One of the reasons behind starting this website was for personal accountability. I was trying to buy that business and wanted to make sure I saw the project through. In the past I remember undertaking several large projects and then never finishing them. I can’t say that I even failed but just simply stopped working on them. In such a case, I think failure would have been preferable.
If you put a good effort into something and fail, it, at least, gives you learning opportunities so that the next time you can do better. I did not do that. Instead, I’d start something and be excited about it, work really hard on it for a while, and then just stop. These failures by omission had always bothered me and I knew that, this time, I didn’t want it to happen. This time I wanted to see it through.
I’d like to think that I’m a motivated, self-driven individual but it’s not really true. I came to terms with this problem and decided to start this website. That meant that, once I started down that path, if I didn’t finish it out then my failure would be public. All my friends and family would know that I was a slacker!
And the website did work. When it came to my attempted business acquisition, I saw the project through to the end. I did all my research, talked to lawyers and bankers, and submitted a reasonable, formal offer. The sellers ended up not accepting it but I still consider this a win in my book because I did everything I could. And there were more than a few moments that I felt a small amount of despair and I thought I should just quit, but I didn’t.
I suppose that the point of this entry is to highlight how important it is to be self motivated. And if you realize that your not strong willed enough to do it on your own then it’s important to find other ways to be accountable to yourself. For me, this website did the trick. But then I stopped writing for quite a while. Partly because I was having trouble coming up with interesting things to write about. Partly because I didn’t feel like I needed that crutch any more. And perhaps I don’t, perhaps I’ve learned how to be self driven… But I remember that there are always excuses to be found to stop working towards your goals. Sometimes they are very good excuses. At the time of writing this, my family will, very shortly, be blessed with the birth of a new baby girl. Life will be very crazy for quite a while and I’m guessing a little extra accountability won’t hurt.
Hard Learning 