Henry Ford said, “You can’t build
a reputation on what you’re going to do”. If you haven’t heard that before,
think about it for a second and let it sink in. Those words are as true today
as they were decades ago when they were first spoken. Nobody remembers the guy
who was going to do something; history remembers the guy who DID SOMETHING!
How many of us know guys who are
always talking about the next big thing, but who never actually get anything
done? Show of hands please! Now let’s bring that closer home: how many of us
have spent hours talking about dreams – but have not taken any steps to make
them happen? If you have…cover your face with your hands! (I just covered mine
too!)
One of the most important keys to the reinvention of who you are, is to
become someone who ships – someone who gets things done!
The ability to ship is very, very SCARCE! That is why we have an
abundance of young people who spend their every waking hour reading self-help
books, and sometimes the Bible – and still appear to be stuck in a rut! They
are not DOING! “We all ought to become doers of the word, and not hearers only –
deceiving only our own selves!”
At some point in Ife, I realized
I knew what exactly I needed to do to get straight A’s – but I never got
straight A’s because I never did those things! Did I want straight A’s? Yes!
Was I dissatisfied with my grades at some point? Yes! Did I know what I needed
to do? Yes! Did I do it? No!!!
It follows everywhere…that if you
can get something out the door while your competitors cringe in fear, you win.
If you’re the team member that makes things happen while others obsess over
PowerPoint presentations, you become indispensable. If you ship – do – execute
– you win!
Shipping is sometimes difficult because of the ‘lizard brain’. If you
push your ‘art’ onto the market, you might fail; if you fail, we might laugh at
you – so the ‘lizard brain’ shuts you down! But you need to acknowledge the
‘lizard’, and then go on and ship your product!
Don’t spend all your days reading
posts like this and learning to ship. Don’t spend all your days talking about
how to ship. Don’t even decide to ship! Just ship!!! Execute!!! Do!!!
That’s all!
Koye
PS: Excerpts and paraphrases from Seth Godin's manifesto are reproduced in Bold print.
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