The Easier Path

For every amazing thing you do, think, or imagine, there are countless negative voices that you need to tune out. One minute, you’re excited about your idea, and the next, you’re wading through the muck and mire of someone else’s negativity (sometimes your own) with your great idea in tow, getting deeper and dirtier with every step you take.

The Easier Path

I’m talking about the idea that, deep down, you really want to do; that thing that gives your life meaning. Your calling.

In our world of instant feedback and gathering Likes, it’s not easy to stop worrying what others think before we even take a step. It’s hard to quiet that noise, and just build. So what do you do? You quiet the noise and just build.

Sometimes the answer is just that obvious.

Being great at something takes work, which, crazy enough, is the easier path. You can listen to the naysayers telling you to give up your goal and you can spin your wheels. Or you can immerse yourself in your goal and work on it from all angles. When you’re in it up to your eyeballs, building your dream piece by piece, you’re not focused on what anyone else happens to think. Consider this: The critics may just need to see you in action before they’ll jump on board.

Doing the work is a recipe for success regardless of innate talent, funding, or which way the critical wind is blowing. So just get going: Open that coffee shop; write that story; take on that new client. The time is now. A bad day doing what you love is still better than a good day doing anything else.