Daily Habits and Personal Strategy
If you’ve ever met me and heard me speak about business or marketing for more than a few minutes, you probably would have discovered that I am a fan of Seth Godin. Seth would have to be one incredibly busy guy, but everyday, he publishes a blog post, and he has done so for years.
Seth regularly challenges his audience to do the same. In his Ruckusmaker Day post, he writes,
“Committing to having a point of view and scheduling a time and place to say something is almost certainly going to improve your thinking, your attitude and your trajectory. A daily blog is one way to achieve this. Not spouting an opinion or retweeting the click of the day. Instead, outlining what you believe and explaining why.”
I have felt the challenge to do this, to write and post daily, for years. But instead, I’ve fallen short of even trying. I’ve felt I’m not intelligent enough nor articulate enough. I’ve worried that I might say something wrong or that my opinions might evoke unwanted conflict. I’ve had many excuses. But, here I finally am - committing.
For Seth, there are no excuses, just one decision.
"If you can make a decision once, then the question isn’t should I do it? It’s what will I do? If you make the decision once to be a vegan, then you don't need to have a discussion with yourself every single night about whether or not to have a hamburger. If you make the decision to blog every single day, then the only discussion I have to have with myself is what’s the best blog post I can write -- not should I write a post. As (Saturday Night Live Producer) Lorne Michaels has said, 'Saturday Night Live doesn’t go on because it’s ready. It goes on because it’s 11:30.'”
For Seth, it should just become like brushing your teeth. You don’t form excuses to avoid it - you don’t even really think about it. You just brush your teeth when you get up and before you go to bed.
In forming this daily practice, I am also reminded of Andy Miller, aka Andy J Pizza, who often teaches his audience about the benefit of choosing strategic daily projects. In other words, if you want to become a better writer, commit to blogging every day. If you want to become a better illustrator, commit to drawing every day. Or if you want to become a better speaker, podcast every day. By the end of the week, you will be a little better. By the end of the month, you’ll be even better again. And imagine where your skills will be at by the end of the year?
This encouragement is what made me engage in a 30-day project to paint a bird every day. And yes, by the end of the 30 days, I was better at it and faster too.
For me right now, I want to become a better writer, yes. But I also want to become better at confidently articulating an idea or opinion, instead of shying away or siding with the majority.
Seth Godin challenges, “Commit to articulating your point of view on one relevant issue, one news story, one personnel issue. Every day. Online or off, doesn't matter. Share your taste and your perspective with someone who needs to hear it. Speak up. Not just tomorrow, but every day. A worthwhile habit.”
