Stop Aiming and Start Firing

If you’re anything like me you can get pretty frustrated with life and the inability to accomplish tasks and meet goals on a day to day basis.

I’ve always wanted to be a prodigious producer, a creator, a publisher. When I was a kid, I would have told you that I wanted to be a writer and a radio producer when I grew up. My heros were Paul Harvey, James Burke, Roger Ebert and William F. Buckley, Jr. It would seem with the advent of the web, that my ability to actually be a content producer increased exponentially, but I’m far from taking full advantage of what the internet offers to someone with such aspirations.

I started this blog a while back with the intention of being a producer. Recently, a friend of mine, Scott Weldon (an excellent blogger himself) said to me, “You set up such a nice blog and now you never publish anything there.

I know, Scott. I know.

A Victim of Analysis Paralysis

I think a big reason why I don’t produce as much as I’d like is partly because I spend too much time planning. I overanalyze everything… everything. I spend so much time overanalyzing that I never actually make it out of the planning stage and into the doing stage.

There are a few reasons why this might be:

• I can’t think of what to write/talk about.
• I haven’t fully thought out my position.
• I’m afraid of being judged for my position.
• I’m afraid of sounding stupid.
• I’m convinced no one will read it, so what’s the point?

I know those are just excuses. I’m just a man, and even though I’m a very opinionated man, I still care what people think about those opinions. I care what people think about me, I’ll admit it. People judge… they do… you do too, if you’re honest.

The truth is, I have plenty of time to accomplish what I need to, I just need to take less time aiming and actually pull the trigger.

That’s easier said than done, and a good plan is not so good without a precise plan of action.

Overcoming the Obstacles

So, here’s how I’ll remedy this:

• Accept that I can’t do everything and be OK with it.
• Keep my priorities in line: God first, wife second, children third, then everything else.
• Know why I want to publish and produce content (see priorities).
• Have a structure, purpose and intention to my planning.
• Pull the trigger.

Not being able to produce articles and podcasts is not the end of the world. I mean, right now, it’s just a hobby, so if a day gets busy, or my wife or children need me to do something, then they have to take priority, and I can’t begrudge them. They are a blessing from God, and deserve a husband and father that treats them that way. The babies deserve to have their poops changed without having to wait on me to finish a sentence, or recording a phrase.

I have something to say, and even if my opinion or prespective might not be particularly unique, it’s still mine, and that makes it different from any other perspective on the planet, and maybe, just maybe there’s someone out there waiting to hear someone like myself say something and dialogue with me about it… even if that someone is one of my children 20 years from now doing a Google search on a particular issue they’ve been struggling with.

I’ve recently been turned on to the website of former Thomas Nelson Publishing CEO Michael Hyatt. His blog is a tremendous resource for authors and wannabe authors. I can’t recommend it enough if you’re looking for information on productivity tools, first-time-author tips, publishing advice, leadership traits, social media techniques, workflow and planning tools and just all around motivation to pull the trigger. It’s just an excellent resource, and his new book Platform expands on this.

By God’s grace, here I go. If you’re reading this, know I’ve pulled the trigger.

Question: Why aren’t you producing? Or, if you’ve struggled with this in the past, what did you do to stop aiming so much and start firing?