STEP 1:
Stop doing what *everyone* else is doing by taking a minute to think about what everyone is doing, and then do something completely different.
STEP 2:
Be BRAVE enough to do something “crazy,” which might include spending 10-20x as much time and energy on something than anyone else and accept that nothing might come of it.
— SUCCESS STORIES —
Here are 2 examples of how I’ve used this system to WIN!
Exhibit A:
I won a scholarship to Marie Forleo’s Bschool in 2012 ($2000 value) by writing a song (instead of the talking video everyone else was doing) that took an entire weekend and that even had me with my guitar on the beach and meeting 2 new friends who helped me film it and also got me a nights free accommodation in the COOLEST hotel in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, but that’s another story wink emoticon http://bit.ly/mf-scholarship
Exhibit B:
I won the Ramit E1K Pitch ($1000 value) by making a full website that took 6-8 hours of creation, copywriting, researching and hustling and had me procrastinating other things to work late into the night to make the deadline (because I had originally decided NOT to participate): http://www.ramit.jacquelineduplessis.com/
— KEY TAKE AWAYS —
1. Both times, I realised within 2-minutes that if I did what everyone else was doing, I’d just be part of the noise and would be wasting everyone’s time.
2. Both times, I turned to my natural skills and superpowers to create something unique, original and on many levels “CRAZY,” because at the end of the day, nothing was guaranteed and I had no idea what I was doing most of the time.
3. Both times, I set down the path of “no return,” by going ALL IN, where after several hours when I started to wonder “damn, is this crap?” I was in too deep too to quit and had to keep going, finish it, and make it bloody good! (Psychology Principle: Sunk Cost Bias)
4. Both times, I wondered if it would be “good enough” after submission.
— QUESTION FOR YOU —
Q: Which of the take aways (1, 2, 3 or 4) resonated most with you in your own experiences in creativity or life? [BONUS POINTS if you share an insight/story].
— OFFER –
Let me know if you have any questions about the above, I’d be happy to answer in the comments.