Today on Create the Map, I’ve decided to ask a question. You’re welcome to just ponder it yourself if you’d like, but I’d love to hear any thoughts you have in the comments section below. It’s a question I’ve been asking myself lately.
This past Saturday, I co-chaired the production of a street festival in my neighborhood in Chicago. We had an awesome team putting together the first Edgewater Arts Festival on Thorndale Ave. on the north side of the city. Our approach was to do the best we could with the resources we had available to us. We had a very small budget, and most of our team was comprised of volunteers. We didn’t hire an outside event management company to manage the overall event (except for one to coordinate our food vendors). In the days and weeks leading up to it all, I realized that for most of my life I haven’t waited until the stars aligned, until the timing was perfect, until I had all the funds I needed, until I had the entire team in place, or until I had all the expertise to make everything happen. In my filmmaking, for example, instead of starting with a budget and then waiting until we’ve raised all the money to start shooting, I’ve first figured out how much money we could raise and then figured out how to stretch that as far as possible. (Had I waited until I had the budget to cover all of the costs, I probably never would have made any films.)
Instead of waiting for the stars to align, once I’ve bought into the value of an idea, I’ve just pulled together the best resources available to me and then I’ve done my best to make whatever it is happen. While this is certainly an exciting approach and the one most familiar to me, I also realize it has its minuses and can take its toll. It’s fraught with uncertainty, worry, and risk. It can lead to huge failures. And it creates a lot of stress.
Part of this approach also stems from my belief in always keeping costs as low as possible. I bring the sensibility of an indie filmmaker to most things that I do, and sometimes I wonder if that’s perhaps too limiting. The reason I aim to always keep costs low are many:
- I know how hard money is to come by and always want to use it wisely.
- Money often has strings attached, and I don’t like to owe people.
- I like to keep the breakeven point as low as possible to keep financial success more within reach.
My fear about this approach is that sometimes I make it harder on myself and on my team by not providing all the comforts that come with a larger budget. My other fear is that I limit myself by not having all the perks that come with a larger budget.
I know some people who won’t start a website, make a film, produce a street festival, write a book, or create something until they feel completely ready with the timing, funding, team, expertise, and resources needed to get it done. I think they often feel that they have a clear sense of what’s needed to achieve their vision and would rather wait until everything is in place to really produce something remarkable. While that hasn’t really been my mindset, I understand that way of thinking and sometimes wonder if I’ll become more that way the older I get.
What this is really about is figuring out when to start something. That’s not always easy to know. And ultimately, there’s no right or wrong answer. It’s unique to each person and each pursuit. But I think there’s room to learn from each other on this one, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on this:
- Should you wait until the stars align or just do the best you can now?
- Why?
- What examples of this are you facing or have you faced in your own life?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
*About the photo above: I took this picture on July 31, 2010 at the Bristol Renaissance Faire.
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Hey Jay,
Before I lost my job in March, I was writing a musical, taking acting lessons and intending to go to iO for more improv training, incubating a cancer fundraiser, stewing on a idea for NaNoWriMo, etc. Once I lost my job, everything was put on hold. When I got my new job I found it took a great deal of energy. All of my creative projects are on hold while I wait to either regain some of the intellectual capital to invest into my artistic endeavors. I will get there!
Interesting John.
One thing this reminds me of is that life can sometimes throw us some curveballs that really shift our priorities in the short-term. The creative projects understandably take a backseat for a while.
The other thing that jumps out at me is the idea that we have to go easy on ourselves during periods of transition and be okay with less creative output during those times since they can take a tremendous amount of our mental energy and focus.
How do you think you’ll know when you’ve reached the point where you can dive back into some of the creative projects you mentioned here?
Hi Jay, I would love to know if the people who wait for everything to be in order ever start anything. It seems to me to be a way to through up blocks so you never have to begin. I don’t think any of the world-famous billionaires really wanted to start their business in a cramped garage but they wanted to get going and had no money. To me, combined with passion, a big idea and lack of funding can be a powerful recipe for success. I would also refer you to Lean Startup methodology http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_Startup because I think parts of this are very relevant outside of technology.
I’m so with this. Good point, Catherine! (they didn’t want to start in a cramped garage!)
Jay man.
Swell post bro. It’s crazy right? We’re so discouraged to go out and try because everyone judges the crap out of each other, (and it seems darn scary sometimes), that we never really even take the first couple of steps.
I’m so aligned with this. I mean, this is it Jay. Navigating through complex scenarios without a map is definitely the route to becoming more adept, at anything.
Yeah, I agree Ryan. Experience has always been my best teacher, so creating the map as you go has been the most effective way for me thus far.
On the topic of people judging each other, it’s amazing to me how easy it is to fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others or trying to live up to other people’s expectations. Not sure when it was, but at some point in my past I realized that’s no way to live. Not sure I’ve completely conquered it, but I’m always working on it.
Really appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Catherine. Interesting reading on Lean Startup methodology and Lean Thinking. It reminds me of some of the ideas in The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki.
Did you have a chance to read Jeff’s comments below? He presents a pretty compelling perspective that challenges some of what I mentioned and kind of fuses together the two extremes of “wait until the stars align” and “do the best you can right now” into another alternative. To paraphrase my interpretation, it’s as if we can do the best we can right now by helping to make the stars align.
I completely agree with you that some people who wait for everything to be in order probably never start and use that mindset as an excuse. I think there are also those who are talented at being able to foresee the challenges that arise, and I sometimes wonder if there are lessons I can learn from those people.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I’m not sure I agree with your dichotomy between “waiting for the stars to align” and “doing the best you can right now.” Often, the best you can do at any given moment, in any given situation is to work to align the stars. Sometimes, people believe timing means waiting for the right circumstances to unfold before them. In truth, though, I believe the most successful people create their own timing. It’s a combination of carefully monitoring conditions external to yourself that are relevant to your goal and working long-term to prepare yourself to strike at the moment of greatest opportunity. Preparing yourself can take on many different guises — from acquiring expertise to building the right relationships to storing up adequate financial resources for a new project. I think it is empowering to remember that we are in constant flux with the world around us — the borders between our own selves and the universe in which we’re thrown are permeable. Just as our environments influence us, we influence our environments.
Also, isn’t another important piece to this puzzle the relationship between risk and reward/cost? I generally try to assess the probability of success, given my current state of preparation and external conditions. I then compare that probability with the reward v. cost trade-off. When the cost of failure is relatively high and the potential reward relatively low, I would not move forward unless I was highly likely to succeed. If on the other hand I’m looking at a low-cost, high-reward opportunity, I might take the proverbial snowball’s chance. Again, though, and to your point about budgets, we often can take steps to minimize costs or maximize rewards associated with a given endeavor, putitng ourselves in a more attractive position.
Really love the ideas here, especially the perspective that perhaps my two options are too limiting. Maybe we can work – in both the short-term and long-term – to make the stars align in our lives? In one sense, I see that as a form of doing the best you can right now. But I can also see how that might mean taking time to prepare now for action that comes later. It raises a question for me though – if you take this third approach, how do you know when to actually pull the trigger?
I really like that quote – “Just as our environments influence us, we influence our environments.” It’s easy at times to forget this and to just think of it as one-sided when it’s really an ongoing give and take.
And yes, I agree with your point about the probability of success compared with the reward/cost tradeoff is an important factor. Some pursuits involve much higher stakes than others and therefore might mean either waiting for the stars to align or perhaps never pursuing them because the costs and/or risks are just too great. Discernment on this though is part of the challenge in my mind. Sometimes it might be clear just what the risks are, but other times we might overestimate or underestimate the risks. An interesting lesson for me in my filmmaking has been that my naivete about it all was much more of an asset than I ever realized. Had I known going into it all just how much work, time, effort, energy, money, and risk came with it all, I might’ve been a bit less likely to move forward.
Jay, don’t you ever change! Here is one thing you didn’t about. While one person is waiting for the stars to align, one person isn’t. In most cases, by the time the stars have aligned for the one person, the other has already reached the destination first. Not having everything you need forces you to be more creative and innovative which is the core of success, entrepreneurship, and most of all originality! I believe the universe works opposite of what most believe, I believe that the stars align only after you move forward. If you think about it scientifically, it is forward motion that keeps the stars and planets in line. If they stopped moving for one second, they would crash!
DON’T CRASH JAY!
I have a quote for you that I love, it doesn’t exactly speak to your question, but it does speak to the act of questioning oneself!
“I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death.”
—Leonardo Da Vinci
Yeah, I agree Todd that there’s definitely a way to use limitations as a tool to unleash your creativity instead of as a hindrance. Some of the accomplishments I’m most proud of in my life so far have been times when I’ve used the limitations as assets instead of liabilities.
And yes, there’s definitely something to be said for momentum. So often in my own life, taking action has helped to make the stars align.
Nice quote from Da Vinci! Interesting distinction between “little minds” and those who pursue their principles to their death.
Interesting if you think about it we could replace “pursue their Principles” with “continue their journey” and it still works! Obviously Da Vinci, was creating the map far before you and I. The notion or path that you and I follow is not new, it just becomes buried for a while and then unearthed again and again by the next fearless explorer(s).
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