Waiting for the right time to cross Snake Canyon, Oman
‘I have to wait for the right time,’ one of my clients told me last week.
He finally admitted that he didn’t have the right idea and wanted to wait until he got a ‘great idea’ before launching.
It makes a lot of sense.
- Who wants to go running in the wrong direction only to realize that all these efforts have gone in vain?
- Why start something which could really be too late or too early for the market?
- Who wants to be the one who fumbles and loses money when the venture doesn’t work as it should?
Nobody wants to be in a tough spot, uncomfortable and questioning their decisions. The worst part is that when you start something at the ‘wrong’ time the voice will switch to overdrive and start to scream at you.
The great idea
In 2003 when I started off, I had a great idea.
I knew what I wanted to do, offer outdoor coaching services to a frustrated army of office dwellers but I lacked the know-how of running the business.
I used camels and donkeys (real ones) and although it seemed like a great idea at the time, it didn’t work. I seriously bombed my first year and the second one didn’t look much better until I asked for help.
I learned the hard way that a great idea doesn’t matter.
I had a great idea but no idea on how to execute it.
Our ‘great’ ideas are our worst enemies because they make us feel they will carry the business.
Great ideas are a dime a dozen. Starting a ‘great idea’ is the easy part. Molding it to reality and allowing it to grow is the hard part. Like many other things in life, an idea often becomes great after starting off with a medium-rare one and cooking it to perfection.
The right time
Later in 2007 I put all my resources and savings into starting a second company, the time was probably not right. After a few tough months, the contracts were coming in so fast we couldn’t find enough qualified instructors to work for us.
In the middle of this success Ameena and I chose to move to France at the end of 2008. Most of our friends thought we had gone mad.
‘Now is not the right time, the economy is dipping. Don’t start a new life now. Wait’
I moved, changed my business model from face-to-face to online and I learned a lot along the way. I also started to hate this four-letter word.
The other four letter word
Wait.
This word has probably killed more entrepreneurial spirits than any recession, bills and cashflow issues put together.
There is a reason why enrollment in MBA and entrepreneurial programs increases during recessions. They keep you busy looking for the right time and searching for the next great idea.
Wait.
What are you waiting for? Are you using the four letter word to avoid taking a step or are you genuinely waiting for a better time? If you need help to find answers to these questions ask someone who can help.
Except life doesn’t wait. What is here one day, will be gone tomorrow.
Change is the only constant, but we have a choice, wait or make progress.
Do you wait for the right time?
Hi I'm a coach who believes life is an adventure, and entrepreneurs need to cultivate an adventure mindset to succeed.
{ 107 comments… read them below or add one }
This reminds me of a quote from investor Jim Rogers: “LIfe is short. Make it happen.” Sometimes I worry about failing but the faster you fail, the quicker you learn.
@carly Carly, and the faster you get back up and succeed
@carly Just read about you escaping from handcuffs in a car trunk, sounds interesting
Hey John,
I am guilty of that. I always thought there is a “right time” to get certain things done And that “right time” will come across. Unless one fine day my mom got sense into my head. (Yes, where would the world be without nagging mommies
)She gave me this tough talk on why tomorrow isn’t in our hands. And that the only thing we can be sure of is now. Coming to think about it, you never know whether there will be a tomorrow and if there is one, it is your effort and will that will help make tomorrow more beautiful and more worthy than today.
I am more more wiser now, there are certain things that I might hurry but there isn’t a “right time” I am stressing on…
@Hajra Hi Hajra,
The right time, or someday, and that is like a code word for never. Your Mom is a smart lady
John,
When I graduated from high school I was told to go to school get a higher education and wait until I had credentials to get the position I wanted. I couldn’t wait 4+ years to get to work. So, I went out and got experience. I studied the areas that interested me and a position that fit what I wanted came to me without the burden of waiting 4+ years to get to it. In life, I think one of the most important things we can learn is how to take action when opportunities present themselves. Great post!
@Frank-A Spark Starts Hi Frank,
Schools are great at producing what society needs. Obedient cogs who know how to paint by numbers, learn stuff by heart and answer well on standardized tests.
The only little problem with all this is that life and business doesn’t work that way. Nobody gives us a list of required reading before heading into business, and we are even less told about when there will be a ‘test’.
We can’t cram the night before for an exam but in real life, we get tested everyday.
I couldn’t agree more, one of life’s most important lesson is to take action when opportunities present themselves.
John,
When I graduated from high school I was told to go to school get a higher education and wait until I had credentials to get the position I wanted. I couldn’t wait 4+ years to get to work. So, I went out and got experience. I studied the areas that interested me and a position that fit what I wanted came to me without the burden of waiting 4+ years to get to it. In life, I think one of the most important things we can learn is how to take action when opportunities present themselves. Great post!
I believe that there’s no such thing as the right time. Our future will always depend on what we do at each moment. Waiting is equal to nothing.
@lionslinger Lion Slinger do you know thesaleslion ?
I have received many messages to go ahead and just take action. Do not concern myself with the how’s and where’s as the universe will work to place me where I need to be. So the most important thing now is to just take action. Most of the time we talk ourselves into waiting because of a fear. But other times its our intuition saying hold on just a bit for a reason. I just say balance yourself, take action but allow your intuition (The Divine, God, etc.) to guide your steps while taking that action.
@psychicjazz My gut is one of my favorite tools when it comes to decision making. It does have a serious bias towards action.
You may have gathered by now John, but I’m done waiting. I’m done waiting for the right time for my business to show up by itself, it’s time to grab it by the horns and bring it into reality.
Too many people wait because others say it’s not the right time for them. Thing is, others don’t know when the right time for you will be. Only you know, and it’s only you that can decide when the right time will be.
If the right time isn’t now, stop thinking about it
@Stuart Mills That’s it, we wait because others say so. IT’s a tough call, when to listen to others and when to stop listening.
Great post. I get a lot of ‘wait’ from people but I’ve never really been a ‘wait’ person. My dad claims I’m too impatient–and he’s right to a certain extent as I have moved too quickly on some decisions and got myself into a bad situation I could have avoided if I had waited!
However, my main problem is ‘momentum’. I get good ideas started, I even get good help sometimes, but I get so many things going at the same time I seem to burn out before I can make any of them really Something. Perhaps my other problem then is ‘focus’
These are my two words to work on.
@Michelloui Focus and momentum, great words. Its interesting to see how patience seems to fit right in with both of these two.
Did you read the War of Art?
So how do you get from the great idea and no no-how to how to get your idea executed?
@newdaynewlesson The only way I know is to start, and get the know-how. Execution is a skill like any other skill, you don’t learn it by reading books.
Great post, even better discussion JF. Some things here that I’m particularly passionate about, especially homeschooling, higher education, and taking the leap of faith that is entrepreneurialism.
I here every day how bad the economy is from different folks. I here how no one is buying. And do you know what? I don’t care. In fact, I don’t pay attention. I don’t watch the news. I get a vision in my head and that’s my reality. Screw the rest I say.
Great stuff John.
Marcus
@Marcus_Sheridan I didn’t think the discussion would bring us to school but it’s logical. What we learn in school reflects how we see the world later.
Having a growth mindset, instead of believing that we are good or bad at certain subjects is not something they teach in school.
I believe it’s a crucial factor for success in business.
What no one is buying? LOL!
@John Falchetto@Marcus_Sheridan It’s interesting that you say that what we learn in school affects how we see the world later. I agree with that statement, but I’m going to have to disagree with the “growth mindset” statement. I know my disagreement is based upon personal experience alone – many schools don’t teach students to think. I actually have been writing about that idea because one of my friends shared an article with me in which the author stated that the MFA (my degree) is one of the worst things to occur in recent history.
@Erin F. No school ever taught anyone to think. They teach you to repeat a pattern of thought and in the end to create clones which help keep industries in business. I wouldn’t focus on a single degree but pretty much every degree is useless when it comes to learning how to think as a person about what you are really good at.
You are taught to paint by numbers.
@Marcus_Sheridan
@John Falchetto@Marcus_Sheridan I guess my experience with higher education was different, but I also entered college and grad school with the ability to think for myself. That makes a huge difference. I also had several professors who encouraged that thinking ability – in fact, they were very unhappy if students merely repeated whatever they had read and such. I know my experience bucks the normal trend, though.
@Erin F. Love the fact that you entered already having the ability to think for yourself. It’s a hot topic for me for me right now with a little girl who will be going to school soon. @Marcus_Sheridan
@Ameena Falchetto Based on the comments you’ve made on this post, I don’t think she will have any trouble developing or maintaining a unique perspective on the world.
I graduated and left school at fifteen. I was told to wait! Get CCE’s etc. Some of my friends waited. Some of them are stagnant and tired already in their jobs. Me? I’m a failed starter on several fronts and love it. My moto is this.
The right road leads out at the right place: find the right road! get on it and stay the course.
Love the posts coming out from you John. Really look forward to reading here. Billy
P.S, I’m the only one in my class to get a Ph.d. so, what did waiting do for me!
@Billy_Delaney You just proved my point Billy, waiting never got us very far
Hi John,
I haven’t started any businesses yet, but I have a similar experience when it comes to becoming a dad. I talked to my wife about it, about 10 years ago. We talked about when the right time to have a child was. Then, after a few minutes of discussion, we agreed. There was not going to be a right time, ever. We can wait to get both our degrees (at the University). We could wait to get jobs and financial security. We could wait until we’ve moved to the right city, or bought the right house. There will always be excuses to why we should wait. But, usually, it’s a lot better to just do it, and prepare for what’s going to happen… and it’s a lot more fun than to wait. Waiting is never fun and exciting. Action is
Jens
@jens Good morning Jens, @bdorman264 made a great point about children, if we waited until we could afford them, we would never have them.
There is always something else we should be doing ‘before’ we have kids.
It’s amazing how things change after you have children isn’t it? There is magic in action.
There is never a right time and there will always be excuses. It’s funny that enrollment increases for MBA programs during recessions (like a lack of MBAs is the problem). What happens then? A bunch of people get their MBA degree and now you have more competition when you’re done.
A recession can actually be the perfect time to start a business: less competition (because everyone is going back to school
) and you can hire labor for cheaper (if your business requires employees).
@EugeneFarber Academia is comfortable, they sell you that you will be more ‘employable’ with your degree once you graduate.
Love your mindset about starting in a recession, yes it’s tougher and yes the barrier to entry is higher so let’s do it.
Thanks for stopping by Eugene, we don’t always agree (especially with Tim Ferris!) but I respect the fact that we can have a good conversation around other ideas
@EugeneFarber Good point man. I’ve had quite a few friends tell me how they were getting their MBA during this slow time. Honestly, I think it’s stupid. I got an idea—go learn the ‘real world’ but creating and failing and then creating some more.
MBAs are the worst entrepreneurial business crutch man ever created.
@Marcus_Sheridan Sometimes that MBA opens doors that you can’t get to otherwise. I am not convinced that it is everything that some people want it to be, but it has its uses. The trick in my mind is not to overspend to get it.@EugeneFarber
@TheJackB So in this case it’s the title rather than the knowledge and skills you picked up that help. Like being part of a special club.
@Marcus_Sheridan@EugeneFarber
@TheJackB@Marcus_Sheridan That’s just a problem in the system I think. A Master’s degree signals that you are good in school. I was great in school…and I slacked off more than anyone I knew because I learned early on what I need to do to get good grades without putting in much effort.
Another problem is that there has to be a “trick” to not overspending. Everyone up to the President tells you that you need higher education, but let’s face it…it’s not for everyone. And many people would be better off without taking on insane amounts of debt to get degrees that don’t have a very high payback on the investment.
People are pushed into education and not actually taught life skills (like not accumulating debt).
Plus colleges are supposed to be a forum for open thought and discussion, when in reality it seems like they have marching orders. God forbid you disagree with a professor who has tenure. I literally had a professor tell the class “I don’t care, I have tenure.”
@Marcus_Sheridan Couldn’t agree with you more. And this is coming from someone who went and got a Master’s degree (although I have an excuse, I got my Bachelors/Masters simultaneously…so don’t judge
).
People come out of those programs thinking that they know everything because they have some extra letters by their name. And they don’t. I’d hire someone with real life experience over someone with an extra degree any day of the week.
I think failing in the real world has more benefit than succeeding in a classroom environment (I know cuz I’ve done both
).
SOOOOOO many great points in this article, where to start?
1) waiting for that perfect original idea will absolutely get you no where. Last year I worked for Arizona State University advising entrepreneurs about business and I noticed a few trends. Many of them were trying to invent the next Facebook and were convinced they needed a completely original idea to succeed. They came up with all these features using new technologies but didn’t bother to figure out if the market actually had a need for what they wanted to offer. And I know from personal experience that novel ideas are sometimes too far out there to be useful for anyone. Having a completely “unoriginal” idea that is well executed is WAY better than an original idea poorly executed – any day of the week.
2)Schools-I enrolled in an MBA program the year before we officially entered the recession in 2008. My hope was that it would give me critical business skills needed to survive as an entrepreneur, and for the most part it did. I can look at business from multiple perspectives and be a lot more open minded (and data driven). But the program does try really really hard to kill creativity. In my marketing class we were told we don’t need to learn about advertising since we’ll be working with an advertising agency. We were told to focus on the analytical side of things and let the copy writers worry about the ads. What?!?
@Steve | ROI detector Hi Steve, I guess they assume you will have millions of VC money to play with as soon as you graduate and can hire a PR firm, an Ad agency, a private chef and a masseuse.
For the rest of the world, starting a business isn’t really like this. You are right and you point out yet again how detached of reality academia is from the real world. This is coming from a guy who thought that getting a Masters would help
@John Falchetto Sadly I think it was worse than that…more of a “Why wouldn’t you work for a corporation….that’s what MBA’s are for?” The MBA was great for analytical thinking but really lacking in the “getting down in the trenches.” To be fair, I did have a great teacher who taught an entrepreneurship class in the program (just one though and it was an evening class). But he was truly an entrepreneur, built a series of Independent Toy Shops in California before selling and going into teaching. Luckily, we’re still friends to this day.
@Ameena Falchetto School kills it all, and still wants to teach you how to be creative.
Waiting is something we are taught from a very early age. With babies it’s hurry up walk! Hurry up, talk! Then the minute they do it’s WAIT. Be quiet. Sit down. Wait to cross the road, wait for play time etc … Get to school and god forbid you want to rush ahead because you’ve finished the task – WAIT! Urgh. Another indicator that educational institutions kill spirits and creativity. Waiting is part of playing it safe, yes, you miss opportunities. The best time is NOW.
@Ameena Falchetto School kills it all, and still wants to teach you how to be creative.
@John Falchetto@Ameena Falchetto I have watched a lot of our 9 children lose interest in learning. They go to school to be with their friends. So, they either learn how to learn vicariously through watching their parents or we pull them out of trad. school and homeschool. I’ve done that before and they’ve loved it, but miss their friends. It’s so hard to watch them get numb!
I totally agree with you @BetsyKCross . I was homeschooled myself having left school aged 14 to pursue a career in sport. I opened my first business when I was 21 and haven’t looked back. The school of life suited me best and enabled me to develop as a person rather than mould me.
I personally believe that most children aren’t interested in going to school to learn but to hang out and I would have no qualms not putting my child in the education system, however, I would be sure that they would have something else rather than just hanging out at home all day.
@John Falchetto@Ameena Falchetto So true. As the eternal optimist, I’ld like to think that a healthy dose of skepticism in school is a good thing. Finding the balance between academics and the “real world” is difficult but very helpful.
@Steve | ROI detector Finding that balance is tough, Steve. How would you approach this?@Ameena Falchetto
@John Falchetto@Steve | ROI detector@Ameena Falchetto Hey John …Ameena is waiting for her dinner hurry it up!
@HowieSPM She had dinner buddy
@Ameena Falchetto
@HowieSPM Do you think @John Falchetto actually makes ME dinner?
@John Falchetto@Steve | ROI detector I am doubtful that balance exists in education for the majority. If you are bang on average with average grades, average expectations and average outlook you may succeed since institutions apply a cookie cutter solution to all.
If you can’t follow the prescribed path I guess you find yourself seeking other paths, carving one out for yourself. Personally, most of my educational background has had little bearing on where I am today. If anything I feel like I wasted YEARS in university when I could have been creating something fabulous BUT I have a couple extra skills now, a bit of maturity (ahem) and a nice debt to boot … so I guess my glass is half full right now!
It’s a fascinating conversation that has erupted!
@John Falchetto@Ameena Falchetto Great question, best case scenario would be to integrate real world problems into the classroom. My favorite “class” in the MBA program was a legal clinic where I got to give actual business advice to entrepreneurs and startups. While I wound up doing that for ASU as a job…I got my feet wet in this class. It really forced me t examine everything I learned and give actionable advice based on sketchy or non-existent information. It’s easy to present all the information in class, we rarely ever have the luxury. Plus, they were real paying customers so we had to deliver. Yes, there was a risk that we wouldn’t perform but that mad it much closer to real life.
@Steve | ROI detector@John Falchetto@Ameena Falchetto I agree completely with bringing the real world into the classroom. In my creative writing program, it was sink or swim. You either wrote and grew as a writer, or you didn’t. You studied literature and theory and applied those things to your writing and the real world, or you didn’t. One of my favorite classes was a Jonathan Swift class. I took it immediately prior to the recession beginning in earnest (2008), and I can remember the class discussing the housing bubble and relating what happened in Swift’s time to our’s. We then mourned the fact that we didn’t have a Swift of our own generation.
@Ameena Falchetto Now that’s what I’m talking about Ameena–and that’s the entire reason metrics and grades and standardized this and thats drive me crazy…which is also why my kids don’t have to deal with them.
@Marcus_Sheridan But you still love analytics buddy?
@Ameena Falchetto
@John Falchetto@Marcus_Sheridan Isn’t grading yourself through analytics totally different? You are using the tools to evaluate yourself – self evaluation is scorned in institutions – you need the fat cat or the top dog to feel powerful and grade you.
Measuring your progress and own triumphs is a different ball game.
Waiting costs. So glad I read this article, shame I didn’t read it 2 years ago. I’m no longer a waiter but a doer!
@SharonHill Waiting does a lot more damage than going ahead and encountering challenges. Momentum carries a lot of magic.
Thanks for stopping by this morning, and kudos for climbing to the top of the amphitheater last Saturday
@John Falchetto I still can’t quite believe I did that…
I’m reminded of the Winklevoss twins, who claim The Zuck stole their idea for Facebook. And his response? If you had invented Facebook, you would have invented Facebook.
I’m also reminded of a blog post @mdbarber wrote last week about not waiting for the light to turn green before making a decision to do something.
Why not just go for it? Entrepreneurs are famous for this – not thinking before leaping. Take a lesson from them (us?).
@ginidietrich thanks for referencing my post. Appreciate it. The conversation here is so interesting. I think it’s often easier for us to write about what we KNOW we should than to actually do it. it’s easier to tell others what they should do than to donit ourselves. One of these days I will actually do what I know I should rather than worry long enough the momentum is gone.
@mdbarber Hi Mary, great to meet you. I love your point about having a trusted network of peers and how this makes life easier when we dive in.
You are right, it’s easier to tell others and look back while being an armchair general. Being in the middle of the battlefield is a lot harder.
Momentum is an funny force, we can build it up but if we don’t use it at the right time we loose it.
@ginidietrich Do you want me to call you during your rides to remember to eat and drink?
Thanks John. Thanks @ginidietrich for sending me here too.
I really like this post and think there is a series you could do around the topic of knowing when to jump in. For me there has to be some sort of magic balance and it’s not the same every time but it does involve a tremendous gut instinct.
The other aspect I’ve been thinking about as well is knowing when to let go of an idea. A friend always says “water on stone and eventually the stone will break.” I do believe that…but are there times it just won’t break? It’s an interesting conundrum.
@mdbarber I wrote a bit about why we need to quit sometimes and how quitting isn’t a bad word, even though we are brought to think that way. Yes I agree the stone will break, but we don’t have centuries like water does to break the pebbles on the beach into sand
@ginidietrich
@John Falchetto @ginidietrich And patience is not a virtue I regularly exhibit either. Trying but I prefer to methodically plow ahead.
The line that struck me was “the second one [year] didn’t look much better until I asked for help.” How true that statement is. I’m very appreciative of all the help I’ve been receiving lately.
@Erin F. Great ideas and pride make for a deadly mix. I guess for an entrepreneur it’s a difficult balance, not enough and we don’t believe we should launch, too much and we end up on our faces. Finding that balance is probably the best balancing act any entrepreneur can learn.
@John Falchetto I agree. That balancing act is hard, especially when I start to add my strengths and weaknesses to the mix. I know I’ve come a long way from the person I used to be, though. That person never would have asked for help.
@Erin F. I know it’s a constant battle for me. Nothing is ever won, it’s like any other skill, I need to train and make sure I practice everyday so it doesn’t go rusty.
It’s funny, this is very top of mind for me. I’m working on a fairly massive project that I was directed to “wait” on. Things were looking good, the work was just about finished and it was decided that it would be better to hold off until the timing was a little better. Regrettably I went along rather than pushing harder and we lost what is often the first casualty of waiting… momentum. Once we were finally ready to go, it took the gears a little longer than would have hopped to start spinning again.
Thankfully the project is just about finalized, but the wait not only caused us the time we wanted to hold off, but the wait time as the project got back up to speed.
@MSchechter The Cost of Waiting sounds like a great title for a post. Momentum has incredible power, but we often fail to harness it. I now look at every decision or idea and put an action next to it.
@John Falchetto I’ve actually been fiddling with a post on momentum and think you just might have given me a title (unless you were planning on using it yourself of course!). I’m the same way lately, it is the only way I manage to overcome my overwhelming ADHD. I’m finding Omnifocus is amazing for that and is very action oriented. More than the act of capture, I’m amazed at the difference just running with an idea can make. Sometimes I just start to capture an idea and end up with an entire post… once you open yourself up to moving with your ideas rather than against them, things tend to change for you….
@MSchechter HIT PUBLISH!
@John Falchetto I like you holding that over my head
Yes, it’s almost like saying ‘we will wait to have kids when we can afford it’; and then you seem to never be able to afford it, you always want to make a little more. Sometimes it’s best to just stick a fork in it and go for it. Having said that however, make sure you have at least done some planning to give you a better chance of success.
There is risk involved with everything and yes, patience is a virtue but sometimes you have to step off that cliff and ‘just do it’.
Thanks for sharing this story, you really did take a leap by uprooting and moving to So of France but at least you had a great ‘somebody’ who was ‘all in’ with you.
Thanks for sharing this John, interesting as always.
@bdorman264 HA! We will wait to have kids when we can afford them! That is an excellent analogy Bill. You are right having an awesome ameenafalchetto by my side made it easier.
Actually, I like to wait until the right time. Then again, I see “the right time” as the instant I see WHY & HOW click. Why does this need to happen? How will I facilitate it happening? I don’t really look to others for business plans or models. It’s almost like that “ready-fire-aim” tactic everyone in the office despises, although it seems more useful than not if you do it right.
Every time you take a shot, there are repercussions. Cause and effect. Action-reaction. Cognitive-associative. The only shot guaranteed to miss the mark is the one not taken. WHY is my ammo. HOW is my rifle. “This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.”
Aim only improves with practice, after all.
@Brian Driggs Full Metal Jacket? Now you are talking to my heart with quotes from Kubrick.
Yes every shot we take have repercussions, and the more we shoot we better we get at reaching our target.
Now if we could just kill the magic silver bullet mindset, it would all be good.
@John Falchetto There’s probably a blog post in there somewhere. The methodology of the Rifleman’s Creed, the endless practice disassembling/reassembling the weapon, eyes wide open, eyes wide shut. Like I said, why is the ammo, how is the rifle. Only when you know the idea inside and out, can take it part and put it back together (communicate it to others) under any circumstances, are you in a position to worry about your aim.
When HAL asks, “What are you doing, Dave,” it’s pretty important you give him an answer he can believe in. I’m just wondering, who is this “Kubrick” you mention?
We didn’t know each other two years ago, but as my little startup was only a couple months old at the time, I went into 2010 with the mindset “Something beautiful is going to happen.” And I’ve even used Alex DeLarge as an example of how language shapes perception. (link: I hadn’t noticed the Kubrick thread running through so much of my work/life. Interesting…
@Brian Driggs Absolutely I’m sure there is a post there. Did you read brankica_u ‘s blog? She is an expert markswoman and blogged about it.
Thanks for the link, will go and read it now.Kubrick is good.
@John Falchetto I’m familiar with her, but I can’t say I’ve read that post yet. Would be interesting, but I just spent a couple minutes on her blog looking for it and didn’t spot anything. If you’ve got a direct link, I’d appreciate it, sir. Merci.
@Brian Driggs This is the link
http://live-your-love.com/15-reasons-blogging-like-shooting/
Hey John,
The thing I’ve learned about time is that we have far to little of it. From the span of a day, to the span of our lives. The quicker we can get up and going..the quicker we can get to learning the lessons we need to be successful.
I’ve never been able to personally produce the positive effects of waiting for the right time. I have, however, been subject to great timing. But, even in those awesome situations, my action was required first.
@Jk Allen Hey JK, so true, we have far too little of it and yet we treat it like it’s a renewable commodity. I never really understood why we treat time with such contempt.
I just realized reading the post now that you wrote a blog about how useless going to college really is in the business world. Argh I hate it when I miss an appropriate shout out.
Great article John. I couldn’t agree with you more.
People need to stop waiting for the perfect idea, and instead just get started. The best way to find a great business idea is by doing. As you start a business, new opportunities will present themselves.
@SoloBizCoach Amen Fred but how often do you read that it’s all about the next big idea? Nobody was born great at business or anything else for that matter but somehow there is this myth that all you need is a great idea and voila!
I’ve been learning to listen to my inner voice more and more, and I think you’re right; if you know in your gut it’s time to do something, it’s time to do it.
The other thing that I’ve found – and I don’t know if this happens with other entrepreneurs as well – is that just as I’m getting ready to execute on the idea, or at least, start research, etc., to bring that idea to fruition, invariably there are a ton of other inquiries that make me wonder whether or not “my” idea is what I should go with, or whether I should follow one of the other opportunities. Then all my energy goes towards the “other” idea, and not my own.
I don’t know if this is the universe’s way of testing us, of seeing how determined we are to really do something, and I’m starting to wonder if it is.
But more than anything else, I’m learning that while waiting can be a good thing – especially if you’re thinking something over – more often than not, it can be an excuse, or a front for fear.
@Shonali I call this ‘the voice’, it’s that little voice which gets louder and louder when we are about to finish and launch the idea.
I think you are right, it is the universes’ way of testing us. Did you read the War of Art?
@John Falchetto I have it on my Kindle… I have to hurry up and read it!
@Shonali I just finished it and it deal exactly with this topic.
There are always excuses for not taking action. If you wait for the right time life will pass you by.
@TheJackB Yes life will pass us by, and we will be left with empty excuses for not having taken action.
I choose “make progress”. Great and timely post for me, John, as I make tweaks and changes in the direction and focus of my site. There will never be a right time – “now or never was the time.” Cheers! Kaarina
@KDillabough Thanks and happy to help
OK I have a really good non-hunter s thompson story here.
My business’s strategic vision is helping Businesses reach their target consumers using Mobile Marketing and Strategies that reduce wastage and reach them in places other media can not. The reason is it is true over 50% of the ad spend is wasted. And when there are a lot of ads in one place they are all white noise.
I spent a month on the name. That was so hard. Then I rushed forward found a generic ‘business style’ web template and was creating content. My friend who did my website was a slacker. And it took her months to get going. The whole time I was having regrets on everything. I felt I wasn’t separating myself. Just another generic marketer claiming to have talent or insight.
7 months this whole process dragged. I had business cards. Worked on my media kit for my college service. They like a brick it hit me. And arose the alien theme idea. I then scratched the website. Spent a month finding a new template rewriting everything. It sucked. I was mad. BUT I was so happy this didn’t happen after the headlong rush with the original concept. Cost me time and man hours but I didn’t pay for something I had to change later.
Other times speed is important. Google torched Diaspora’s efforts to come out with a private network. Now they have to hope G+ stumbles.
@HowieSPM No Gonzo today Howie?
You search for perfection and the great idea paid off, once you started working on it.
I always argued that the fool who walks goes further than the genius who stays sitting down.
@John Falchetto Did Confucius say that? I am collecting his sayings for thesaleslion
@HowieSPM Yes he did, thesaleslion knows most of his quotes a lot better than I do.
Well, now you’re really speaking my language John as my tagline is “Because there is no someday.” I can’t count the number of times I’ve said “there’s no right time” and still we’re drawn there out of fear and a powerful need for security and certainty.
My mom says I was impatient from birth (born 2 months early!) so waiting and patience are not part of my repertoire
@Sandi Amorim Sandi you are so right, there is no someday and if you didn’t use it I would take that tagline right away
The fear of the unknown always interests me because it creates large amounts of stress in people when they don’t adress it. Stress is fear.
@John Falchetto That tagline came with a price earlier this year after my father-in-law passed away suddenly an hour after I’d seen him at dinner. Even though I’d already been thinking and coaching along this line, after his death it was like the blinders fell away and I really got that this was now my work.
Fear? Oh yeah, big time. 8 months later I still find myself wondering if this new focus will work, will it generate income, will it resonate, will people get it? LB (lizard brain) is loud and persistent some days, wanting me to return to safer waters but I’m not going back and when I read things like your post today I know I’m on the right track!
@Sandi Amorim It’s interesting how death makes us realize that we need to move because we aren’t immortals.
I wrote a post a few weeks back about blaming myself to death and my up close and personal experience with death. It certainly brought me to take decisions very differently.
Love that LB.
@John Falchetto@Sandi Amorim I wanted to add to this. Doesn’t this come down to the person’s goals? We all have unique world views. The monk in the monastery atop a mountain in tibet might be so happy they are giddy 24/7 and never in any rush. A farmer knows their crops grow in a certain cycle. You can move summer before spring.
So I it is balancing all the opportunity costs with your goals. Never heard one person ever say Custer shouldn’t of waited. LOL Sometimes speed is of the essence. Sometimes patience is of the essence. It is the wise person who can decipher when each is most appropriate.
@HowieSPM@John Falchetto Absolutely Howie, but I’m not sure that’s the kind of waiting we’re talking about here (correct me if I’m wrong John!). It’s the kind of waiting – for someday, the right time, the perfect circumstances – that internal dialogue (the lizard brain) that’s so debilitating and draining if we listen and never take action. The kind of waiting that leads to a life of regrets!
@HowieSPM This is a great point. I believe there is a big difference between holding back on action, because of a serious strategic reason. Like learning how to use a parachute before jumping out of a plane or Custer in battle.
But making a conscious decision to wait is very different than waiting for the next big idea, or waiting to get this thing just right.
So I agree, we wait for the best circumstance we can envision and then we act. But waiting for the ‘perfect’ time is a non-starter.
@Sandi Amorim
John,
My mom is 74. She has been writing a book for ten years. I get it. But I don’t want to copy it. When I go forward with an idea I learn. I might laugh at all of the mistakes, but I grow faster. I never learn much until I apply what’s in my head to action. I’m all for jumping in before fear gets too strong a grip. I actually see that first sign of fear as a sign that there’s opportunity for growth. Maybe I’ve just tripped so many times that I know judgement and criticism doesn’t hurt that bad?
@BetsyKCross That first sign of fear is also my favorite indicator. It’s my gps
@John Falchetto@BetsyKCross The first sign of fear is absolutely my indicator that I’m on the right track! If I’m too complacent about something I now know it’s not for me! Love the GPS metaphor