One of the primary reasons we aren’t able to “ship” – to turn our best ideas into projects, complete them and push them out into the world – is because we tend to get overwhelmed by fear of failure.
Seth Godin writes extensively about this unseen monster, which he calls the Lizard Brain. It’s what keeps you from living out our dreams, from achieving your goals, from shipping your Big Idea – carrying it out into the world where the rest of us can benefit from it.
The prospect of laying out a plan for your project, tracking all of the details and completing them in a reasonable amount of time scares the hell out of most people. What if everyone criticizes or unmercifully shoots down your Big Idea? Let’s be honest: It’s much easier to procrastinate. It seems safer that way.
Seth Godin on Big Ideas vs. fear
“Every time you raise your hand, send an email, launch a product or make a suggestion, you’re exposing yourself to criticism. Not just criticism, but the negative consequences that come with wasting money, annoying someone in power or making a fool of yourself,” Godin explains. “It’s no wonder we’re afraid to ship. It’s not clear you have much choice, though. A life spent curled in a ball, hiding in the corner might seem less risky, but in fact it’s certain to lead to ennui and eventually failure. Since you’re going to ship anyway, then, the question is: why bother indulging your fear?”
Why, indeed?
What if:
- You had a tool that gave you a way to get your thinking out of your overwhelmed brain and onto a computer screen?
- You could name your fears, set them aside and then start breaking down the overwhelming Really Big Project into its component parts?
- You could capture the tasks, resources, deadlines and even the challenges you’re likely to face and how you’ll overcome each one of them?
- You could create an action plan to take your Big Idea from the Land of “Someday I’ll” to reality?
That would be amazing. Then you’d have no excuse but to face your fear head on, press ahead and ship your product or service into a waiting world.
But you do have such a tool at your disposal – it’s called mind mapping software.
Your assignment
So what are you waiting for? During the remaining time between the Christmas and New Years holidays, why not map out your Big Idea and a plan to bring it to fruition?
(P.S. If you’re serious about shipping your Big Idea in 2012, then I encourage you to check out this program I offer that will help you to get there.)
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