yann girard - rethinking the now

Not so small anymore

Those small things you said you'd do, but didn't.

Those small things you wanted to say, but didn't.

Those small things you wanted to do, but didn't.

They all add up. 

Until one day they're not so small anymore...

 

Irrelevant

Once you started taking action, 99% of your questions will either become irrelevant or they'll be answered automatically. And all of your initial questions will be replaced by new questions that you never even thought of before...

This won't get you very far

Passion, ambition, motivation, inspiration, imagination and the desire for change will get you started.

Discipline, focus, patience, perseverance and a clear vision will help you to keep going.

The problem is that those two are almost the exact opposite.

And it's pretty rare to have both of them.

Which makes it so difficult for some people to get started and for others to be able to keep pushing.

But to be able to succeed you need both of them...

 

Two hearts, one chest

Passion.

Ambition.

Motivation.

Inspiration.

Imagination.

And the desire for change.

Those are the things that will get you started.

And those will be the exact same things that will push you to just give up and seek something new...

Good is the result of bad

Good ideas are the result of many bad ideas. Just like success is the result of many (small) failures. And doing things well is the result of not doing things well. Good is the result of bad. Keep that in mind...

Real world results

The best and probably only way to convince anyone (that is open to being convinced) is to show real world results. Everything else doesn't really matter...

For everyone to see...

What you believe to be your worst work might be your best work. And what you believe to be your best work might be your worst work. And the only way to find out is to put it out there for everyone to see. Time to find out...

Getting used to it...

Life as an entrepreneur often feels like a never ending series of skydives where you can't seem to figure out how to open that parachute. And once you did manage to open it, it starts all over again. And it doesn't really get any better over time, you're just getting used it...

It's not you, it's them...

You'll find the wrong crowd, the wrong partner, the wrong friends, the wrong job, etc. a lot faster than the right one. The first step is about realizing that "it's (probably) not you, it's them". And the second one is to not stick with "them"...

Pretty much everything

The one thing that's supposed to change everything rarely changes anything. 

The only thing that'll ever change anything is when you start to change.

And once you start to change, then pretty much everything starts to change...

On being a sellout

It's impossible to sell out when you do what you love. As a matter of fact, you have to try everything you can so you can somehow and in whatever capacity continue doing what you love. No matter what those other sellouts are telling you...

Bit by bit. Door by door...

You could keep complaining about the fact that others have way more doors available to choose from than you might ever have. Or you could just start opening the doors that are available to you and start getting access to even more doors...

Play before everybody else is...

If you don't play you'll always lose. And if you play when everybody else is playing, you'll never be able to win...

A reminder

Just because the majority of people believe that it's not going to happen doesn't mean that it's not going to happen. It's going to happen regardless of what the majority believes...

Getting paid to learn something new

You'll never get hired to learn something new. You'll only get hired to do the stuff you're already pretty good at. Try to keep that in mind...

Comparatively easier

In a world that's seemingly turning more and more unpredictable, people want to do the seemingly safe, stable and predictable stuff.

The stuff where there's a map to follow.

Where you get a guidebook that tells you to do x and then you'll get y.

The only problem is that there are now way more people that want to do the safe, stable and predictable stuff than ever before.

As a result, the easy and predictable stuff is getting harder and harder and a lot more unpredictable.

While the hard and unpredictable stuff is getting (comparatively) easier and easier and more and more predictable...

What we need

Technology gives us what we want. No matter whether it's good for us or bad for us. It reinforces our habits. Good ones and bad ones. It reinforces what we believe in. No matter whether it's true or false. Technology gives us what we want. Which is often not what we really need...

Many

The secret to almost everything is many. Many ideas. Many projects. Many relationships. Many investments...  The more of them you have (or have had), the higher the chances that one of them will be the one..

Just like that

The faster and easier it was to get it, the faster and easier it'll be to lose it again. And the slower and harder it was to get it, the longer it'll take and the harder it'll be to lose it again...

And a little bit of luck

What you want and what you'll end up getting, depends almost exclusively on what you're willing to give up to get it. And of course, a little bit of luck...

"I told you so."

Sure, those people are almost always right about their predictions. But what they also are, are people who are missing out on the future and everything that comes with it...

Those will

It's never the things you wish for that will change the world. It's only the things that you're willing to work really, really hard for that will…

Not existing

Most of the things that you think are going to be important in the world (and your world) in 5-10 years, have probably already disappeared by then. And the things that are going to be important are probably not even existing, yet...

So you might as well...

Succeeding at the things you don't really enjoy doing is a lot harder than succeeding at the things you love doing...

Getting smart(er)

The easiest way to getting smart(er): doing a lot of stupid things that don't work out...

How to get started...

You focus on driving. And not on the possibility that you might crash and burn. That's how you get started. And ultimately succeed...

A compliment

"You've changed" is a compliment. But because it usually comes from people that don't want to change, it's considered criticism. But change is good. It’s a necessity. And inevitable...

Better

Sometimes less is more. And sometimes more is more. But "better" is always best...

Shoes

It's hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes if you've spent your whole life in the same kinds of shoes. Lived in places surrounded by people with the same kinds of shoes. Doing the things that people in these kinds of shoes are doing...

And that's what really matters

The critics don't show up. They don't put in the work. They don't do the stuff that might not work out. And they don't inspire others to take action. But you do. And that's what really matters...

Just once

You just need to get it right once. But to be able to get it right just that one time, you'd have to have tried it a dozen times already...

Never start, never know

It's the book you never started that takes the longest to write. Just like it's the words you never said that take the longest to be understood. It's always the things you don't do that take the longest to complete...

 

Wiping you out

There are only two types of risk in life. The ones you took and the ones you didn't take. But in the long run only one of them has the potential to wipe you out. And it's not the first one...

Distractions and opportunities...

Most distractions are not opportunities. But all opportunities do look like distractions. And that's what makes it so difficult...

Not just fruit...

The more low hanging fruits you eat, the harder it'll get for you to climb up that tree all the way to the very top. Where you'd have to go to find more fruit once all of those low hanging fruits are gone...

 

And no one else...

Who gives you the right to do this..?!

You yourself!

And no one else...

The best time to reinvent yourself

The best time to reinvent yourself is always. When you don't have to reinvent yourself. Way before you have to reinvent yourself. And way before you're forced to reinvent yourself. That is and always will be the best time...

Fewer opportunities

The price for stability and security are opportunities. The more stability and security you want, the fewer opportunities you'll get exposed to. As simple as that...

Just a few

Everybody can do it. But only a few will do it. And fewer and fewer are doing it. That's why there'll be fewer and fewer to succeed...

We stop learning

In life we usually go from being a student to being a teacher. From learning new things to applying the things we already know. And then at one point we get stuck somewhere along the road and never go back to being a student once again. That's when we stop learning. And growing. And when we stop making real progress...

A real strategy

If your strategy only works if you get hundreds of thousands of users, thousands of customers and raise millions of dollars, then you don't really have a strategy...

One hit wonder

What you do after you've finally hit that home run is almost as important, if not more important than the things you did to actually hit that home run...

The next step

The things you've done, achieved and succeeded at, are the things that will ultimately be holding you back from the next step...

The next step

The things you've already done, achieved and succeeded at, are the things that will ultimately holding you back from the next step...

Being realistic

The things that were completely unrealistic just yesterday, are already starting to become today's reality. That's why being unrealistic today might be the most realistic thing you could do...

Biggest boosts

More often than not, the biggest boosts in growth, development and improvement come through pain, failure and disappointment. Keep that in mind...

The only person...

The only person you should try to please is your future self...

And that's a good thing...

Most people do not and will not care about you or what you do. Ever. Act accordingly...

You need both...

Data tells you that something is wrong. And people tell you what exactly is wrong and why it's wrong. That's why we'll always need both....

The things you've already achieved, the things you stand for and the person you are today, will ultimately be in the way of what you could achieve, could stand for and could be tomorrow...