I remember it like it was yesterday. I just won the biggest marble from a boy three years younger than me, and my “best buddy” back then was talking to me on how much he liked his new moped. (He wasn’t legally old enough to drive it on the street, yet he did).
He got it from his father who, I believe, up till now still has a bicycle shop.
We used to talk about things we’d like to do. He was going to have his own motor-shop one day, while all I could think about at that time was my new marble. (It was huge!) I wanted to win more marbles, get rich and …
Now let’s fast forward to present tense. My best friend isn’t my friend anymore since we went our separate ways towards different schools and places. Recently, I saw a different classmate from back then and he told me my friend is now working eight to five at the assembly line of a car factory, doing the most repetitive job possible, for no specific reason whatsoever.
Not really what he had hoped for at first.
What differs those who are naturally set to succeed, from others who are not?
Why does one “just do it” and complete a job, while the other never even gets to it, or quits at the first speed bump?
It boggles my mind why some entrepreneurs make it big while others settle for mediocre or close to nothing results!
What differentiates each of them?
Lately, I’ve met a lot of business men and students set to create a startup, and I started noticing a few differences…
It’s not education, skills or talent; It’s passion, drive and motivation. Go-getters are passionate about what they do. They wake up in the morning fired up with enthusiasm coupled with unshakeable belief that they will make life work the way they want.
People who get stuff done strive for “good enough” and go on to the next. Quit being a perfectionist…
I believe that perfectionism is a bad “quality” to have and shouldn’t be in the dictionary of any entrepreneur. If you are a perfectionist, you will try to turn every detail into a Sistine chapel and burn out. Good enough is key in getting things done. If you try to deliver “perfection”, you’ll never reach your goal.
People who do things that are good enough end up accomplishing much more than those who chase after the illusion of perfection.
Coincidentally, most successful entrepreneurs I’ve met so far are the ones who didn’t pass school with flying colours but are the ones who barely or didn’t get through. The ones who had just enough grades to go on to the next year. Why would you want to put in all this effort to obtain an excess of grades that are useless to you? Just get enough and spend the rest of your time on stuff you enjoy.
The Go-Getter is the person who acts now, not tomorrow, and thinks in short-terms.
They are proactive, not reactive. They shape their own destiny and never allow themselves to fall prey to the so-called external circumstances.
Always be asking yourself: “What is the smallest next step”, “What do I need to do now, to get things going”
People who can think of the next actionable task and are able to be specific about it, are the ones who will get to it and deal with it.
They act now and execute specific steps.
The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago.
The second best time is now.
Example: Don’t think “I need to market my product to bloggers” but think in multiple specific steps:
- I need to get 10 names of bloggers relevant to my subject
- I’m going to get the names at website x
- What are the top 2 specific key features of my startup?
- Write 3 custom mails about those features
- Send it to them TODAY
Achievers hate to let themselves down
I’m not talking about failing. Fail big & fast. Fail forward. Don’t sweat it.
I’m talking about the mental state of those people who’d rather die trying, than give up half way. The main motivation of achievers comes from within and is not nourished from the outside. For most people, it’s easy to give up promises you make to yourself (look at all the failed new year’s resolutions) but for achievers, that’s the hardest thing to do. Walking around with the feeling that they didn’t give it all they’ve got. The feeling of “what if I went all the way”, “what if…”
The Go-Getter loves what he does (and delegates the rest)
Key to getting off your feet and kicking some ass is simply doing what you’re good at and what you love. Dump/outsource/delegate the rest. Be able to set your ego aside and let someone better than you take over the parts you suck at.
For example, if you want to build an online business and you discovered that marketing is your true passion but writing is not your cup of tea, buy content and spend all your time on marketing. Similarly, if you dread web design, then yours truly will be happy to help out :).
It is not education, skills nor talent; It is passion, drive and motivation.
Go-getters are passionate about what they do. They wake up in the morning fired up with enthusiasm coupled with an unshakable belief that they will make life work the way they want.
Are you a go-getter or a star-gazer? Are you going all the way or already preparing a plan B? Are you constantly talking about your idea, your exit strategy or why something just won’t work, or are you the one kicking it and working it out?
Either way, whatever is happening to you, your business, your life or your idea, whether good or bad, most likely…
It’s all your fault.
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Anirvana
Fantastic!
I couldn’t agree more to someone :)
Lisa
No wonder we have become a nation of mediocrity! This sort of thinking may get us to the end of the project, but what about the quality of the result?
Davy Kestens
Hi Lisa!
The go-getter theory implies that there are multiple types of people.
Apart from go-getters, there are also artists and experts, but also slackers.
What I noticed is that in a business, the go-getter is the person who you’d like to go first into a project and push the project to completion.
Assuming that the project will be mediocre is cutting corners a bit. A go-getter realizes that he “sucks” at certain parts, and makes sure that those singular tasks are managed by artists or experts.
It’s common knowledge in management that you should never create a team which only consists of the same type of people. But you need a go-getter to make sure that the team is constantly pushed forward and the final result will be great.
Gonzalo Chagas
Dreams stays a dream when the dreamer thinks that his or her dream is unreachable and don’t go get it!
Great post
Thank you
Gonzalo
Sid
Very good article. You found a topic very relevant to the present. With the advent of internet and information superhighway, lack of knowledge is not the issue people dealing with. It’s lack of execution. The execution is the thing next generation should concentrate. Real nice topic. I loved go-getter analysis. New and well ahead of time. Kudos.
Chintua
While I whole-hertedly love this article about people who get things done, there is also place for those who not only get things done, but do things with a distinction.
I am not a perfectionist, but standing out can also be admirable.
Eric Phillips
Nice, short and sweet article.
As I am one of “those” people, I can verify the above helps a ton.
Do what you love, delegate the rest. Don’t stop 3 feet from gold!
E
Eddiev
Even though he did stop 3feet from gold, he nener gave up on success… Goes to show that ppl who want it bad enough will find it! You quit you lose.
Liuguksed
Its all so true. Part what i really liked :
Always be asking yourself: “What is the smallest next step”, “What do I need to do now, to get things going”
Thanks for sharing.
Liz
I have to say… I am definitely a perfectionist, but this article really got me thinking. Perhaps it is because it is phrased more differently than other “shut up and do it” articles, or because I am more ready to let go of my insecurities now more than ever, but this has really hit a chord with me. I appreciate it.
Russ Tafari
Great article! Your right about settling for good enough I had never thought about it until I read this article! I was one of those perfectionist people right up until I read this! Thank you for writing it! I look forward to more articles from you!
ifelicious
great article! i could identify with most of the attributes which made me feel comfortable along my path. my achilles heel is perfectionism, and i was the kid who got great grades in school and got an advanced degree. i disagree with your downplaying of education. what doing well academically and taking education seriously has done for me is having a bigger toolkit to draw from when strategizing, problem solving, even my approach to writing. i don’t need to read a book or a bunch of articles to get certain skills because i learned them in school. And what if your business venture is one where education or certain certifications are necessary to play in that space? Don’t mean to harp on that point, but i want to present all of the reasons why i feel differently than you do. Otherwise, i think you present very valid points here.
Mat Cegiela
So true in my case, my perfectionism is paralyzing on a bad day. At the same time the feeling of getting stuff done is priceless. A well written and inspiring article. You have a talent. Thanks Davy.
Alex
Thank you. Excellent post. I’ve been trying to be perfect and all I got was frustration, now things are different…
Jeffrey
Enjoyed the article. Was glad that in your reply to Lisa you qualified some other personality types. As an Artist, the Go Getter scares the crap out of me. I fear the “good enough” mentality, yet do see it’s value in pushing me past a stall in creativity, and producing the wares I need to sell to live.
Maybe it’s because I often wake wondering where my internal Go Getter (my passion) has gone. Maybe I’m short sighted and fatigued and my Go Getter side is taking a needed break, after the most productive season that I’ve seen yet in my business. (Sales up 1/3 after introduction of a new colour line)
I have experienced the value of delegating and hiring go getters and experts,I unfortunately hired a few slackers too. (though they have value short term in the right positions) I now have the joy of being married and being able to both work full time in different areas of the business. This has freed me up tremendously to create and explore and improve our product.
I believe Go Getters work best with constraints or set goals, having a definition of what “Good enough” is. As an entrepreneur Artist that is often the hardest part to settle on. Getting famous always lingers as a shadowy deception in the back of my mind, but the reality of my life will likely lie somewhere in finding a balance between becoming WalMart or being a Who Was He?
Charleen Larson
I was enjoying your article (being a Go-Getter, naturally, and taking from it what was useful to me) when I reached the last line.
It’s all your fault.
What a downer. Yes, the sum of what is going on in my life is as a result of my own choices. But “fault”? Seems an unnecessarily negative word.
Greg Jeffries
Excellent article! I’m a super entrepreneurial-minded person and also a perfectionist. Not until recently have I experimented with outsourcing the stuff I suck at and the results have been amazing. You just simply can not be the best at everything.
Also, I agree with you about successful entrepreneurs – Most of the big names of popular companies never went to college, some never even graduated from high school. And most all never had any sort of formal business training. They just believed in their product or service and were passionate about it. If you do that success will almost surely follow. And if it doesn’t – who cares! You’re doing what you love.
Derrick Seagraves
Absolutely perfect, and I liked your reply to Lisa’s comment too. This is where I’m living now, after 25 years of trying to do it all; I’m just a hustler/go-getter now and doing great.
Gustavo Freitas
Really nice article and great inspiration to keep going!
Dil
I definitely have noticed this in myself. Rather than having this mentality, I ‘convince’ myself I do, but I really don’t. I know this given the lack of any results.
The problem, for me, lies in learning to learn. How much is enough to make you feel confident in taking the action step? Many people will dive into books, seminars, etc. to gain this incredible quality and quantity of knowledge yet fail to put into action.
I think this is valuable mentality for anybody to learn. Did I say learn? I mean implement ;)
Great article man!
Daniel Mecklenburg
Thank you very much for this excellent post. It is so true…
Max
Thanks for all the great Inspiration, I found you from an article you posted on High Existence and I’ve read like 5 of your articles back to back. Really good stuff! I’m in college studying engineering and its really lame…doesn’t feel right for me. You’re inspiring me to want to kick this rat-race bs myself and start my own internet company (though I have no idea what it would be). Anyway I’ll definitely be reading more of your blog. Keep it up!
OnRamp Access
This is great! But it doesn’t substitute for your own creativity, if you have a dream use this as your foundation, but keep pushing after these steps are complete.
AJ Borowsky
Yes, Yes Yes! This is great. I’d add to your post that curiosity is a key component as well. Those who are curious, searching for new and exciting things are often much more successful.
Lee
“Either way, whatever is happening to you, your business, your life or your idea, whether good or bad, most likely…
It’s all your fault.”
That sounds like helpful advicefor all those who are struggling with their lives for whatever reason. (note ironic tone please). Have a look at Alain de Botton on TED.com for a more reasoned approach
Richard
Good article…I see that passion in my friends that are Succesful…one other trait I noticed is that they tend to o just one thing and stay passionate about that instead of trying many things at once.
Conrad
I couldnt agree less, striving for perfection is the best possible quality, i understand your point in terms of say launching a product until its perfect, because then it will never be launched. But only aiming for mediocrity is the reason we have so much garbage in terms of consumables, tv ads and general junk that you can see if only a couple of hours more were spent and it would have been great. For anybody that agrees this, read the new steve jobs biography were you will see that right before launching a product he wasnt happy and pulled it. With a approach like this the world will be a better place, rather than articles like this where you create a reason why you shouldnt work as hard as you can.
Davy Kestens
Hi Conrad!
Thank you for your reply. I definitely appreciate your critical view on my article, and although I agree on some levels, our mindset doesn’t align on the following points:
- On the “Steve Jobs” note: When launching a product, he pulled it for not being “good enough”, which is acceptable when you have the resources to do so. If you have other items up your sleeve and don’t have to worry about going out of business within a few months, then please strive for perfection. Not delivering at all is a risk you can take. However, when Apple launched their first product, it was far from perfect, but the start of something beautiful.
- On the “creating a reason why you shouldn’t work as hard as you can” note: Nowhere in my article, I claim that you shouldn’t work as hard as you can. I feel that hard work is a must and will get you very far. However, striving for launch-ready products instead of perfect products, isn’t a matter of not working hard enough. It’s a matter of efficiency. I feel it’s better to work 15-hours a day and create 3 good products, than working 15-hours a day in an effort to create a “perfect” (utopia) product and quitting half-way because you ran out of resources.
David
Davy,
This is a wonderful article. You have a lot of great views and a talented way of articulation. I just want to play devils advocate in some sense for a moment. You seem to be a fairly young individual and I’d assume your late friend is as well. To say he is doing something mundane and less than gratifying does not mean he is not a go-getter. Sometimes in life we have to do things we don’t necessarily want to do. Like work in a car factory.
I myself have had a long road of stupid jobs but they have led me down a road of learning and growing. Everyone can have the mentality that Davy speaks of. Some just take different paths to get there. It’s never to late to change.