This one started life in April 2018 as a short list. I've kept it close to how I wrote it.
If you want to do something that hasn't been done before, you have to be relentless. You have to commit. Cut off every other option. Get rid of your excuses. Be focused, determined and unapologetic about it.
Be yourself
Be true to yourself, and to the thing you're working on, whether that's your art, your mission or your goal. Never take any of it for granted.
Don't change who you are to fit in. Accept yourself. Be happy to stand out. You don't have to pretend to be something you're not, and you never need to apologise for who you are.
Some people will love you. Some people won't. You can't change that, so don't try. Serve the people you can, as well as you possibly can.
Do more, then do it again
Deliver quality. Do more than people expect. Stay humble. Be the underdog.
Then do it again. Repetition builds skill. Skill builds reputation.
Every moment is a new chance, and any chance could be your last. Don't waste it. Work hard. Keep going. Stop messing about. Focus. Start.
And remember, done beats perfect.
It became the title of my book
Three years after I wrote that last line, Done Beats Perfect became the title of my book.
I'd add one line to the list now. Keep going is only good advice if what you're doing is working. A fly at a window is relentless too, which is the point of Stop flying into the window, written two weeks after this one. And when a goal is costing you more than it gives back, sometimes giving up is the right call.
First published April 2018.
