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Happy Friday, folks!

Building off my last blog post, I wanted to continue to talk about this idea of “Start small, start now.”
So, on this episode I talk about starting, and taking your idea from “just an idea” to “this could be something great.”

Enjoy 🙂
Click Here To Listen.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that here and get these podcast as soon as they’re released! (This one was released yesterday)

Just click the iTunes Button below to find it, then hit subscribe!

Have an excellent weekend!

Chris

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I mentioned a podcast that I really enjoyed earlier this year called Build and Launch by Justin Jackson. Check it out! It’s a lot of fun. The premise of the show is that he’ll create and launch a new product every week. He would announce a product idea on Thursday, and launch it before the following Thursday. One thing that he he said over and over again that has stuck with me:



“Start small, start now.”


I repeat that when I start to feel the fear of over-thinking, over-planning, and out-of-my-leaguing it. When I start to feel like this project is just too big. Who am I do do this thing? Who am I to be that successful? How can I even think about going that far?

“Start small, start now.”

iceland, start now, start small, crude version one

Let go of all that fear that you’re building up around your new idea. Fear builds walls that look like a protective barrier against potential threats. But Fear-Walls are unstable and they will collapse and destroy your idea. Luckily, action will temporarily halt fear production. So make stuff.

“Start small, start now.”

Happy Wednesday!

Chris

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the work podcast, creativity podcasts, creative entrepreneur podcasts

Creativity can isolating. Because of that, it’s easy to get lost in our own thoughts, for better or worse. On this episode, I sit down with Mark Brown (Author of ZenPig and a guest from episode one) and chat about how creating stuff can put you inside your own head too much. Spending too much time in your own world and own head can stop your best work from existing. So we talk about how to break that cycle by getting out into the real world and out of your own!

Show Notes:
More about Mark Brown-Mark is an author and speaker. Find out more about his work at:
www.zenpigbook.com

facebook: www.facebook.com/ZenPigBook

About me:

Instagram:
@chriscreed (instagram.com/chriscreed)

Subscribe on iTunes:

Happy Friday!

 

 

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When you stand up and say something, you open yourself up to criticism, judgement, and failure. You also open yourself up to being wrong. So I guess it’s best to just say nothing.

WHAT? No.

 

Be wrong.
Be-wrong, entrepreneuer, chris creed, how to figure out next steps

I’d rather be wrong and have actually stood up and said something than to have silently sit stewing in my self-righteous “rightness” (which is tempting, and I have been that guy). I’d much rather make mistakes than just sit and live my life in a magic mistake-free bubble. Being wrong is not the end. You can adjust, course correct, and move on. Yes, if you can, try to start out doing the right thing. But if the right thing is eluding you right now? Do the wrong thing. You can’t freaking steer a ship that is tied to the dock. The horizon is much, much clearer once you’re out on the water. #nauticalanalogies  #FTW

This thought process brings up two arguments in my head:

“But Chris, Wouldn’t it be better to chart the course first then get in the boat and then go?”

Yes. Yes it would. I’ll be sure to do that next time.

“Chris Creed, it is wrong to be wrong. I only want to do the things that I am 100% sure are the right things for me. Forever and always. I think that’s what you should do.”

Cool. Let me know how that goes.

Both of these things, while valid and true on some levels, are a false picture of what it actually looks like to do this thing. If you’re in the business of creating value and putting it out there for the world to love or hate, there is no right or wrong way. There is no “100% sure.” If we let these thoughts win, we will never do anything. We will never change anything. So the next time you find yourself holding back because you’re not sure if you’re right, Or when you’ve become paralytic planner guy: just freaking do it. You might be wrong. If you are, say you are and move on.

Happy Monday, my friends. You are loved 🙂

Chris

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I heard an interesting definition of “expert” this morning from Ray Higdon on the Entrepreneur On Fire Podcast. He said “if you know more than other people due to investment and learning, you are an expert.”

He’s kinda right. We never want to put it that way or walk around calling ourselves experts but knowing more about a subject due to learning and experience CAN make you an expert to someone who knows less than you. So why aren’t we okay with that? Why do we sit around not helping people because we think it’s up to the people who are qualified?

If you know stuff that other people want to know, you’re qualified to share what you’ve learned.

We’ve been trained to believe that an expert looks a certain way:

They’re older, wiser.
They have a degree. Maybe a MBA.
A Master’s Degree.
A PhD.
They’ve put in a certain number of hours.
They have many leather-bound books and an apartment that smells of rich mahogany.

The truth is none of these things are a prerequisite for expertise. No longer do you have to be older, wiser, and degree laden, in order to help people. You just have to know what you’re talking about and share it. That’s it.

How would you define expert? Do you think there are rules to expertise? If so, who enforces them? I think we should be done trying to enforce rules that don’t exist. Done forcing stories onto ourselves and others. Read books, go to conferences, listen to podcasts. Become an expert and share what you’ve learned.

Stop believing the story of the mythical gatekeepers. If you know stuff, help people.

Happy Monday!

Chris

(Edited for clarity:

Original 2nd paragraph read: 

“He’s actually right. We never want to put it that way but knowing more about a subject due to learning and experience makes you an expert by definition.”

Edit: “He’s kinda right. We never want to put it that way or walk around calling ourselves experts but knowing more about a subject due to learning and experience CAN make you an expert in someone else’s opinion.”)

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  • Phil - You asked, so here it goes!

    I disagree with throwing around the word expert but I do agree with the general message of your post.

    The definition of expert is : a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. Just because you know more than someone else doesn’t make you an expert. For instance, I can tie a sheep shank knot. Now, I learned this on my own, I even bought a book on knots, I “invested” all of 30 minutes in learning this. Should I then start selling ebooks and claiming my self a knot expert? No.

    The problem I have with this is self-qualification. If you have to tell people you are an expert then it is highly possible that you aren’t. That is more related to the “authoritative” portion of the definition. To be an authority on a subject you must not just know the subject but, over time, you must impress upon enough people that you know it comprehensively.

    All in all, those indicators you posted absolutely are not pre-requisites. I don’t think anyone thinks they are requirements at all. But your article does seem to undermine them and I think it is fair to say that they are valid indicators of ones personal experience level. Someone with a PhD in Physics is far more likely (statistically speaking) to be an expert in Physics than someone without.

    That being said, sure I think everyone is on a journey of learning and if you have something to share, by all means, share it. I just wouldn’t go around self-qualifying yourself as an expert, I usually tune those people out (i.e. Entrepreneur On Fire.)ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Thanks for reading, Phil!

      I do agree with you that I took the word expert and spun a little out of context in order to make a point. That point being:

      I would totally download your knot-tying E-book! And because you have taken the time to learn those skills and have developed them, I would consider you an expert. You don’t have to qualify yourself as an expert but people would assume that you are. I don’t know that you don’t have “comprehensive and authoritative knowledge” in knot-tying. I just know that you know more than I do.

      This is the basic thesis of this post: If you know stuff, share it.

      Nowhere in there does it say “Make shit up and see if you can get people to pay you money for it.” That’s not what I mean. What I mean is you have pure intent and you know stuff that someone else might want to know, you should feel confident in sharing it. You also shouldn’t feel any guilt if people start calling you an expert. Yes, it would be douchey to just walk around proclaiming to the world that your an expert. But it would be a tragedy if you didn’t share what you have to share just because you didn’t consider yourself an expert.

      I DO think most people assume they’re unqualified to share their knowledge. If not because they didn’t go to school for it then because people have told them (probably more than once) that they are not qualified and have no right to share what they’ve learned. That is the mentality that this post is combating. It’s not about self-qualifying. It’s about freedom to honestly share what you know in order to help other people.ReplyCancel

  • phil - I assumed that was the point you were trying to get across and I agree that sharing is caring, I just have an axe to grind with people calling themselves experts or authorities on subjects when they clearly aren’t.ReplyCancel

    • Chris Creed - Totally get that, man. And you’re right to grind that axe! Next time I will try to be more clear.

      This post is definitely more about inspiring people to think more of their work and their knowledge and not leave it up to “the authorities” to take care of everything. Calling yourself an expert is dangerous and it can effect other people negatively if it’s not true. BUT if you’re open and honest about who you are and what you’ve learned, I think it’s more than ok to share. And if that happens someone might think of you as an expert. Doesn’t mean you should claim that and put it all over your website, but to them, it’s definitely true.

      Great, Great convo, man! Thanks again!ReplyCancel

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