What can you do right now?

Whenever I feel like I’m not moving quickly enough, I ask, what can I do right now, right this very second, to advance my goals. I make a list, and then prioritize.

That’s why I’m writing this blarticle. For the month of February, I am concentrated on building an identity for myself in the nebulous Internet space. Part of my goal is to drive traffic to my prototype landing page, part of it is just to push the content I have in my head out into the world. I feel like we live in a unique time and place (especially San Francisco) where if you show the world who you are, the world will tell you what they want of you. People have built entire careers around blogs, YouTube videos, etc.

This question guides me whenever I’m having a moment of insecurity, where I look up, and have no idea whether what I want to do is right or not.

This question makes me feel productive by reducing the time I sit and drool into a cup (an expression).

This question reminds me that it doesn’t matter if it’s right or wrong but it will matter if I did nothing.

This question teaches me to focus on the journey not on the outcome.

Go ahead, ask yourself, what can you do, right now?

EDIT: 1.5 years later =)
Still true, but with some caveats. First, pushing yourself to do what you can in the moment is often very transactional and short-term. It’s not a substitute for setting aside time to think about are you reaching your long-term vision or goals. If not, then you might just do something “right now” forever but never really get anywhere. Second, it might be that during your scheduled assessment you have no idea what to do to get to your long-term vision or goals. It’s OK, it happens to me all the time. That’s where conversations with co-founders, mentors, advisors, and peers come in. When your trove of ideas is empty, get help filling it up!

This blarticle was written in the context of building a product that helps people borrow occasional-use items (e.g., sleeping bags, electric drills) from their friends & neighbors. Check out the prototype here.