The Hidden Wisdom in Tired-Ass Cliches
Nothing like a long drive or two to get back to my road dog roots and absorb some quality podcasts. I took a solo trip upstate this week for work and listened to the Tim Ferris Show episode with YouTube celebrity and co-founder of Maker Studios (which sold to Disney for almost $1 billion), Shay Carl Butler. He’s a goofy lil bastard and I certainly don’t agree with everything he said (he’s Mormon and abstains from alcohol) but the guy had a lot of wisdom about making the most of what life gives you, choosing to be positive, and living with intention. One of his sayings that really resonated with me was, “the secrets to life are hidden behind the word cliche”. In other words, we ignore a lot of the most relevant, applicable, time-tested advice that’s out there because we’ve heard it so many times we’re almost immune to it. Asking someone for advice and hearing some tired old adage feels like they’re not even trying. But what wisdom are we missing that’s right in front of our face?
I decided to look closer at a few cliches we hear all the time and unpack the wisdom we’re missing…
Count Your Blessings
By now, everyone knows about the Gratitude Movement. Taking time to appreciate things and focus on things we’re thankful for, from the very big (being in good health) to the very little (this warm cup of coffee), has been shown to have profoundly positive effects on our physical, psychological, and social well-being.
The Grass is Always Greener
We get tired of the status quo and decide to pack our bags — for a new relationship, a new job, a new place to live. Sometimes a fresh start is the right medicine and sometimes we have to overcome serious fears to leave a truly toxic situation. But when it comes to standard gripes — your spouse’s habits that bug the crap out of you, being unhappy at work, moving to a new city because you’re “sick of the people here” — usually we’re just trading one annoyance for another and the change of scenery just distracts us from the real problem. Ourself.
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
This one has two profound meanings. #1 — First Mover Advantage. You can be too early in some markets, but often the first one there gains more knowledge, more traction, and a longer track record of experience that cements their position in the lead. #2 — Waking Up Earlier. This might be one of best real #Lifehacks there is. Wish you had more hours in the day? Want to be more productive? Wake up at the crack of dawn and get to work before anyone else is up. There are far fewer distractions when the daily news cycle hasn’t started and there’s no one else awake to message you, email you, or update their feeds.
You Can’t Make an Omelette Without Breaking a Few Eggs
You’re going to make mistakes. Things are going to go wrong. People are going to be pissed off at you. There are valuable lessons in all of these setbacks and the only path to the top is a zig-zagging towards new opportunities and away from unexpected failures. The bigger the omelette, the more eggs you gotta break.
Just Do It (+Bonus Cliche: The Journey is the Destination)
Analysis by paralysis is real. Leave your safe little nest of dreaming, planning, talking about your plans, sketching mockups, and doing all the shit that just doesn’t matter. The only way to start moving forward is to do the part that actually matters. You want to be a writer? Stop talking about your book idea to all your friend and start writing. Want to start a business? Quit reading business books and start making a product and selling it to some real customers. You want to run a marathon? Stop searching for the perfect training plan and start running. There’s a dangerous thing that happens when we’re in the planning and talking phase. We get all of the neurotransmitter rewards in our brain and NONE of the forward progress. There’s a reason you’re putting it off, getting started is SCARY because you’re going to get your ass handed to you and realize you’re not this awesome natural talent about to be unleashed on the world and you have more to learn and further to go than you ever thought you did. But that’s where all the learning happens. All of your plans get blown to smithereens the second they’re exposed to the real world. JUST DO IT and get it over with.
