for celebrating the progress you’ve made.

If a person is angry with me, she is not wrong.

I may not think the anger is justified. But that has no bearing on whether it’s right for her to feel what she feels. Arguing that point is a losing battle.

A better alternative is to acknowledge her anger and discover the cause. Once you’re on the same side, then resolution suddenly becomes a lot more likely.

I’ve found this is a useful posture whenever I’m frustrated with someone’s perspective, belief, or state of mind.

For the past month, I’ve tried to write once a day, for at least 15 minutes, to meet my deadline of publishing a post once a week.

The exact topic varies. Sometimes I make an observation, other times it’s something that I’ve learned. I’m trying to always grow as a person, so my writing will often be connected to that.  I do have to be able to stand behind my blogging, knowing that once it’s published, it can be read by anyone, forever.

I’d be thrilled if someone else found my posts useful in some way. But that’s not the point. The point is to exercise.

I’m exercising my thinking muscle. As Stephen King once said, “writing is refined thinking.”

I’m exercising my communication muscle. I want to express my thoughts clearly and concisely.

I’m exercising my idea muscle. I will constantly need new things to write about.

I’m exercising my discipline muscle. Writing every day is hard.

I’m exercising my finishing muscle. A post will be published every week, whether I’m ready or not.

I’m exercising my courage muscle. Sharing my ideas in public opens myself to criticism.

I’ve tried to keep the intention simple. Write consistently and post weekly about subjects that interest me. I really want to see how I change with a sustained practice.

(Thanks to Seth for the inspiration)

That’s my trick for overcoming procrastination.

Instead of stonewalling myself with thoughts of how hard something is to do, I focus on completing a tiny step in the right direction. I aim small.

If I’m still hesitating, then I aim smaller. Make the task so ridiculously easy that it’s impossible not to do.

Because once I make some progress, however modest, I’m feeling better about the situation. I’m motivated to do a little more, then a little more after that. It usually doesn’t take long before I’m totally immersed in the work and well on my way.

Momentum allows small movement to become big movement.