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Need help with lack of direction (among a multitude of choices)

Anything related to matters of the mind

FastNAwesome

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May 23, 2011
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WHO AM I
A dude who's been on this forum for quite a while.
Learned a lot. Had some successful ventures, some less so.

WHAT I DO KNOW
I know how to find clients who need web development and programming,
and how to make them very happy and coming back.

But it turns into a job, except ultimately less paid for more work,
when you account for all the prospecting, managing etc.

I also know I'm nothing but a self-employed dude right now, even though
I have a company. My income and my daily to-do's are not that of an entrepreneur.

WHAT I DON'T KNOW - NEED YOUR HELP WITH THIS
Please bear with me here.

For the past month or so I had a feeling I never had before.

I try to think, hard, what to do. Which idea to pursue.
And my mind gives me - nothing. The time runs and before you know it, it's the next day, week, month, and I'm not one step closer to any idea or direction.

And it's not like I don't have something to pick from:
- This forum itself has so many business blueprints for people with various preferences and situations.
- I'm aware of a bunch of needs, either unfulfilled, or that someone already does profitably, but it can be done way better.
- I have the skills needed for many of these ideas, not needing any money or outsourcing to begin with.
- I have sufficient time in a day to set aside for this.

And yet, I've no idea which ONE thing to pick. And I have no idea why I'm so directionless. Maybe that's even more important?

How do I pick one?
 
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SteveO

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Meditate. Not on asking yourself for ideas, but instead, go into it with the idea that you would like direction.

Then pay attention to all that is around you. Ideas present themselves constantly. Your subconscious presents them to you. You just need to notice.
 

RazorCut

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You need to identify what your stumbling block is.

It could be one of several things or a mixture of two or more. Things like:
  • Procrastination
  • Shiny Object Syndrome
  • Analysis Paralysis (which leads into procrastination)
  • Fear of failure
I suggest you make a list of your top 3-5 ideas (we will just accept that they all meet the CENTS criteria). Then make a separate list of how you would like to live your life (imagine what your day would look like in a perfect environment). Where would you be living, who would you be living with. What would you be spending most of your day doing etc..

Then cross off any ideas that will take you away from that ideal. There is no point spending years building a business that moves you totally in the wrong direction of how you want to live your life, (been there, done that. Not recommended).

Now create a list of worst case scenarios for each idea left. What would happen if it failed, tanked, folded. What would the downside be and could you live with it? Time, money, effort, relationships. Consider everything. Now give each consideration a mark out of 10, from 1 easily manageable to 10 it would be the end of my world.

Now you know the worst that can happen you can make an informed choice of what project you will move forward on.

PICK that one and don't even look sideways let alone back. Keep pushing that one project forwards until you make a success out of it.

A lot of the time getting unstuck is about removing choices not creating them.
 

LuckyPup

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Aug 2, 2012
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Midwest USA
WHO AM I
A dude who's been on this forum for quite a while.
Learned a lot. Had some successful ventures, some less so.

WHAT I DO KNOW
I know how to find clients who need web development and programming,
and how to make them very happy and coming back.

But it turns into a job, except ultimately less paid for more work,
when you account for all the prospecting, managing etc.

I also know I'm nothing but a self-employed dude right now, even though
I have a company. My income and my daily to-do's are not that of an entrepreneur.

WHAT I DON'T KNOW - NEED YOUR HELP WITH THIS
Please bear with me here.

For the past month or so I had a feeling I never had before.

I try to think, hard, what to do. Which idea to pursue.
And my mind gives me - nothing. The time runs and before you know it, it's the next day, week, month, and I'm not one step closer to any idea or direction.

And it's not like I don't have something to pick from:
- This forum itself has so many business blueprints for people with various preferences and situations.
- I'm aware of a bunch of needs, either unfulfilled, or that someone already does profitably, but it can be done way better.
- I have the skills needed for many of these ideas, not needing any money or outsourcing to begin with.
- I have sufficient time in a day to set aside for this.

And yet, I've no idea which ONE thing to pick. And I have no idea why I'm so directionless. Maybe that's even more important?

How do I pick one?

Man, I feel your pain. I will try to be brief in offering the following advice:

1) Action precedes motivation. Don't wait for lightning to strike. Get moving. Pick something, even if it's half-baked. The path will reveal itself as you progress; only once you take a step or two will future steps become apparent. If you just sit there, you'll just keep staring at that first step. This is why it's so hard for a writer to stare at a blank page. A blank page provides no prompts for the writer. Inaction provides no prompts for the entrepreneur.

2) This might contradict point #1 in some ways, but sometimes hesitation is a sign that something's not right. If integrity (meaning wholeness) is important to you, then it will be equally important to choose a path that is congruent with your values. I know MJ eschews "following your passion" and I agree (to some extent), but if something doesn't interest you beyond simple monetary gain, then it can be hard to get motivated to do that thing (at least for me). Google the term, "ikigai." It's a Japanese term meaning "a reason for being," and it's the intersection between doing what you're good at, what you enjoy, what the world needs and what you can be paid for (passion, profession, mission and vocation).

Hope this helps.
 
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Last edited:

LuckyPup

Opportunity + Preparation = Success
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
159%
Aug 2, 2012
530
845
Midwest USA
You need to identify what your stumbling block is.

It could be one of several things or a mixture of two or more. Things like:
  • Procrastination
  • Shiny Object Syndrome
  • Analysis Paralysis (which leads into procrastination)
  • Fear of failure
I suggest you make a list of your top 3-5 ideas (we will just accept that they all meet the CENTS criteria). Then make a separate list of how you would like to live your life (imagine what your day would look like in a perfect environment). Where would you be living, who would you be living with. What would you be spending most of your day doing etc..

Then cross off any ideas that will take you away from that ideal. There is no point spending years building a business that moves you totally in the wrong direction of how you want to live your life, (been there, done that. Not recommended).

Now create a list of worst case scenarios for each idea left. What would happen if it failed, tanked, folded. What would the downside be and could you live with it? Time, money, effort, relationships. Consider everything. Now give each consideration a mark out of 10, from 1 easily manageable to 10 it would be the end of my world.

Now you know the worst that can happen you can make an informed choice of what project you will move forward on.

PICK that one and don't even look sideways let alone back. Keep pushing that one project forwards until you make a success out of it.

A lot of the time getting unstuck is about removing choices not creating them.
Good advice! @RazorCut addresses an important item I neglected to mention but hinted at, and that's the vision you want for your life. "Begin with the end in mind" as Stephen Covey put it.
 

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