Define the Mountain {Path to Productivity}
Your life is a game with no rules. How do you figure out how to play? {Chapter One of an N-Part series about Productivity}
It was a cold, disgusting, typical January day in Ithaca, New York. I was in my roommate and best friend Brang’s bedroom tossing a hacky-sack up and down in the air contemplating the future.
On one hand, Brang and I had a great idea for a startup. Brang is a computer genius, and I was hungry to be an Entrepreneur. On the other hand, we had a year and a half left of college at an Ivy League University and could I, a twenty-year old, really decide to give up that fancy-looking piece of paper?
How do you make a big decision like that?
I know this may seem like an odd topic to be writing about for a so-called post on “productivity,” but bear with me.
When writing about productivity, most authors focus on the granular. The day-to-day. “What’s the best todo app” “What columns should be in my Kanban board” “How do I prioritize daily tasks.” But few focus on the macro. And in order to be truly productive, one must always start with the macro.
How can you prioritize what you’re doing if you haven’t got a f*cking clue where you’re going?
Define the mountain
I use the term “Mountain” in reference to a rather poignant speech delivered by the (frankly, overrated) author and graphic novelist Neil Gaiman in which he tries to explain the path to living an Artistic lifestyle. While I think most of his work sucks, his speech is excellent.
In essence, his point is that it’s been helpful for him to look upon his career as a Mountain. Up at the top is where he wants to be, and when it comes to choosing what he spends his time on all he has to do is determine whether or not it’s higher up on the Mountain than he is currently. Simple, yet absolutely brilliant.
For me, the Mountain was, and always has been, a successful entrepreneur. There are countless ways I could make that happen, but yet it’s still very clear in my mind. At the end of my journey, the top of my Mountain is the world’s most positively disruptive and revolutionary Entrepreneur.
Time to Choose
Knowing what my goal was, I was able to evaluate both options with clarity. Option One: Stay at school, get a diploma, hope to get a job near the action so I can one day start my own business. Option Two: Start my first business right now.
Seems pretty obvious, right?
But only because I knew where I wanted to go. I don’t think it’s possible to have the true data on this, but I’m willing to bet that something like 90% of people waste something like 90% of their time because they haven’t dedicated the necessary effort to defining their personal Mountain. Instead, each big decision that they encounter in life throws them off, makes them spin their wheels. In fact, each small decision they make takes extra time. Because how can you define personal goals, quarter goals, business goals- goals of literally ANY KIND if you have no idea where you’re going or why?
“Okay but what if I have no idea what I want”
Then your Mountain is simple: figure out what it is that you want out of life. That’s a good goal in itself, albeit meta. A former colleague of mine felt lost in his post-college work, so what did he do? He saved all his money for a year, quit his terrible job, and biked across the country to meet people and see what the different places in around us have to offer. And guess what he found? What he wants to do with his life. Good on him.
If you want to start getting productive, I suggest you do the same.
As always I’d love to hear from you. Let me know about your personal Mountain, and how you found it.
