Is what you are thinking about and doing something your are proud of?
Ever since I realised that I’m not here for “everyone”, that is I can’t please everyone otherwise I would please no one. That’s when “the penny dropped” for me. If our work is not to gain traction over as wide a circle of people, as many people as possible, and instead is to do deep work for the smallest viable market, then everything changes.
It turns out that when are “for everyone”, and we are out to get the biggest percentage share of the world population of 7.6 billion, then we are necessarily going to struggle to keep up with the mass market demand that we be cheaper and faster, be more average and join the race to the bottom, and become a 24 hour expert practitioner of cutting corners and bending ethical standards. Then one cannot possibly be proud of the work one does. One’s mind is onto something totally misaligned with our amazing potential and our values which we have deep inside each of us.
When we go to the direction of choosing to do only work we are proud of, not just producing what we are proud of (the product or solution), but with total mindfulness and self-awareness that every action we take, every thought we come up with and every engagement we have with people we do work for, has to pass this test. “Is this what we are thinking about and doing something we are proud of?”. This question informs everything we do.
This question “Is this what we are thinking about and doing something we are proud of?” changes everything. It changes how we start our day, how we generate our thoughts and how we act in the face of problems and hurdles. It changes how we show up in the world.
I am curious, how would you thoughts, actions and minutes change? How would your days, months, and years change, if every thought and action is preceded by this question “ Is this what I am thinking about and doing something I am proud of?”