Brock Butler

Never stop trying to create new ways, do things that matter, and change people for the better

Life is too short not to do something that matters!

Do Less. Do Things Exceptionally Well. Focus.

Doing fewer things--and doing them better--is profoundly important.  There are so many things to do, but usually only a handful really matter. Those are the things that require intense focus and exceptional execution.

Said another way ... 

Cut Things You Don't Care About, Focus, and Be Awesome

There is no better way to put this in context than to consider our own mortality.  Steve Job's 2005 Stanford Commencement Address, and Merlin Mann's recent blog post titled No One Needs Permission To Be Awesome, do an excellent job explaining this.

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

The most essential step in doing the things that matter most is Focus. Focus on the things you care most about. Focus on the things that, once started, are hard to tear yourself away from because you are so passionate about them.  Doing this requires cutting the other distractions, and many of them are not easy to drop.  Some tough decisions need to be made.  

How many things do I need to shed, cancel, defer, drop, shank, or shit-can with extreme prejudice in order to singlemindedly focus on this one thing that I love?

Another Merlin Mann post puts it very well: First, Care. Once you know what you really care about, you can figure out how to focus on them. It makes it easier to settle hard decisions and drop things that would otherwise seem undroppable.  

There are some great resources out there that provide inspiration.   focus : a simplicity manifesto in the age of distraction by Leo Babauta is a great book, and most of it is available freely via the web.  

Finally, I'll end with some words from the ever-quotable Seth Godin:

There’s not much more important than focus and tenacity. I think that making the choice to do art, the choice to make a difference… do that and add focus and tenacity and you win.

Must watch this RSA Animate video summarizing Dan Pink's motivation book (Drive)

via youtube.com

There are three things I love about this:

(1) Daniel Pink's "Drive" is a fantastic book about motivation, and this video provides a great overview.

(2) The visuals greatly enhance the message. I'm impressed at how well the drawing is synchronized with the audio.

(3) There are a whole series of similarly amazing "Vision Videos" at RSA's website: http://www.thersa.org/events/vision

Einstein Quote

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Came across this ol' chestnut today. Here's the quote below in better (but not complete) context.

"One had to cram all this stuff into one's mind, whether one liked it or not. This coercion had such a deterring effect that, after I had passed the final examination, I found the consideration of any scientific problems distasteful to me for an entire year...It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiousity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this is goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted through means of coercion and a sense of duty. To the contrary, I believe it would be possible to rob even a healthy beast of prey of its voraciousness, if it were possible, with the aid of a whip, to force the beast to devour continuously, even when not hungry — especially if the food, handed out under such coercion, were to be selected accordingly." – Albert Einstein

via garr.posterous.com

I just had to repost this. A bunch of things I have read recently have been resonating with my experience that our education system needs to change. It just has to, and I think it will.

More on this later.

Be Extraordinary (If you haven't read Linchpin, you need to ... now!) @thisissethsblog

Linchpin, by Seth Godin is one of the most inspiring books I have ever read.  It came along at a good time because I was already starting to see the light (although I suppose I could have benefited from it sooner).  Linchpin has helped me overcome fear and provide confidence to act they way I always thought I should.
 
 
This page also contains many good links: http://www.squidoo.com/linchpin
 
I created this little Prezi presentation to remind myself of some of the key concepts. It was also a good opportunity to try out the Prezi.com tool.  I'm not sold yet, but it is a very unique and intuitive approach to creating presentations.  Please feel free to use and modify the presentation.
 

We Must Move Past Fear to Shine Brightly

I stumbled upon three snippets of information on the internet this weekend that struck a wonderful chord for me.  They were all second or third order links from tweets on Twitter.  (Note: This is why I love Twitter, http://www.fogomedia.com/blog/makeinfouseful/using-twitter-as-information-filter/)

These were very different posts, but all mentioned Fear. I immediately had three realizations:
  • Fear is holding me back from what I what to achieve, and from being who I want to be (uh oh, not good)
  • The same fears seem to come back and crush me when it matters most (fear of success, not failure)
  • It is possible to overcome my Fear (whew, I needed some good news)

The synthesis of these three realizations is profound for me.  I need to take action to face my fears before they stop me from making the positive impact on the world I know I can make. Poking around the internet some more informed me that I am not alone.  

Here is what led me to my realization ...

(1) Fred Wilson's "Fear is a No-No": http://www.avc.com/a_vc/

I intend to lead a startup from nothing (where we are today) to success.  Fear and anxiety are increasingly a problem for me.  That has to stop.  

As Fred says, "A person who is quietly confident makes the best leader."  

That is what I need to be.
(2) Marianne Williamson's "Our Greatest Fear":http://explorersfoundation.org/glyphery/122.html
 
"it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us"

What a realization! I am fine with prospect of failure.  I can handle uncertainty and complexity.  However, I am afraid to be "the man."  Who am I to be better than someone else?  So I take myself down to ensure I don't shine brighter than others.  This fear literally causes physical anxiety, and it seems to flare up when I am closest to achieving the most.  

(3) A quote from Leo Babauta's Focus Manifesto (http://focusmanifesto.com/)

"When we shine a light on our fears, they lose power. When we test them to see their validity, they will usually fail, and we can overcome them." 

Another quote from Fred Wilson: "So if you are starting a company or building one, face your fears and move past them. It's critically important to your company."  

It is, and I will.  Now that I understand the Fear of Success is behind some of my confidence issues, I feel like I can do something about it.  Just writing this helps.  I just need to keep reminding myself that it is OK to achieve something really big.  It is OK to be a star.  
 
As Marianne Williamson says, "playing small does not serve the world".  

Credit: Thanks to @VenessaMiemis for links to #2 & #3
Adapted from Cory Watilo's Proper theme