I saw the city through the small window next to my exit row seat and I felt a swell of creative energy, anticipation, and excitement well up from my gut. Here we go… The opportunity of a lifetime starts now.
On July 21st, 2013, I landed at JFK airport for a two week project with a team of 16 other interns and Seth Godin. I had been chosen after applying via Seth’s Squidoo lens and the time had finally come to get started.
While I knew I could expect the internship to change everything about the way I think about life and work, I don’t know if I fully understood what it would be like to work nonstop for 14 days with a team of world class people. With a full year of perspective, it’s the perfect time to share what I learned so that you can apply it to your own work as an independent entrepreneur.
The 17 people I spent every waking hour with taught me more than I can possibly express in this one blog post. However, I believe these 14 lessons (one for each day of the experience) offer a great snapshot of the impact the experience had on me , as well as the lessons you can take away and apply to your own life.
Note: The drawings throughout this post are reproduced images of my sketch notes from the plane ride home from NYC, which were originally done on the cover of August 2013’s Fast Company. One lesson I learned is that expressing myself in multiple media types helps me solidify my learning. I’m no professional artist, but I hope they add character to the lessons learned.
That Ship it Type Mentality
Too often we ask ourselves: when is the latest possible date I could complete this project without losing out on the opportunity? That mentality is very similar to the attitude the average person has when going through school. We say, “What is the least amount of studying I can do to get the lowest grade I’m ok with?”
What I learned during this two-week project was to think in the opposite way. I learned to ask, “When is the soonest possible date I could complete this project?” As a team, we set out to accomplish more than most people accomplish in a year. The thought was, “Hey, what the hell, if we can get it done in 14 days, imagine the impact we can have on people as soon as possible.”
The next time you start a project, ask yourself, “How fast can I get this done? Now what would I have to do to cut that time in half?” Do that. Do it again. And again.
I don’t think you’ll regret it.
You ≠ Your Career
One of the key messages from Seth’s book, The Icarus Deception, is that we need you to fly closer to the sun. This, perhaps obviously, is a reference to the fable of Icarus, whose father told him not to fly too close to the sun because the wax on his wings would melt. Long story short, Icarus does it anyways and falls to his death after the wax melts and his wings fall apart.
The fable comes from an industrial mentality that says, “You are your career.” Stick to the rules, stay in your lane, don’t poke the box, and you might just make it out alive.
Come to find out, none of us make it out alive. You are not your career. You have a career. Next time you’re thinking about taking a chance, remember that.
Your career is not meant to be a limiting factor, but rather an enabler. If taking a chance and doing your best work means getting fired, then it’s time to get the hell out of there. Go find something that matters. We need you at your best.
You are not your career. You are a talented, unique, and important contributor. Don’t waste it. You won’t make it out alive.
This Might Not Work
Fun fact: anything worth doing might not work. You might fail. You might announce your project to the world and then have to admit that it didn’t work.
So what?
Think for a moment about the most intimidating project idea you’ve ever had. If you tried it out and failed miserably, what is the worst that could happen? What about your life would change if the worst happened?
I would bet that the worst that can happen is not really that bad.
If all I’m doing is pursuing ideas, projects, and tasks that are guaranteed to work, then I’m doing it wrong. The same goes for you. Breakthroughs, meaningful work, and genuine connections come from acknowledging the reality that they might not work.
Welcome the fear into your life. Flirt with it. Dance with it a bit. This might not work, but that’s ok.
Comfort –> Learning <– Danger
When I thought about applying for this internship when it was first posted, it scared the bajeebers (Scooby Doo, anyone?) out of me. I knew it probably wouldn’t work, that it was highly unlikely that I would be picked.
Even once I made the team and arrived in NYC, I was still nervous. What if I failed? What if I didn’t deliver on what I said I could? What if I was way out of my league?
But deep down, I knew I had worked all my life to prepare for this kind of opportunity. Every experience I’ve had has added up to the mindset, skills, and relationships that have led me to seek out the opportunity to begin with.
That inner circle up there, that’s where everything is comfortable. It’s waking up and watching tv at home. It’s having dinner with friends we’ve known for our entire life. It’s checking email nonstop. It’s comfortable and predictable. No risk involved.
That outer circle, that’s the danger zone. The danger zone is the place where we truly are not able to contribute. For example, if you apply for a Ruby developer job but you’ve never had any experience with web development, then you’re asking for trouble. It’s the danger zone because you’re lying about your ability to contribute.
The most important space is the space in between the two. That’s where learning happens. We learn when we push to the absolute edges of our existing skills and experience. Learning happens when we take on a project that allows us to learn by activating our highest potential.
That’s what this project was about for me. I was entirely truthful about my skills, experience, and mindset. I know what I can contribute to a given project. Over the course of the two weeks, I pushed myself to use these skills in new ways, interact with new people, lead in new ways, and ultimately push my boundaries. Now, my learning zone is a bit bigger and my danger zone is a bit smaller.
What are the projects or opportunities that will push you to the edges of your learning zone? Find those. Pursue them with reckless abandon. That’s how we learn.
Tribes (Connected to each other, led by an influencer)
Just before I left for NYC, I watched Dances with Wolves. I hadn’t seen the movie in years, and the way I interpreted the story was very different this time around. World Domination Summit 2013 helped me realize just how important it is to be surrounded by great people who will support me, and that was reflected in my interpretation of the movie.
Kevin Costner’s character goes from enemy to tribe member of a nearby Native American tribe. As he becomes more ingrained into the tribe, he learns to hunt with them, contribute to conversations, and eventually marries a member of the tribe. By the end of the movie, he is living happily in a teepee and has rejected the society he came from. He derives his wellbeing, happiness, and sustenance from the tribe. The tribe is his life.
My two weeks in New York hammered home the idea that we are meant to live, work, and play amongst a group of people we trust, respect, and believe in. That’s how we were built. We are social animals.
For two weeks, I spent every waking moment with amazing people who get me. Talented people who believe what I believe. People who learned to care for one another. Remarkable people who engaged with 110% of their emotional and mental capacity.
Find your tribe. You will accelerate your growth. You will improve your skills. You will open up emotional and mental capacities you’ve hidden from yourself. You will learn about feelings you have no words for. You will do work that matters, have meaningful relationships, and live a fulfilled existence.
Go find your tribe. They’re waiting on you. And the world will benefit when you find them.
It’s this, not that
Every project worth pursuing requires tough choices. Here’s a little secret I learned while working with Seth: if you choose the middle, you choose nothing.
Creating something for “everyone” is the excuse most people make for not making the tough choices. Everyone is not a target market. It’s a method of self-sabotage that saves us from the heartache of failure. If everyone doesn’t like it, then at least you tried, right? No.
To create something meaningful, you have to make tough choices.
- Will you sell through your website or will you sell face to face?
- Will you build an honest brand or a deceptive brand?
- Is this for wealthy people or people on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale?
- Will you cater to businesspeople or volunteers?
There are always decisions to be made and the clearer you are at the beginning, the more able you are to build a project that matters and becomes successful. Your dot should be way off in the corner of more than one graph like the one above. Whatever you build, create, or act on should reflect those choices.
Yes, Facebook is for everyone. But first it was just for students at Harvard. If Zuck had tried to make something for everyone right off the bat, he would have failed.
So, if you want an excuse for failing, don’t make the tough choices. But if you want to succeed, make the tough choices early and then make every decision based on those choices. I will use this principle for every project I launch going forward. I hope you will too.
“Every project worth pursuing requires tough choices.”
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Push Back
In Linchpin, Seth talks about two concepts called the Lizard Brain and the resistance. He first found the concept of the resistance via his friend and prolific author/writer, Steven Pressfield. The Lizard Brain is that tiny portion of our brain that tells us our craziest dreams will create failure, which will get us fired, which will prevent us from buying food, and then we’ll die.
That’s the thought process created by the resistance every time we sit down to start a project, write something, or have a difficult conversation. The ultimate result is always the same: I don’t want to die!
Push back, on the other hand is benevolent resistance. It’s what happens when we’re committed to letting the best ideas win. It’s what happens when 17 brilliant people focus their energy on making your idea better in every way possible.
Push back is how great teams, great leaders, and great shippers make things happen. They collaborate to create the best possible work of art within the given time constraints.
Some people call push back “feedback.” Feedback is fine, but it’s often passive and weak. Feedback is asking for the minimum necessary input from another person in order for them to feel like they contributed.
Push back, however, is the opposite. Push back happens when intelligent people give 110% of their energy and attention to solving a single problem. It happens when one person stands up and puts an idea on the table and then a committed team picks it apart, reassembles it, and drops the mic when they realize just how good it has become.
Push back is how you create greatness. But it has to be about the work…
It’s about the work, not the person
At one point, we were setting the table to make tough choices during the project. To ensure that we were all as open as possible, we agreed that all of the comments would be about the work, not the person who created the work.
There’s a big difference between the two.
Pushing back on the work to make it better means everyone learns, improves the project, and moves on together. Gathering honest feedback and making sure the best ideas win means that the work is constantly improving. When the best ideas win, they can be polished into pearls that work for the market.
When we criticize the person behind the work, we cut our teammates off at their knees. Personal criticism opens up any number of insecurities, past feelings, and debilitating self-talk. The best teams avoid this at all costs. They don’t direct their pushback towards people, but rather towards the work.
Pushing back is key to success, polish, and meaning. Pushing back on the work makes everybody better. Keep it about the work, and watch your team thrive.
Dance (or, Have Fun)
Seriousness is an indication that we’re scared of opening ourselves up to deeper connection. Vulnerability is the opposite of closing ourselves off to connection.
Vulnerability means dancing like a fool and letting someone make a .gif of it. It also means making and taking jokes. It means generally having a good time to create better morale, connect on a deeper level, and unleash positive energy that wasn’t previously open to us.
Sometimes all it takes is one person being the initiator and a second person joining in on the fun to completely change the atmosphere and unleash creative energy. You need someone to be the first, but more importantly, you need someone willing to be second.
Dance like a fool. Make jokes. Take jokes. Have fun. You only get one shot at this thing called life, so why not enjoy it?
Be Open, Generous, and Honest
Trust. Respect. Love.
These three elements create an environment where miracles can happen in short periods of time. Trust comes from people who are open with their hearts, minds, and intentions. From people who have a genuine desire to help each other succeed.
Respect comes from generosity. It comes from seeing someone do the work that no one else wanted to do. From giving of themselves until they’re at 0% and have to recharge.
Love comes from honesty. Love comes from raw emotion and vulnerability. It comes from a desire to care. It comes from a desire to give. Love is what happens when we open ourselves up to giving and receiving.
A team that trusts, respects, and loves as a result of openness, generosity, and honesty is one that changes the world. If I could have only taken away one lesson from this amazing team, it would be this.
Posture: It’s Not Just How You Sit
Posture. Such a funny word.
Chiropractors talk about posture constantly. It’s what keeps our back, neck, and hips in alignment. It’s how we’re supposed to sit in the chair, stand in the street, and drive in the car.
Then there’s the kind of posture I learned about. This type of posture is all about the story you’re telling with your life, projects, and relationships. Your posture is the way the world perceives you. Are you open, generous, and honest? Or closed, selfish, and deceitful?
Ask yourself: “What story am I telling through my actions and words? What story do I want to be telling? How should I change my posture to close the gap?”
Posture. It’s not just how you sit. It’s how you stand and see the world (and how the world sees you).
$1,500 –> $15,000
During one session or another in Seth’s office, we were talking about how much we charge for a day of work, how to scale our time, and how to shift our mindset to reflect our talent.
We settled on an example of $1,500 per day as a current bill rate. I was proud to get my daily bill rate to that neighborhood.
Seth told a number of stories similar to those on his Startup School podcast, which is free to download. The outcome of those stories was an intense challenge to the way we’ve all been thinking about the way we make money.
Here it is: What would you have to do to add another “0” to your current bill rate? As in, multiply it by 10.
Woah. $15,000 a day? Who pays that?
Come to find out, that’s how the best in the world scale their time. They charge what it’s worth and work with the clients that fit their sweet spot perfectly. The end.
So, I’ll ask you the same question… What would you have to do to make 10x more per hour, day, or year? How many more hours could you spend on passion projects if you earned 10x more for every hour you worked?
Make a plan. Get some coaching. Follow through. Change the world. Period.
Technology + In Person Connection = A Winning Formula for Growth
We live in a connected world. Technology gives us more leverage than ever before to connect with people that never would have known we existed in the world of 15 years ago. Go to San Francisco, Austin, Boulder, or Buckhead (GA) and you’ll find startups in every industry using technology as the entire basis of their business model.
It’s wonderful in so many ways. Technology is democratizing everything from the flow of information to learning to elections around the world. But with the democratization of everything comes information overload.
Now the problem is not about getting connected or access to information. The problem is in curating that information and leveraging technology to form real life connections (or a tribe). No matter how much technology we bring into the world, we will always be social animals. So what does that mean?
It means that those who own the future will be those that learn to leverage technology in two key ways:
- To curate information and make it more useful
- To provide ways for people to connect in person in meaningful ways
That reality became more and more obvious to me as the project came to a close. So how can you use technology to curate information and bring people together? If you want to change the world, that’s the ticket.
Go Go Go
Everything we learned and did during those two weeks all boils down to this one word, repeated three times. Go Go Go. Without this phrase, none of the above matters.
It’s not hard to understand, but it’s very hard to implement.
You can talk about doing the work, or you can use that time to do the work.
Meetings should serve to move the work along, but not to plan to plan to do the work. Pre-project marketing should only be done to the extent it holds you accountable to the work; otherwise, ditch it. Planning for the future only matters if it changes the way you do the work now. Otherwise, do the work, ship, then plan for growth; there is no growth without the project being complete.
You have everything you need. You have talent, you have this time right in front of you, you have opportunity. Go Go Go.
Learn how to set goals that actually stick!
The Top 10 Mistakes in Online Business
Every week we talk with entrepreneurs. We talk about what’s working and what isn’t. We talk about successes and failures. We spend time with complete newbies, seasoned veterans, and everything in between.
One topic that comes up over and over again with both groups is mistakes made in starting businesses. Newbies love to learn about mistakes so they can avoid them. Veterans love to talk about what they wish they had known when starting out.
These conversations have been fascinating, so we compiled a list of the 10 mistakes we hear most often into a nifty lil' guide. Get the 10 Most Common Mistakes in Starting an Online Business here »
“Make a plan. Get some coaching. Follow through. Change the world. Period.” Yes, such a great remainder. I always admire Seth Godin’s marketing skills, he’s the master.
I hope you’ve pretty much enjoyed your two weeks in his presence.
Thanks for reading, Rahul!
Wow…this is fascinating stuff. I’m still relatively new to Seth Godin, but one thing that strikes me about him is how he makes his points seem like common sense. He makes amazing points, yet people have a feeling that they should have thought of what he’s said. It’s really an amazing gift.
Thanks for sharing this. It’s a great way to start the day!
Glad you enjoyed it, P.J.
“Anything worth doing might not work. You might fail…do it anyways.” Exactly. We’ve all seen it: some of the greatest breakthroughs came only after failing miserably first. Thank you for sharing your amazing experience.
Thank YOU for stopping by, Jonella!
Barrett, THIS is some of the most condensed powerful stuff put into a readable, simple, non-overloading yet big-dreaming-and-doing-inviting post. Congrats on how you put this out there. I shall share this thing like crazy.
Well dang, thanks Anais :).
Awesome! Thanks Barrett!
I’ll second Anais, condensed and powerful. Some blog posts make you shrug your shoulders and say “mehh” after reading, others seem to say exactly what you need to hear at the exact time you need to hear it. This was one of the latter for me. Thanks Barrett.
Really glad to hear that, Kurt! Thanks for stopping by.
Awesome sauce Barrett.
I needed this so bad this week. Thanks for coming through.
I was going to apply for Seth’s group this year and then I totally chickened out.
Glad it hit you at a good time, Kyle. The worst that can happen is that you hear no. I hope you apply next time ;).
Me too. I was annoyed I didn’t but am not going to spend time beating myself up about it.
Onward and upward!
Now’s your chance! http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2014/08/announcing-a-fall-internship.html
Yea I saw this. But I don’t think it would be a good fit. This is a 6 month placement.
2 questions come to mind (and tell me if you think I’m just stalling)
– How the hell will I live off $14,500 for 6 months in NY?
– Who will run my business while I’m doing this?
As soon as I wrote that I realised I could always apply and say no.
I’m gonna give it a crack/
Barrett,
I thought about applying for the Seth Godin Intership, but chickened out for a host of reasons. None of them really valid. I have kicked myself for not trying ever since.
Thank you for sharing your experience and the lessons learned. I liked what you wrote so much, that I printed out a copy for everyone in my office and required them to read it by the end of the day :)
My office does a pretty good job with some of the lessons – shipping & it’s about the work, but we struggle with others – Be Open, Generous & Honest, Pushback. This post was a good reminder of where we want to be and will help start a discussion on how we get there.
Thanks for sharing!
Glad to hear that it resonated, Jeff. Hope your team enjoys as well.
Indeed! Thanks for reading, Kimberly.
I hear ya, James. There’s a time and place for actionable advice and there’s a time and place for cheerleading. This post is more about mindset and takeaways of working with a mentor I look up to. Hope you’ll keep coming back for more in the future.
Drew them on printer paper with a Sharpie then scanned. There’s a great app called Genius Scan that’s free and allows you to scan documents using your phone camera.
Fabulous post Barrett!
So much gold to be mined here and the actual experience of living those 2 weeks must have been something else!
Great stuff and very inspiring.
It was quite the experience. One I’ll always cherish and look back on fondly. But more than anything, it was a transformational learning opportunity for me. It helped me reach another level in my thinking and doing.
Glad you enjoyed it, Jason. Agreed on how strategic thinkers make each other better. It’s not easy or even comfortable, but when you find people capable of having that level of conversation, it can be powerful.
First Seth’s starup school and now, this. Brilliant post, Barrett. I especially loved, “You’ve only got one shot at life, why not enjoy it?”
I’ve been trying to incorporate enjoyment into everything I do, and it seems to be working great. Thank you for sharing these takeaways.
Thanks for stopping by and contrbuting, Debashish!
Many thoughts on this. Squidoo was originally designed as an experiment for a crew of summer interns. I don’t think there was a plan for its long term existence from the outset — just a project built to test a hypothesis. It turned out that it was a really good hypothesis and people loved it.
From my experience, I know that Seth prefers to work independently and Squidoo was the only thing tying him to an ongoing (never-ending) project that took up a fair amount of his time.
When Squidoo was founded, it was designed to create a way for people to give to charitable organizations by driving traffic to their lenses. Instead, most users opted to receive the money themselves, making it an inherently self-oriented (instead of generous) platform for the majority of users. They fixed that issue with Hugdug by donating all proceeds to charity.
At the end of the day, I think it was just time for Seth and the team to move on. Some of them will stay with the project and make sure it transitions well. Others will move on to new opportunities, learning and growing in the process.
From everything I know about Seth, I know he made this decision for a reason. My guess is that living within Hubpages is the most sustainable way for Squidoo to live on. He likely wanted to free up more capacity for all of his other priorities (family, speaking, charity). He likely wanted his team to have a graceful way to move on to new and exciting projects. And most importantly, I would bet that they achieved what they set out to achieve with Squidoo. They build a thing that mattered.
Hope that helps!
Great recap of what must have been a once in a lifetime experience. There is so much goodness to this that I’m going to have to read it at least 20X. Seriously…thank you for sharing this, Barrett. When Seth speaks, I listen and you have captured 2 weeks of entrepreneurial brilliance.
P.S. I liked the drawings too! :-)
Glad you enjoyed it, Michael. Thanks for stopping by!
Brilliant post. Period.
Thanks Darren :)
Aah-mazing read, Thank You! :o)
Glad you enjoyed, Tosha!
Wow I am so glad I took the time to read this one. Really powerful stuff Barrett! I think I really needed to hear “This might not work, do it anyways” right now in the midst of my Just Ship It challenge :)
And the $1,500 –> $15,000 part? Blew my mind. “They charge what it’s worth and work with the clients that fit their sweet spot perfectly.” Uh duh, its so obvious yet was so hidden for me.
Thanks again!
Thanks for reading, Marianne! Glad you enjoyed it :). Looking forward to seeing what you create through the Just Ship It Challenge.
A truly special post. Thanks Barrett!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this valuable share. Your enthusiasm really came across! I especially liked the part about technology – and the thoughts about earning 10x more were interesting, too :-) I would love to hear more about what specifically your project with this team was about? Warmly, Kathrin
Thanks for reading, Kathrin! Here’s a post I wrote for SkilledUp.com about the project itself: http://www.skilledup.com/blog/seth-godins-krypton-community-college/
Awesome stuff Barrett, thanks for sharing. I loved the comfort, learning, danger diagram – so simple yet so true. If you’re not learning you’re withering on the vine.
Indeed! Glad you enjoyed, Craig.
This was indeed a very good read for entrepreneur minded individuals. Glad you posted this Barrett. I like the part where you talk about expanding yourself, in that it’s not easy and you could fail, but that’s all in the process of growing and developing one’s skills and abilities. There are so many good points here. Maybe you folks at Fizzle can make a course about this, Then again you touch on many of these points already. Seth Godin has been a favorite of mine for many years.
Thanks for reading, Jurgen. Perhaps some of these elements could be built into other courses. I definitely think they’re reflected in Just Ship It Challenge, Book Yourself Solid, etc, right now, but always room for more :).
What an uplifting post, Barrett! Such great learning points to free one’s mind and soar.
Loved the illustrations. :) Off to read your post at SkilledUp.com Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks for reading, Vidya :)
Great post… It is still hard for me to wrap my brain around how to charge more for a day of work… I guess it is something I need to work on.
My biggest take away is
You can talk about doing the work, or you can use that time to do the work.
I do way too much talking (thinking) about the work.
It’s a huge opportunity for you, Jason! (Charging more for your work, that is.)
Amazing, Barrett. Giving me some thoughts I may need to add to my progress log soon.
Also, this may be one of the most-commented on post since I started reading Fizzle/Sparkline about a year ago!
EPIC POST!
Best read on the web for me in a long time. Thank you for sharing. Superb illustrations :)
You need an RSS feed. If you do, I (and many others) I am sure will see your blogs scrolling across (in my case the bottom of) the screen. And I can click and read when I see something interesting.
And I am saying this because I really liked your article. :-)
Here’s the link to the RSS feed: http://fizzle.co/feed
Awesome notes on your experience. The truth we all know but need to hear. Thanks~
110% too much 110%s
Thanks for the refined and compact points. Loved reading it.