I think we all have a few dream projects. Big, ambitious, and intimidating projects that pull us forward … and intimidate the hell out of us.
I call these Crossing the Desert projects. (Jessica Abel calls them the Dark Forest.)
You might do big, juicy projects all the time.
But you’re crossing the desert when it’s something that’s too hard to do all alone.
(By the way, I don’t believe that every meaningful project needs to be a painful stretch. But if you have one that is, know that there are ways to keep moving forward.)
How to know when you’re crossing the desert
The thing about crossing the desert is, you don’t know for sure how long you’re going to be on the road. It might take you a month, or it might take you a year. You might find some food and water, or you might not. You might end up someplace amazing, or you could possibly end up somewhere dry and dusty.
The not-knowing is how you know you’re crossing the desert, and not just doing something difficult.
So it’s smart to gather some resources.
- Get a map if you can, even if it isn’t exact. Knowing the general right direction will save you a lot of wandering.
- Sharpen your skills. If someone can teach you some water-finding skills, that’s going to make your trip through the desert a lot less dangerous.
- Allow the time and space it needs. Don’t try to cross the desert when you’re in panic mode — it doesn’t work.
- And go with other people. Surround yourself with useful, reliable people who can help you through the tough parts.
Motivation isn’t enough
What we call “motivation” is a burst of positive energy that makes us feel like we can do great things.
“Motivational speakers” write books or give seminars that charge us up for a few hours, but then leave us to settle right back where we were.
Passion and drive can be useful, but they aren’t the only emotions that drive great outcomes. (Take a look at: How important is passion? It depends on your culture.)
Motivation too often gets its energy from an individual, personal drive to get something done.
My culture fetishizes individualism. We grow up indoctrinated in a myth of self sufficiency that blinds us to how interconnected we are.
I’ll spare you the rant (we could go for hours), but I thought this article written by psychiatrist Jean Kim did a good job summing up how dangerous this idea has become, not just in the States, but globally.
How America fell into toxic individualism
And one of the many dangers of toxic individualism is our tendency to devalue our own need for help, and to blame ourselves when we we can’t do it all ourselves.
Go far by going together
Multitalented good guy Chris Lema wrote an interesting piece this week about the evolution of online learning.
To sum it up, there’s a building trend toward live virtual learning. Virtual, so we can stay safe and keep off airplanes, but live and focused on a cohort of real, warm human beings who are learning along with us.
It’s good to have material you can access any time you need it. I have my own professional libraries for strategies and techniques, and I’m glad to have them.
But it’s also really easy to keep that stuff on your hard drive and never get yourself to jump into it.
It just makes sense, because having other people around us is a huge part of where we find the energy for transformation.
It’s the better side of peer pressure. Spend time in a groups with people who are learning and growing, and you’re more likely to learn and grow.
So … my next workshop will be cohort-based
Not because Chris Lema was so persuasive (although it was interesting to see his take). But because I see the power of the group every single week in our Creative Fierce community.
Even when we’re struggling to show up for ourselves, we can show up for one another. And we get incredible things done.
“Live” is tricky in a world with 37 time zones. That’s one of many reasons I feel grateful to have two business partners in two very different spots on the globe — Torill in Norway and Claire in Australia. Between us, we foster connection and community for folks living almost anyplace on the planet.
My next workshop is going to tackle a project that looks like it should be sort of easy, and absolutely isn’t: Building out a client attraction website.
(To be clear, I teach the words-and-strategy part. There are lots of very wise people who offer the technical part.)
That’s a site that exists to help clients find you and decide to hire you.
Whether you’re launching a new site or improving the one you already have, we’ll work together to tackle the hard stuff, make imperfect work (then make it better), and smash imposter syndrome.
We’ll be working on real deliverables, in a small-group setting, with lots of support and gentle accountability.
If you want to be notified when we’re ready for enrollment, make sure you’re on my email list. (There’s a sign-up form below if you need one.) I’ll let you know when we open for enrollment — it should be late October, 2021.
Folks in the Creative Fierce community: You’ll get the workshop as part of your membership, so no need to do anything extra. 🙂 I’ll be letting you know how to participate as we get closer to the dates.
Until next week, stay Fierce!
Sonia
