W

e all at times come to a crossroads in our lives. At those times the word “options” seems to be of highest priority. My take is that the person who can say that they are wealthy is the person that has a luxury of options. However, what do you do when you have only but one option? Your mind at times tells you, “this is it”; if I mess this up then my goose is cooked. Let me digress here a little and come back shortly. If you want to know that you are on the verge of being fleeced, “this is it or bust” is the thing that hooks you. You start thinking that “if I miss this investment opportunity, then I would have this chance come again”. Watch out.

This is It Mentality

At times though, “this is it” could be a valid mentality. In other words, the only option in your hand is what you would use to either succeed or fail. Or, your emotional investment could be so high on something that you know that it must work. This does not necessarily mean that it is one thing that you have an option on. If anything, the “This is it” mentality is a critical mentality that we need to have in as many things we are doing as possible, and not just when we have one option available for us.

Related Read: 100%: Getting Ahead Through Sheer Faithfulness

The Negative Side

“This is it” mentality dictates that what we are churning out is of excellence and finesse. There are three things that can go wrong with this mentality though. Let’s delve into them right away.

1. Procrastination

The very nature of “this is it” mentality inherently in your subconscious requires maximum attention. At times you feel like you should not get started with it if you do not have enough time. So you procrastinate. You and I know that you will probably not get enough time that you are looking for to do a “this is it” project. It is that tricky. You and I will need to learn to navigate and balance our pursuits.

2. Paralysis Analysis

The need to keep it perfect, the need to make it top notch will cause you to spend so much time researching, asking questions and never really getting to doing something about it. This reminds me of our Education Systems all over the world. People are delving so much into theories of things that really do not matter, and fail to leverage on deploying or shipping ideas.

3. Perfectionism

There is a heaven and earth difference between perfectionism and excellence. If the world operated on perfectionism today, we would not cherish the 5MB storage disk a couple of decades back that was being loaded in a truck using a crane (I kid you not). I mean, at that moment, it was not perfect. Perfectionism keeps us working and working and working but not deploying. It is the opposite of paralysis analysis in that in here at least you are working.

The Positive Side

Your approach to the “This is it” mentality is either on the positive or the negative side. It is a double edged sword that cuts both ways. In other words, you can make this mentality work for you or you can have it work against you. If you have having a “this is it” project, I believe the following few pointers should help you deploy it better:

1. Use of MVP

An MVP is a Minimal Viable Product. In other words, before you can have it all done with finesse, chances are that you will do better to deploy something rudimentary that works. The importance here is that you are not wasting time waiting for perfection. You get started with the MVP with the idea that you will improve with it as time goes. If anything, the MVP gives you an important ability of collecting feedback from the people that are interacting with your project. It could be your public speaking endeavor, your podcast endeavor, your book or website. Do not seek to perfect because you launch.

2. Use Editions

As much as you know “This is it” you go out there and deploy with the full knowledge that you will improve on it over and over again until it is fine. Each edition is deployed, works and serves. Each succeeding edition improves on the errors that the previous one contains or it fixes the bugs and errors that previous versions had. It is Richard Branson who said, and I paraphrase:

“If someone gives you an opportunity to do something that you are not capable of doing it, take the chance and learn on the go”

I know someone else said, “Take a leap and build your wings on your way down”. That is what several editions do.

3. Practical Approach

Theorizing over things has its place. If you want to start a business though, you can read all the books in the world about starting a business but they would not help if you do not start. I would rather that you start the business and read books as you go. In other words, even if your project is a “this is it” project, it pays little to stay in the concept and theory mode. The taste of the cake is in eating it, not reading about it. Be practical. Read about speeches but deliver one, even if it is in the mirror. Read about being a romantic husband but be practical at the earliest opportunity.

4. Be Patient

To be patient means that you know that it will take time and so you accede to it but get started. This means that you will plan your life in such a way that you will have at least a few minutes our hours each day to focus on your “this is it” project. If anything, you need to have all your projects be a “this is it” project. Patience is a great virtue that will help you solve the problem of procrastination. If you gave yourself time enough, and I am talking about reasonable time, it is possible that your “this is it” project will be deployed through sheer patience.

All in all, a “this is it” lifestyle is what we ought to deploy. At times it might force us to totally de-clutter our lives of the things that do not matter so that we have enough time to focus on our “this is it” projects.