…I’m sure you’re well aware of Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ motto.
To me, that’s a bit vague, like what should I be doing?
A better one in my eyes is “Just Do It For You!”
You see, when we do things for ourselves, it’s things we like to do.
When we do things for ourselves, it takes all the pressure off what other people think.
When we do things for ourselves, we show up regularly to do them.
The problem is, most of us don’t do what we do for us.
We show up for the money, we show up because we were told to show up, and we show up because we’re trying to please the readers, followers, and fans.
In those situations, our happiness is put to the end of the queue. – And so every day becomes a clock-watching day, counting down the time until we’re free to go back to what we want to do.
But…when you show up for you…things change.
No one needs to manage you. The work is easier because you’re only pleasing yourself. And every day ends well, regardless of the results, because you made the most important person happy which is you.
Most of us don’t make many investments in the happy bank. – Like a monthly pay cheque everyone gets paid first and we’re left with a tiny sliver of happiness.
Now, I know this is the real world and a Disney movie, but the best work you’ll ever do is work you’re happy to do. And chasing the dollar means you’re always chasing the dollar.
But for those folks that love what they do, a funny thing happens, the money chases them.
Read any autobiographies on musicians, athletes, and business folk and you’ll usually find that the case.
They got paid well because they loved what they did first and the money came second.
So, do you like what you do?
If you don’t, get out of it. – You’ll never make any progress in it.
Yes, they may be people making money in that thing, but it’s the few at the top that like what they do. And playing copycat doesn’t serve you.
My advice, do it for you. – Sometimes we don’t know where that will lead to.
The great Gary Vee started off making videos talking about his love of wine and look where that took him.
The best books, products, and podcast episodes I made were the ones I had the most fun doing. Other times when I forced myself, those efforts sank without a trace because they lacked any spark.
‘Just Do It’ – BTW the origin story of that slogan is that those were the last words from someone facing execution.
Like him, most of us don’t want to be where we are. – Doing things for others and leaving happiness at the door.
Find something that lights you up and focus your time and effort there. – That’s a better place to be.
And speaking of happy places, you might want to check out this one too.
