The only way to start working on your dreams
Bird by bird, folks. Bird by bird.
Hi friends,
I’ve had the privilege to start several companies over the course of my life (and I mean ‘privilege’ in every sense of the word). I’ve started three for-profits and three nonprofits (and a few other businesses that didn’t make it, but we’ll save that for another newsletter). So, you could say that I’m someone that likes to start 💩.
I’m also someone that likes to finish what I start. Growing up, if I didn’t finish every aspect of what it meant to mow the yard, I was going to hear about it. You start a thing, you finish the thing, that’s how I grew up.
But how to get started is the focus of this post.
I’ve found that no matter how complex the idea, you have to start with the basics. You have to, well, begin the begin.
For example, 48in48 started by me wondering if a volunteer team could build a nonprofit website. Not, could 48 teams do that over a 48-hour period. Or even, could one team do that over a 48-hour period. Just simply, could it be done in any amount of time. Six years later, over 1,000 nonprofit websites have been built at 20+ 48in48 events.
Similarly, The A Pledge, which launched last December and now has over 1/3 of Atlanta’s marketing and advertising agencies signed up, including hundreds of volunteers (oh, and the backing of Coca-Cola!), started as a simple idea: could my agency, Dragon Army, work to match the diversity of our team to that of our city. One agency, one commitment.
Then I had conversations with other agency leaders, saw that there was a new sense of urgency to fight systemic racism, and eight months (of tough conversations and persistent work) later 65 more agencies are on board.
Bird by Bird. Or, Begin the Begin!
Fact: I’m reading too many books on the art of writing.
Don’t get me wrong, I love reading books on writing. Understanding a successful author’s process, their early struggles, their burning desire to put something on paper that will resonate with someone…those things, I can relate to.
But I have this habit of over-researching something before really doing it. When I want to get in shape, I watch an inordinate amount of inspirational workout videos on YouTube. When I want to learn to become more useful in the kitchen and evolve past just cleaning the dishes and making the one dish I can make that my wife cannot (the French omelette, which sadly, she does not like - “It’s too moist!”, “It’s SUPPOSED to be moist!”), I read The NY Times Cooking section and, yes, watch a lot of YouTube cooking videos.
And so it is right now, while I’m starting to write my fourth book, that I find myself reading several books on the art of writing. Sue me.
My go-to book, the one I re-read before I start writing a new book, is Stephen King’s On Writing. It’s a hybrid autobiography/writing guide, and I simply love the way King writes. I’ve learned so much from reading this book, especially given that my books contain a great deal of dialogue (my books are fictional leadership narratives, written in the first person).
For example, King has helped me realize that “he said” is the best way to end a sentence of dialogue.
“Susan, there is absolutely no way I’m going to put that frog in my pocket and run the marathon, no matter how much good luck you think it will bring me,” he said.
When I first started writing, I might have ended that sentence with, “he shouted emphatically.” King taught me to make sure the words the character is saying convey everything needed for the reader to understand the context and way in which it was said, and relying on fluffy adverbs is the crutch of the poor writer.
“I hear you loud and clear, Mr. King,” I exclaimed appreciatively. (See how bad that is?)
The point is, I read a lot of books on writing, and I try to absorb as much as I can in order to improve. Which is how I found myself reading Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird, on a recent family vacation.
In the book, Anne writes about a moment when her brother was struggling with a school project that was due the next day, of which he had done exactly nothing since he was assigned the project several weeks prior. Sitting at the kitchen table, head in his hands, a massive book on ornithology (the study of birds, I looked it up) spread out in front of him, their father approached and asked what he was upset about.
After explaining the situation, his dad took a seat next to him and said, “Ok, I’m going to help you, and here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to take our time and just go bird by bird.”
And there they sat for hours. Bird by bird. Word by word. Sentence by sentence. And they got it done.
The point
We all have things that we want to accomplish that we just…can’t…seem…to…get…done. Sometimes, we’re paralyzed by the enormity of our dream. Sometimes we’re struck with imposter syndrome, wondering how we ever had the nerve to think that someone like us could actually do that.
Sometimes we can’t even imagine where to begin, crumbling under the weight of it all.
The answer, as you probably know by now, is simple. You just…start. You begin the begin. You put one foot in front of the other, one word down on the page, one frog in your pocket.
And bird by bird you build consistency attacking your dream; eventually pursuing it becomes a habit. And then by the grace of God you’re rolling, the momentum of starting to believe you can do it moving you forward, until, what you once believed an impossibility starts to become real: you glimpse the finish line. As you break the tape, victorious, you remember that it all started with a single step. The hardest step to take, in fact.
What is it that you want to accomplish but can’t because it seems too big, too audacious, too much for you to take on? What would it take to get started, bird by bird?
Can you see it? Yes?
Then what are you waiting for?
I hope you’re happy,
Jeff
PS - Wait, that’s what I’m wearing
Recent podcasts
I produce a weekly podcast called, Begin the Begin. I hope you'll consider subscribing.
Exploring the Diversity Gap with Bethaney Wilkinson: Spotify + Apple + Other
Exploring true consciousness, intentionality, and the pandemic's “She-cession” with Sharon Harris: Spotify + Apple + Other
Creating a more inclusive world (with Jenn Graham of Civic Dinners): Spotify + Apple + Other
The irrepressible optimism of Atlanta (with Amir Farokhi, Atlanta City Council Member): Spotify + Apple + Other
Does your life needs a "hard reset"? (a conversation with Bobby Norwood): Spotify + Apple + Other
"What's your Gusto?" with founder and CEO of Gusto!, Nate Hybl: Spotify + Apple + Other