This Accelerated Artist blog article I wrote is well worth the read:
WAIT. Here’s what that word means to me: Whoa, Am I There? This word, this phrase stalls you out and takes you off our path. It is filled with self-doubt. It is filled with self-doubt. Just what are you waiting for?
There seem to be two schools of thought:
1. Ready, Aim, Fire
2. Ready, Fire, Aim
Ready, Aim, Fire. You figure out what you want, where you want to go, do all the research, ask questions then aim for it. I did that for years. My type A Virgo skills were key at finding answers, mapping solutions and not jumping until all was perfect.
Here’s the problem with that – it’s NEVER perfect! I wasted so much time in this business spinning my wheels in NYC because I forgot to actually pull the trigger and fire. Or rather I was too afraid to pull the trigger. I had no FIRE.
Ready, Fire, Aim. You figure out what you want and you jump. You jump into the unknown because it is huge catalyst for change. You hope it goes the way you want it to and you are fearless on your journey. I did this when I launched my first marketing/sales business in NYC. I had no idea what I was doing but I just started and fired away! Sure I had bumps in the road but I got a business off the ground and had a team of over 10 people working for me within a year.
Here’s the problem with that – I didn’t have an end goal or a big vision. Without the AIM, I had to revamp my business model a year in and it actually took me longer to build the business than what was probably necessary. I also got burnt out and ended up walking away from that business 4 years in.
SO……if both these models aren’t bulletproof, what do you do?
Perhaps the evil word isn’t WAIT. Perhaps it’s READY.
So until you’re Ready, you can’t Aim? That’s absurd? Until you’re Ready you can’t Fire? Of course you could!
(insert Meryl Streep’s voice in The Devil Wears Prada)
“Why isn’t anybody ready?”
Here’s what I propose:
Aim + Fire = Ready
Know your AIM, your big vision, the game you want to play, the path you want to walk down. Start planning to achieve it. Then FIRE! When you FIRE, you jump and pull the trigger fearlessly and continue to take action toward your aim and goal.
When you AIM and FIRE – guess what you are READY.
You can’t just be READY. That is crazy talk. Which is why the first two don’t work.
Your AIM is actually filled not only with research and planning but trust. Trust in your own hunches, your own gut, your own instinct over how many years you have been on this planet. When you do that and take action and FIRE in spite of fear – you are READY.
Here’s what’s right with that – I started a production company, Reinventing Films, in 2013. Like the very first business I started, I didn’t know exactly what I was doing. But this time, I knew my AIM, I had a plan, and I trusted myself and my knowledge. Even though I was afraid, I FIRED. I’m amazed at how fast our company has grown. It is because I laid the groundwork, knew what I wanted and pulled the trigger. I didn’t have all the answers in the beginning, I still don’t. But everyday the company grows. I was READY.
So stop waiting to be ready. Ready will come.
Just AIM and FIRE your way to success.
Read More Accelerated Articles: http://acceleratedartist.com/blog1
