People love to tell other people that they need to get out of their comfort zone.
It's all over the content and comments in musicians’ circles online: To get better, you've got to push yourself to constantly play harder stuff, play when you don't want to, challenge yourself to get onstage, play with musicians who are better than you are, and so on.
Read MoreIn an online course I'm involved in, as in many self-paced online courses, some participants find themselves feeling behind when they have let a few weeks go by without getting started.
However, instead of getting into the meat of the course, they begin with the warmup lessons -- the lessons that contain no new material and are there mostly for people to get to know each other prior to the release of the "real" lessons.
Read MoreOkay, this is weird, but I think it's a useful ability of mine: I know what it's like to be successful without actually having to go to the trouble.
I mean really successful, like number one record, eight-figure income, bestselling novel successful.
I haven't been there, but I know. I can experience it without experiencing it. I know that when you reach that level, you aren't any different inside than you were before, and if how you felt inside was inadequate and unworthy, you will still feel that way.
Read MoreI got a great question this week from a friend. I love questions!
He wants to know if his reluctance to follow through on a business idea is due to a lack of courage.
Not at all, I’d say. To me, it sounds a lot more like an abundance of wisdom.
Pop culture loves stories of people who quit their jobs and took big risks, betting everything on one idea. Personally, I find these stories unsettling.
Read MoreIt’s a weird thing to be cast in the role of naysayer on someone’s journey to greatness.
I believe that people can achieve great things if they have the belief in their ability to do so and a strong plan to back it up.
However, having only the belief isn’t always enough. The enthusiasm and motivation will peter out with repeated exposure to hardship if a person isn’t prepared for that.
As a teacher and coach, I’ve sometimes been the one to suggest that someone modify their plan or pursue an incremental goal on the way to the massive, ground-breaking, world-shaking achievement they are seeking. These suggestions are not always welcome. My character is definitely not making it to the second act when this story is turned into a movie.
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