“Pick Yourself” is another of our favorite blog posts from our friend, Seth Godin.
“It’s a cultural instinct to wait to get picked. To seek out the permission and authority that comes from a publisher or talk show host or even a blogger saying, ‘I pick you.’ Once you reject that impulse and realize that no one is going to select you–that Prince Charming has chosen another house–then you can actually get to work.”
Watch the NFL playoffs, and think about how little in control of their destinies the average player is.
Even if you are an amazing player, the fact is, you spend the majority of your professional life waiting to be picked by someone else. Picked for the high school varsity. Picked for the college team. Picked for the NFL. Picked to make the big play during the playoffs. Picked to be the first string during the Super Bowl.
Whatever. Somebody else gets to decide. You don’t. Some old dude with a clipboard decides.
Hey, that works if you’re the 0.03% that gets picked.
For us remaining 99.97% of people, it works differently.
We’re not going to get successful, waiting around for the guy with the clipboard to give us the thumbs up. We get successful because somehow we find the courage to do something without waiting for permission.
