That was the goal that I had given myself last year. I had never consistently written ever. Outside of NaNaWriMo's craziness I had never taken on such a challenge before. So there I was, committed to writing something everyday. It was the first time that I had ever done a 30 day trial.

I was teaching at the time and life was "super busy". As an aside, that Carlton had NO IDEA what it meant to be busy. I cranked out words everyday. I posted those gems along with a silly number of cat pictures. I had several posts that didn't hit until 11:59pm but I refused to give up.

"Create Something Awesome Today" - Roberto Blake

Mr. Blake tells his audience the qbove quite every video. In order to grow our audience we have to have something to show. Whether it is written words like this, audio, or video you need to be putting yourself out to be discovered. Garyvee says to document not create. This means to documetn your process. It is hard to consistenly crank out creative works. However if you are documenting the process of creating.

Not only des it help you to create more content it also gives your audience insight into who you are. Being transparent with your audience is beneficial to community growth. You also need to post your creative works as well but this essentially doubles your content.

• Create things your audience wants to see
• Create things that excite you
• Create things that are complete nonsence

Whatever you do, keep creating.

Your content is the funnel that your audience comes through. Whether they enjoy your content, your nonsence or your process, keep them engaged. Fresh content will keep them coming back.

What will you creat today?

Tomorrow we will talk about connecting with your audience.

One of the processes that I help teams adopt is the Agile Development Methodology.  This process is cyclical and iterative.  This means that activities done every day and every sprint.  These actions build momentum towards success.  Having consistent actions for everyone on the team also creates a culture of accountability.

Are you willing to not just create repeatable tasks but to establish relationships that will hold you accountable?

• Now IS NOT the time for critique
• Now IS NOT the time for negative self-talk
• Now IS the time to execute
• Now IS the time to reinforce positive habits

In order to do that you will have to learn to take it easy on yourself.  Depending on the size of the change will determine how much grace you need to give to yourself.  A significant change will require more time for mistakes and missteps.  This doesn't mean that we overlook these missteps.  It just means that we need to recognize that change takes time.  Highlight the positive moments and move past the negative ones.

When I started participating in National Novel Writers Month this was my biggest issue.  I couldn't silence my inner critic.  This internal editor kept me revising the same paragraphs.  It also made me restart writing projects thus loosing any forward momentum I might have gained.  The first year I tried NaNoWriMo I don't think I made it to 500 words.  It took me several years of attempts before I could silence this voice and make it though.  As one of my mentors says 1 is always greater than zero.

It is better for you to get your multiple reps in consistently than it is for one perfect rep done sporadically.  Plus, as I have said before perfection doesn't exist anyway.  If you get started and take steps in the right direction you'll always beat the perfectionist.  You'll be so far down the road that the perfectionist will never catch up.

The name of the game is execution.  Execute consistently and give yourself space to learn and grow.

• What are you trying to accomplish?
• What are the next steps to get you closer to your goal?n

Commit to giving yourself the grace to take the clumsy first steps.

In an effort to illustrate what I am talking about, here is one of my early videos.

Stink First

You got this! I believe in you!

Another theme that comes up in conversation is timing. We are always looking for a perfect moment. We want to strike at just the right time. We wait, and wait and wait until finally... nothing.

• We'll start that new diet on Jan 1
• Kick off that new habit on Monday
• Implement the new process next quarter

Honestly this search for the perfect moment is stifling. It quenches the fires of productivity and keeps us from moving forward. It is also based on an incorrect assumption. We feel that if we do strike at the right moment we'll hit a home run. This is wrong and will leave you frustrated. If you want to find success and implement that new habit the most important thing you can do is Start Now.

Not tomorrow
Not Monday
Nor for the New Year

Do It Now!

What can you do right now that will get you one step closer?

• If you've got something in mind, DO IT NOW
• If not then your task is to determine the next step and DO IT NOW

Either way get started now

Here are three videos that tackling this very issue.

Roberto Blake

GaryVee

Dr. Eric Thomas

I think I am suffering from new baby brain now so I am short cutting this train of thought

The same thing happens with me. Now it is not as dramatic as it is for little me but I recognize that change is coming. I get inside my own head which can be very disruptive to my family. ;-)

While I might be able to push it off and hold it back, eventually the Change Gone Come

So what does that mean? As I mention frequently in The Minute you have to plan/prepare for change. It is inevitable. You cannot hold it back for very long. There really is no stopping it. Like with our new baby it is going to arrive, causing a big splash changing the landscape.

The question is, will you be ready when the change comes?