One of my favorite authors, Seth Godin, talks about the importance of "shipping." He uses the term "shipping" to communicate the importance of completing those things that we set out to do.
Lynchpins ship. Lizard brains look for reasons not to.
Lynchpins, according to Godin, will come up with an idea, plan for it, execute on it and then - without hesitation - ship it out. Lizard brains, on the other hand, come up with a good idea, mill it about, plan for it, maybe even execute on it, but then convince themselves it's not ready for shipping.
Launching the House of Shine's new site was an example of me trying to get better at shipping. The site is not perfect and there are things we still need to add and to change, but shipping was better than finding a reason not to. Same with the Shine Manifesto. If I read the Manifesto every day of the week I could find a new reason why I shouldn't have put it on the internet yet. But I'm trying to be more of a lynchpin and less of a lizard brain. Maybe my encouraging others to Shine is better than my sitting on the Manifesto for another six months and then never posting it at all.
Yes,I want to be a master shipper.
But I'm not.
Today is supposed to be the unveiling of April's Cookie Cutter Challenge. It's the day I am supposed to use my Sea Turtle cookie cutter to celebrate National Bird Watching Day. You, the readers, test my creativity by selecting a cookie cutter and a holiday of your choice. You challenge me to find some point of connection between the two and then to bake the cookies decorate them, package them up, and then to reveal them in the most creative way I know how.
I baked the Sea Turtles, I decorated them, and I even packaged them up.
But I can't ship today. I can't ship because this lynchpin-wanna-be is a recovering perfectionist.
The cookies came out ok - o.k., but not great. The slogan is good, but isn't going to win an award. And the packaging? Well, the packaging is fun in theory but mediocre in execution. But, at 9:59 last night, I had an idea that would take my idea from a B- to at least a B+. It requires daylight and one item that I do not have in my house.
No shipping this morning. Sorry. This lizard brain is putting her foot down, believing that by holding out one more day, my idea will "shine" just a little bit more.
That means we need something new to talk about today. Should we talk about the fine line between shipping and settling? Or, maybe how we find the point of diminishing return when searching for excellence. Or, maybe you can meet us in the Community Forum, labeled Today's Post and tell us which you are - a lynchpin or a lizard brain.
Here's a sneak peek...
Shining off until tomorrow...