Six Secrets to The Art of the Start

I was talking with a friend who was describing his life as being on hold for the past three or four years.  Anyone who has been on hold for three or four minutes can imagine how excruciating three or four years might feel.  Everything he tried from seeking new employment to moving to a new city to looking for love seemed to get a resounding “no” or “not yet” from the universe even though his biological clock was ticking at an alarming rate.

I could relate, having spent more than a few years wandering around the desert in what seemed like a perpetual pause.  It wasn’t that I didn’t have dreams.  It wasn’t even that I didn’t have the time because by all accounts, especially my bank account, that’s all I had. 

 

What I didn’t have was structure, a strategy, or accountability.  I had a grand vision for my future but I had no plan for how each day could lead me anywhere but into temptation.  Like a tumbleweed, my daily course was determined by whichever way the prevailing winds blew. I was definitely in what Gretchen Rubin calls drift or “the decision you make by not deciding, or by making a decision that unleashes consequences for which you don’t take responsibility.”    

The good news is most detours eventually lead us back to the beaten path, often with insights we’d never have gleaned if not for the detour.  Now that I have a lot of structure and accountability, I often lament my lack of  free time for creative pursuits.  I remembered the long days of limbo and wondered why in the world I didn’t write more, do more, or accomplish more.

But those days by their very nature evoked a kind of analysis paralysis.  I couldn’t see the gift of “the pause” then because I was so desperately confused about my overwhelming underachievement, my lack of monetary resources, and the enormous burden of potential.   I was so focused on what wasn’t working that I couldn’t see what was and take full advantage of it.  

Listening to my friend, I started thinking about what I know now that might help someone in a similar predicament take the kind of action that would pull them forward with purpose and passion.  

Here is what I came up with.  

1 -  When in doubt, begin.  You don’t know what you don’t know.  So start immediately and find out.  You do not need a lot of money to begin.  In fact, at this stage of the game, if you have too many resources, you’ll probably squander them.  Because you don’t know what you don’t know, you won’t yet know what or how to properly invest those resources.  

What you need is an idea, the courage to act on it, and someone to hold you accountable for doing what you say you’re going to do.  You must connect with other people. If you are too timid to get out and meet people, start with a virtual community.   Don’t simply stalk. Talk. Connect. Contribute.  No one knows you are there until you give yourself away.

2.   Begin again.  Every day you will need to recommit to yourself, your project, the changes you want to make, the action you need to take.  This may be easy when the project is new and fun and you are getting some positive feedback.  Regretfully, this will not last.  One day you will wake up and convince yourself none of it matters.  It does.  Begin again.

It may feel like you are taking baby steps or managing micro movements that are getting you nowhere.  It may even feel like you are losing ground.  Backing up is sometimes necessary to gain the speed you need for takeoff.  You simply must begin again.  And then again and again.  Each time you begin, you start from a different vantage point.  You gain more experience and perspective.

3.  Start where you are.  Do what you can with what you’ve got.  You will always have a reason to postpone the start if you wait for everything to align before you dare to act.  Don't miss the gift of today by waiting for the perfect someday. Lean times are the best learning times.  They teach you about what’s essential.  Creativity kicks in to help you figure out how to get it.

4. Get fit.  The same factors that contribute to an effective fitness program contribute to the success of any program.  Strength, flexibility, and endurance are essential to taking an idea from inception to execution.  You have to summon your strength for the many times things don’t go as you would like, which will be daily, possibly hourly, at the start.  You also have to stay as flexible as possible since your idea will and should undergo many incarnations as it evolves and adapts.  And you’ll need to pace yourself and build your endurance so you can manage your time and energy over the long haul.  

5.  Manage your expectations.   Beginning is hard.  Beginning again is harder.  Starting where you are and getting fit take a real commitment.  Once you’ve worked through these steps you may be more than a little anxious to see some results or at least see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Do not set yourself up for disappointment by assuming you know what success should look like and when it should arrive.  That blinding light could be an oncoming train.  Don’t get derailed by thinking it should have been your ticket out of oblivion.  Resilience is a key quality to have in your toolkit.  We are a society obsessed with overnight success and Cinderella stories.  Yours is not a fairly tale but a love story, an adventure story, a comedy and drama where all parts of you embark on a hero’s journey.  Expect the unexpected.

6.  Get ready.  Gather your wits about you.  While it may look as if nothing is happening, you’re simply experiencing that grace period when you can fly under the radar and make all kinds of mistakes without anyone really noticing.  Use this grace period to figure out who you are, what you want, why you want it and what you are willing to do, sacrifice, contribute, give up, allow, and accept so when the world comes knocking at your door, you are ready to let them in.  

If you have some secrets that you'd like to share about the art of the start, please add them below!