Ok, Pop Quiz…What the F am I doing in this picture? Because it looks like I’m either I’m preaching hardcore OR recounting how ginormous the last fish I caught was in this pic…(spoiler: its neither)
But beyond the questionable hand gesture, you will see a belief on the screen behind me that I both wholeheartedly agree with, and simultaneously completely DISagree with!
The “AGREEMENT” part is simple and easy — YES, in my experience, nothing is created IN the world without purposeful engagement WITH the world, aka DOING THE WORK, doing it consistently and doing it with a focus on MASTERY.
So where is the DISAGREEMENT you may be asking (if you are even still reading this and haven’t scrolled past this post to find a cat meme or food porn post)…
Well, it’s the SPIRIT with which most people believe that the WORK must be DONE…
I can’t count the times that someone has told me, with a look of despair and frustration, that they would be RIDICULOUSLY successful IF ONLY they:
1. Had a better “work ethic”
2. Were more committed
3. Would stop sabotaging themselves
And any other number of things that put them in a place of heavy SHAME instead of realizing this can all be a creative and intentional GAME!
I call this “DEEP SHAME THROMBOSIS” in my book Prison Break and it is one of the BIGGEST ways we hold ourselves back from DOING THE WORK!
What if, #JFT (that’s JUST FOR TODAY if you are new to my tribe), we dropped the shame, the self-judgement, the obsessive seeking for the “identity” of someone with a “strong work ethic”, “highly committed”, or a person who doesn’t “self-sabotage”…
And INSTEAD, CHOSE to bring 5% more of a Spirit of PLAY to the work that is to be started or completed!
…to rub our hands together and get in the game…
…to take action NOT because it will FINALLY make us good enough (or a “SERIOUS entrepreneur” or “TRUE professional coach” or “REAL online educator”) but because WE ARE spirit and creativity at PLAY and because living as a VERB is just more FUN and more FULL-filling!