What’s the key to a life of consistent contribution? Don’t wait on me.

You can do it all on your own, which has its rewards – self satisfaction, learning, and ultimate control. But like every upside, there’s also downsides. There’s only one of you, and your skills are limited. So doing everything yourself constricts both the level and speed of accomplishment.

Personally, I’d rather not be the only person involved in an important project. I want to do what I’m great at and remain free to create content, shape the vision, elevate others, and interject where necessary. But there are many things that I’m not great at, or just don’t enjoy.

Now granted, we don’t always have the resources to employ others or assemble a team, but with increasing connection to worldwide talent, it’s easier now than ever before. And once you realize there are people out there whose absolute strengths are your weakness, and who totally love the work that you dread, you’ll rethink what’s possible, and the speed with which you can make significant strides.

One of my personal rules, when working on a team, or for a client, is that I strive to never be the bottleneck to progress.  Look, a life of productivity, like it or not, will require you encouraging and reminding others, driving people forward, holding them accountable to their promises. And one of the most graceful, congruent, and effective ways that I’ve found to do that is to lead by example. I don’t want anyone waiting on me. So, I’m first to the meeting. My work is ready. My thoughts are prepared. I’m good to go. Are you?

Now, this is the intention, but not always the reality. I get behind, or overwhelmed, and some people are just superstars. Ideally, you want to work with people who are better, faster, and more capable than you are. So what this means is when they’re ready and I’m not quite there yet , I still go forward… finding greater comfort with uncertainty, and creating on the fly. Momentum is imperative, and I am fundamentally opposed to being the impediment to progress.

Let’s face it. Getting stuff done is difficult. Creating quality, artistic works that never before existed is enormously challenging. My wife just just finished making a short film, and her camera operator put it this way. “Movies don’t want to be made,” meaning every aspect of this is difficult, but we do it anyway. We do it together, letting our excellence inspire and obligate one other. And the bigger the challenge, the greater the reward.  Until next week, stay Off Balance On Purpose.