Comments on: Equivocation Cripples Action

By: Joey Giraud

Joey Giraud — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 02:00:43 +0000

Or as my friend used to say: “any job worth doing is worth doing poorly.” (Reply)

By: Joey Giraud

Joey Giraud — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 01:59:29 +0000

Probably related to the finding that depressed people do a much better job of predicting the future, but don’t accomplish nearly as much as the unrealistic optimist. (Reply)

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:00:10 +0000

Sorry Julie, Ken Sharpe went offline about 2 years ago, the link is long gone, but I left a note. You would’ve read the story about how and why I was forced out of my previous role. (Reply)

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 05:11:42 +0000

the kensharpe dot net link to lack of work is broken. can you fix it ? (Reply)

By: Stop Thinking and Do It « Essays « Pete Michaud

Stop Thinking and Do It « Essays « Pete Michaud — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 20:04:36 +0000

[...] said it before, but it bears repeating: go out and do it. Whatever your “it” is, stop thinking about it, and go do it right now. If you want more like this, you should sign up for my updates. If you [...] (Reply)

By: The Rules of Improv « Essays « Pete Michaud

The Rules of Improv « Essays « Pete Michaud — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:47:38 +0000

[...] when the “scene” has ended in life, and your commitment is complete, but it’s not worth over thinking all the possibly failure modes of just trying. Just do [...] (Reply)

By: It’s Easy When You Do It « Essays « Pete Michaud

It’s Easy When You Do It « Essays « Pete Michaud — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:04:08 +0000

[...] easy to over think plans—getting caught in a cycle of thinking instead of acting. Fears and doubts loom large because they are in the present, and any positive outcome is in some [...] (Reply)

By: Pete

Pete — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 23:34:05 +0000

I wish there was a hard and fast rule I could give you. Ask yourself:

What will happen if you succeed?

What is the upside to taking on the effort and risk you’re thinking of? What is your actual goal?

What will happen if you fail?

Death? Embarrassment? Nothing much? The higher the stakes, the more cautious you should be. Many times people assume the stakes are higher than they are. Losing your house probably isn’t a big deal, ruining your credit isn’t the end of the world, but being homeless and destitute might be if you have kids.

What are the risks?

Enumerate the risks. Make a list of all the things that could go wrong with your plan. How likely are they to affect you? How much control over them do you have?

So, a dumb example might be skydiving. Your life is at stake if you “fail”. The basic risk is that the parachute fails. What is the chance of your parachute failing versus the risks involved with other activities? I think a good baseline is the safty of riding in a car.

Skydiving carries an approximate 1:82,000 chance of death per year. In cars, it’s 1:40,000 per year. So you have twice the risk of dying in a car accident.

Starting a business carries risks also. What the risks are depends on the business. How dire the consequences are depends on the person. (Reply)

By: Florian

Florian — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:51:13 +0000

How do I draw the line between reasonable caution and abstractly thinking about too many possible risk scenarios? Say you had two kids and wanted to start a business? (Reply)

By: Pete

Pete — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 12:11:22 +0000

Haha. Most of us are 8) (Reply)

By: Niels Bom

Niels Bom — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:19:13 +0000

Hmmm, good perspective. I kinda sorta think I could well be in the “undulating belly” part of the curve, hehe :) (Reply)

By: Pete

Pete — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:05:41 +0000

Haha, YES! (Reply)

By: Pete

Pete — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 12:04:52 +0000

That’s a great principle.

If you’re a geeky type, you might think of it like an AI search algorithm. Normally it starts by trying things at random until it finds a point that seems to fit the criteria. Then it starts moving around that point to find a better neighbor. In the same light, you should just start doing stuff until you feel traction, then tinker. Trying to start on or move linearly to that optimal point is impossible. (Reply)

By: Laura C

Laura C — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:22:46 +0000

“You will never figure “everything” out. You will never be able to make everything perfect before you start. Just make a decision and run with it. Figure it out as you go along.”

This is exACTly what my husband has been saying to me this week about starting a new website. Do you think maybe he’s on to something? ;)
.-= Laura C´s last blog ..Two Simple Ways To Become a Freelance Editor =-. (Reply)

By: Brandon Wiegand

Brandon Wiegand — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 02:38:01 +0000

Awesome post- I am guilty of being the abstract thinker stuck in the labyrinth… I can’t remember exactly where I read it, but the principle stuck with me… It basically said:

When starting a journey, you don’t pick the single absolute point on the horizon and starting walking towards it. You set off in the general direction and adjust as needed. Many people search for their passion as if it is a point on the horizon, when in reality, they should just find the direction that suits them and start moving towards it. (Reply)