Hey ,

Creating something new is hard work.

This is true whether it's:

• making a new meal plan for yourself or your family,
• creating a collection of work for a new gallery, or
• designing a website for your new business idea.

The best thing you can do is: give yourself permission to start small.

Think few and focused.

Recently, I've been having to start small for myself. I have so many ideas of what I can do, how I can help others, and what that could look like.

However, the most common version of me has been to: do all of them, all at once.

There are a few problems with that version of me though. I might:

• burn out
• do some ideas, but poorly
• not start any of them
• do them all perfectly, but over a long period
• and probably more problems…

This has been true for past projects of mine. And, when you involve others (i.e. a team), working on all the projects all at once can create more issues for everyone.

So…

How am I starting small? How might you avoid those problems as well?

There's a methodology I want to share with you that I'll borrow from the creators of Basecamp. In the free online book, called Getting Real, they share a method in a chapter called Half, Not Half-Assed.

This chapter is 4 paragraphs long, but it can serve as a lifetime of guidance for both you and me.

Here's what I'm taking away from this chapter:

Give yourself permission to work on just one thing. And, once you've realized what that one thing is, break it down into its most simple form. Some people call this a Minimum Viable Product (i.e. MVP).

What is the least you can do now that will get you onto the right path now?

Maybe you don't need to redo your entire pantry to become vegan. Instead, you can make one vegan meal next week.

Maybe you don't need to create a new art piece. Instead, you can draft a list of ideas for what your art gallery could be.

Maybe you don't need an entire website for your business. Instead, you can share your contact info with family & friends letting them know about your business idea to refer people to you.

Progress over perfection.

There's a simpler idea for what you're starting right now. Do that instead.

Read Half, Not Half-Assed

After giving it a read, let me know what you took away from this chapter in a reply.

I'm happy to brainstorm with you about what you're working on right now, and how you can simplify it.

Enjoy,

Matt

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