Must Read: The Critical 1st Step You’re Not Taking

Ah, first steps of a new venture.  So much anticipation, excitement, and exuberance.  Or, fear, anxiety and paranoia.  Whichever is your preferred cup of tea.  That first step though is everything.  It really charts the path of your endeavor, whatever it may be.  The huge obstacle that cripples so many is that they never start.  This could be another post entirely.  Starting is literally half the battle.  All the planning, talking, dreaming, discussing, and thinking means exactly nothing if you never start.

Diving a little bit deeper though, is a huge topic that FAR too often gets overlooked.  SELF-AWARENESS.  What comes to your mind when you hear the words?  I bet you’re thinking of people you know who are clearly NOT self-aware.  Sure, this can be humorous, ridiculous, or downright annoying.  But, seriously, a person lacking self-awareness stands out.  That is because in a way self-awareness is a contradiction.  How can you not be “aware” of yourself?  Doesn’t seem possible.  And yet, if you know someone who isn’t self-aware you know that it is very possible.

However, it is really tremendously more common than most people realize.  Developing self-awareness is the critical first step you’re not taking…or at least probably not taking, in regards to a new venture, new job, career, a big move, etc.  Self-awareness asks the difficult questions, most notably the huge WHY question.  Without self-awareness we’ll wander around aimlessly.  Pursuing things we don’t care about, aren’t passionate about, and at some junction later in life will realize we squander away time that could be spent on other things of interest.  Things that would have fulfilled us, and challenged us.

This lack of awareness is why people go into business doing their “hobby” and realize they hate running a business (or can’t).  They fail, and end up not liking said “hobby” anymore.  Or, on the flipside, they go into business just to turn a profit, and then realize their time is spent doing something they don’t care about, and that the money wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.  These are just a couple of examples, but the list goes on.  Asking the right questions up front and validating your personal awareness to the situation is of utmost priority.

Why are you doing it?  This is the real first question to validate your self-awareness.  In fact, in some regards, you could argue this is the only question.  There is so much to add here to give this context and stress the importance.  Instead, I’ll share this story, from the 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss (highly recommend it).  This story appears there, and this was the first time I heard it.  Note: this is just where I read it first (unsure of it’s actual origins).

An American businessman was standing at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish. 

“How long it took you to catch them?” The American asked.

“Only a little while.” The Mexican replied. 

“Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?” The American then asked.

“I have enough to support my family’s immediate needs.” The Mexican said. 

“But,” The American then asked, “What do you do with the rest of your time?” 

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life, senor.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds you buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats.” 

“Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the consumers, eventually opening your own can factory. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.” 

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then, senor?”

The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions, senor? Then what?” 

The American said slowly, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos…”

 

Let that story sink in deep as you contemplate your next big decision.  Taking action and starting your project or endeavor is huge, but first step – hone in on your self-awareness.

Check out the vlog of this post here.