The Difficult “I Suck” Stage

When transforming your life in any way, be it financial, artistic, physical, etc….   the most difficult phase is the beginning.

In the beginning you have absolutely no momentum.

And perhaps more significantly, you suck.   When I started my business, I sucked.  I had no freakin idea what I was doing.  The website was ugly, the marketing was crude, the lessons were raw.

When I became a vegetarian, I sucked.  I’d manage for a week or two, then I’d sneak a hamburger.. and then another.. and soon I was chowing down on meat again.

When I lived in my car the first time, I sucked.  I was extrememly uncomfortable, and paranoid as well.

And now, as I learn singing and bass as an absolute beginner, I suck.

One of the key “secrets” to the transformations I’ve been able to make is that I have learned to shrug off my pride and revel in the chaos of the “suck stage”.

The problem most people have, in my opinion, is that they are afraid to suck.  Most people are horribly afraid of appearing stupid, foolish, incompetent, or uncool.  In fact, the more they assure you that they don’t care, the more you can be sure that they are, in fact, terrified of failure.

Worst of all are the posing cynics who attempt to hide their fear behind an air of affected disinterest.  Whenever I see such a person, my first thought is always “loser”.

When it comes down to it, you can be cool & safe or you can live your principles, dreams, and visions to the fullest extent possible.  Rarely is it possible to do both.

Therefore, a vital skill for reaching financial independence, freedom, and general all around happiness & achievement is the skill of being patient and irrationally optimistic when you suck at something. Realist never accomplish anything– to really get what you want, you’ve got to believe in yourself even when its obviously irrational to do so.

You absolutely must find a way to thrive during the “suck stage” and believe in yourself no matter what.

Cynics will make snide comments.  “Realists” will barrage you with doubts and “logic”.  Some may criticize you or laugh at you.

Ignore them all.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in the power of kaizen– in constant and never-ending tiny improvements.

Don’t focus on how far you are from your vision, focus on the fact that you are finally engaged in it– you are doing it.

Trust me– after a few months of consistent sucking action, you’ll turn a few corners.  You’ll notice some small improvements.  You’ll feel a sense of momentum.

And then, suddenly, you will feel it.  Deep down.

You feel it and you’ll know–  what once seemed insurmountable is possible.  You may still be far from your dream… but everything changes on that day when you realize that you will nevertheless do it.

And so I urge you-  go ahead and suck at something.  Look & sound like an idiot and keep on doing it.

Because that is the path of greatness.