Learn. Build. Publish.

I want to reduce the feedback loop of creation to publication as tight as possible in order to rapidly improve.

Of course, some projects take time to publish, however, work has a habit of filling the time allotted. In other words, if you schedule a task to be completed in a week, it will be completed in a week. If that task is scheduled for completion in a month, then it will take a month to complete. If no deadline is fixed to a task, then the task will likely go on forever.

Deadlines drive completion.

The interesting thing about deadlines is that they can be artificial. You can artificially set your own deadlines in order to drive the completion of tasks that would otherwise never be accomplished.

Some people need to associate missed deadlines with terrible, awful consequences. Others can set a date in their calendar and trick their brain into making the cut. It doesn't matter how the deadline is reached. All that matters, is that the project is built and published within the constraints.

I have told myself I will write 15 minutes every day and publish at the end of that time. The deadline has been set in order to ensure the act of writing is complete and the practice of publishing is satisfied.

Because I know that practice makes perfect. Some say perfect practice makes perfect, but I've lived long enough to know that there is plenty to learn from the pain of mistakes.

Pain is an excellent teacher. I've probably learned more from pain than any other experience. This may be unfortunate, however, every lesson learned has taught me how to avoid such extreme amounts of pain in the future.

The faster one can close the feedback loop of "Learn, build, publish," the faster one can grow. But what keeps people from enacting each step of the virtuous feedback cycle?

Inhibitions

Learn: People will psyche themselves out that they are not worthy of understanding a presumably difficult subject. It's easy to make excuses for not being able to learn about a topic, especially if no one is paying attention.

Developing a relationship with a trusted individual who will push you to learn more about yourself can be a treasure in life. Knowledge is power and creates options for opportunity.

Build: Without a deadline a project can be built and rebuilt and built again. Or it can be delayed due to a sense of imposter syndrome. Really, I think both actions are a result of an imposter syndrome. A feeling of being less than worthy.

The truth is, building is a critical step toward growth. Building proves ability and ability creates the potential for magic.

Publish: It can be terribly frightening to publish one's own work. A thought that often run through my mind is, "What if they hate it?" The more insidious thought is, "What if they ignore it?"

The truth is, most people are tied up in their own lives. Most people won't look deeply into your work. And that's okay. Those who do, are more likely to support your work.

And if the internet hates your work. Don't sweat it too hard. Chances are the internet will find something else to hate within a week's time.

What's the number one reason these goals are never met? Lack of discipline. Without discipline, there is no consistency and growth is likely to take longer than if one would meet their self-imposed deadlines on a reliable basis.

Learn. Build. Publish.

Follow through and grow.