Why Are We Looking For Inspiration?

We know what’s important, so why aren’t we doing it?

I’m not on the other side of the fence yelling “get to work” I’m standing right next to you.

I’ve been watching inspirational videos by some of my idols for the past 2 hours. I’ve been thinking about my core strengths, when honestly I already knew what they were. I’ve been thinking about the areas I could be effective in, if only I had X, or if only I did Y. It doesn’t matter.

The truth is I have an idea, an idea that’s already been acted on. I have a business that has its processes laid out and framework that is working. I have a business that is growing by margins any business should hope to be growing by. I’m sitting here looking for inspiration for more than this, when really what is holding me back from doing more than this? Fear? Am I scared that I won’t live up to be as influential, as grossly successful, as monetarily powerful as the people I look up to in business?

Yes.

If I’m honest with myself, that’s what’s keeping me from acting, it’s what’s keeping me from hitting x on the damn TED talk tab and opening up my CRM to follow up with every damn lead I have on the table. It’s what’s keeping me in contention rather than competition.

The greats didn’t become great because they hit the needle over-night. At least not the ones I’m looking up to. They worked years and years with focus on one business, seeing the holes, plugging them up; seeing the opportunities, leveraging them for all they’re worth. They focused on one fucking thing, growing the business.

Guess what? They grew along with them.

They were brought up, elevated by their own success. After that they knew exactly what to look for, where the holes will pop up, how to plug them up. They’re the mechanic that can look directly at an engine and see in a map of colors what we see as a blank canvas. That’s why they were able to replicate their success in new ventures, in new businesses. That’s why they were successful with multiple businesses. They didn’t start every idea at once. They took the one that stuck, made it successful, grew with it, and after a point, ventured out from the norm.

This is why people like Tina Roth Eisenberg have been able to create many beautiful, successful businesses. Or Gary Vaynerchuk who took his father’s liqueur store doing $3m/y in revenue to $60m/y in revenue over the course of many years and only then had the knowledge, the experience, and the knowhow to start VaynerMedia and grow it to 500 employees. Had Gary tried to start VaynerMedia before he had grown WineLibrary solely through content, he wouldn’t have had any experience, would have had no knowledge of the realm he was playing in, wouldn’t have had a name for himself, and would have failed. He took the logical road of experience, when we’re sitting here looking for inspiration hoping it will give us the silver bullet.

The silver bullet is the effort we’re afraid of, or at least not acting on.

I guess it was good that I watched Tina’s keynote on 99U, it inspired me to know myself, to know what I want out of life, and to have fun with it while I reach my goals. I guess it was good that I watched Gary Vaynerchuk’s keynote where he basically told people to shut the fuck up about their ideas and get to work on them. It’s pretty plain to see that we are sitting here waiting for these people to say something that we can truly say we’ve never heard before, when the only thing they are saying “get to fucking work” is something we don’t want to hear.

So, back to the original point. I have an idea, that idea is an agency I’m already building and have built pretty damn successfully over the past many months. Like Gary I have the advantage that my brother, Jeremiah had already started it years ago and (while being a sole proprietor and consultant through it) hadn’t grown it significantly until we both partnered up to grow it together. The lucky strike I have is that I don’t have to be the one to make the jump on a fresh product, I have one to build — I just need to get my nose to the grindstone, and at the rate we’ve already been pouring on in just the past few months, we could grow this business by 300–500% by the end of 2015. The sky is the limit, our execution is what we should focus on, because only by that is this needle going to move, and only by that am I going to gain the experience that I want to soar higher, fly farther, and achieve all that I want to achieve.

I need to be patient, but also to be hungry to approach every opportunity with full tenacity, vigor, and effort. I need to be patient knowing that my own time will come later, but right now I need to earn the right to have my own time. I need to focus, to build what’s right in front of me. I need to seize the opportunity that is right in front of me and to stop thinking about what isn’t.

In this, I’m exiting out the tabs that I’m supposed to read, supposed to listen to, supposed to gain inspiration from. I already know what I need to do, so let’s go do it.

If you’re in a similar situation, and this introspective rant gave you a sense of drive, please recommend it below and share it so others can gain the same.