Stan Lee, who entered the young comic book industry and created some of the iconic characters and stories that continue to shape our culture even after his death, had to deal with a lot of naysayers. His success was never inevitable.
He once remarked, "If you have an idea that you genuinely think is good, don't let some idiot talk you out of it."
You can imagine the history that terse statement sums up. The key here is that it’s your idea and you stand behind it. Think of it as a destination. You might get some help if people believe in your idea, but nobody’s obligated to help you along the way. You’ll almost certainly hit roadblocks. But you know there’s more than one route that could get you there. If you’re creative and persistent, you’ll find a way.
So, never give up.
Steven Bartlett is an entrepreneur, fixture on Dragon’s Den (the UK equivalent of Shark Tank), and a bit of a thought leader, especially through his popular podcast, Diary of a CEO. He’s got a great perspective on quitting—essentially that you should do it more often.
That’s genuinely useful advice, especially if you’re the kind of person who is committed, driven, loyal, or who has any number of other positive qualities that might make you likely to stick it out through a situation that isn’t going where you want it to.
So, take stock of the things you’re doing and assess if they’re getting you where you want to go. Maybe there’s a better option that will cause you a little discomfort at first, but then get you there much more efficiently.
Ed Sheeran is an extremely popular musician, whose music I’ve probably heard on the radio—but what I love about him is his openness about the process he followed to get where he is today. Specifically, the process was: sucking, and then getting good.
Because that’s the thing about mastering something—you have to be willing to start out bad if you ever want to be good. If you only ever do things you’re good at, there’s not much growth available. It’s a thing that you might know, but that’s different from whether it feels true to you when you actually try it out.
That’s why Ed Sheeran offers this example—because he knows how easy it is for a 14-year-old kid to compare themself to him as he is now, when what they should be doing is following the example of 14-year-old Ed Sheeran, who didn’t give up.
It’s one thing to read about it, and another to hear it with your own ears.
Most of us have spent our whole adult lives honing a very particular set of skills, and that’s where we spend our time. That’s a good thing, but it can also end up making you feel something like fear when you think about trying something new. What if you’re not good at it? What if you look stupid? You won’t be, and you might. It’s okay.
So, the moral of today’s story: never give up on your goals, unless they’re not the right goals. Feel free to give up on things you’re doing to meet those goals, especially if it frees you up to do things that will be more productive to move you toward your goals. And for the love of everything good in this world, if you’ve got an idea that you love, stick up for it. Write the book, start the blog or the podcast or the side hustle, make the movie.
If you won’t, who will?
Wins for the newsletter
This week:
One of my authors had his debut book called a “best new book to read” by Time Magazine.
Another author was included in Time’s 100 Most Influential People, with a mention of his new book (why is Time being so good to my authors?).
And last, but not least, I talked with my mom, who is considering a part-time comeback from retirement to help run a grant-funded youth employment program that’s built on a model she helped create years ago. It’s easy to see that she’s excited to jump in, and even though she should be a shoe-in, she still has to apply for the job. So let me tell you how cool it made me feel when she told me “I used some advice from your newsletter to write my cover letter!”
Was talking about these examples with my spouse over coffee this morning. We're wondering if maybe there is less of a difference between Stan Lee/ Ed Sheeran and Steven Bartlett than it may appear. While Lee and Sheeran both stayed true to their visions I bet there were a number of bad ideas (characters and songs) discarded along the way as well as evolution of their craft and style. Stan Lee didn't stick with Destroyer and I bet Sheeran wrote some god-awful songs as a 14 year old.