If you want to be in good shape at the age of 70, you need to be in GREAT shape at the ages of 30 and 40
If you're in semi-decent shape in your 30s and 40s, you're going to be in bad shape in your 70s
There's a natural decline in fitness due to aging, but you will be in a better position if you start off from a higher level
That's why it's important to be above average
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Productivity is for machines, not for people. There’s nothing meaningful about packing some number of work units into some amount of time, or squeezing more into less. Think about how effective you’re being, not how productive you’re being.
Don't confuse the work behind the work with the actual work.
- OKRs
- Specs
- Meetings
- Strategy docs
- Product review decks
These are all intermediate steps that you might take to achieve your end goal.
But remember this:
Your job is not to craft the perfect OKR, internal doc, or product review deck.
Your job is to deliver value to customers and grow your business.
A while back I got an email from a fellow who asked:
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"I’ve been trying to think about my next B2B play but everytime I think of an idea I stop myself due to how saturated the markets are. How do you still win in a packed category? I feel like it’s a lot harder to win now than it was 10 years ago.
-J.B."
—
Starting something new can definitely be intimidating. Especially when there are already lots of other people/companies with a huge head start. I feel you.
But I’m going to ignore all that and focus on what I think is the bigger concern with the mindset represented in the email: This person asks “How do you still win in a packed category?”
Winning what? Winning who? Winning it all? Taking everything? That’s an insurmountable mountain of intimidation right there. Don’t do that to yourself.
How about just making something that can sustain itself? Why do you need to win it all? Why would you ever want to make it that hard on yourself?
Build something good, keep your costs low, keep your growth in check, hold back your expectations, find some customers, charge them money for your good/services, make more than you spend, and you’ll buy yourself another day, or week, or month, or year in business. Just aim to stay open, don’t aim to win anything from anyone. Staying afloat is a win for yourself.
Just start there. The odds are still against you, but they’re a whole lot better than trying to win it all.