Steve Mills - Online Entrepreuership with the SPOKE system

HERE THERE BE MONSTERS

Remember those olds sailors maps from antiquity, the kind you would see in a history book or encyclopedia. People of centuries ago had some pretty detailed maps of the areas that they frequently traveled , especially when you take into consideration the tools and mathematics that they used to draw them.

What really stood out for me though is the areas that weren’t quite as well mapped, or completely unexplored. In these areas, they had pictures of huge grotesque creatures, and dire warnings of what would happen to people if they crossed those waters. “Here there be monsters” “Death for those who enter” etc. etc.

The unknown always has an element of fear, and doing something new, or something that means a lot to you is an intense experience. We are so used to the everyday monotony of work routine, of being on a schedule and told what to do that we don’t quite know how to deal with these different, new experiences.
When we start something new, the voices of doubt and dismay are never far away. There is something inside that says “This is new, scary and different. I am going to come up with 50 reasons why you should stop”

Well you know what… that voice can go and get stuffed.

The manager at one of the places that I am consulting at has a good statement on the wall of his workstation. It reads something like ” As soon as a new way of doing things starts, the pull of the old ways of doing things begin. In the beginning, enthusiasm is enough to override this force, but in the longer term, a more sustainable source of motivation must be found”

We think that all great adventures are fun, are glamorous and exciting and should “feel good” the whole time. But while I agree that adventures should be REWARDING, I also see that the greatest adventures have their scary times, the boring times, the patience trying frustrating times. They have times where you don’t know what you are going to step in when you take that next step towards your goal.

It is my mission for the next few months to break this pattern of thought. To stop looking for the monsters in the uncharted waters, and just keep my ship sailing on course, until I reach new land.
Once I get there, the realise that a) There really weren’t any monsters and b) The journey was well worth it.

I have made some personal inroads with certain projects this year. I have gone into full time consulting, co-founded a businesses that is starting to do things (slowly) and worked on some interesting IT and marketing projects. General entrepreneur stuff, which has been a long time personal goal and has given me a sense of satisfaction.

But, alas, these have all been business goals, and left me with precious little time for working on other things. I want to create and promote music that people will enjoy, that will make them think, that will make them groove. Psychedelic trance/rock/electro/mystical/world music. Music that takes people on a journey.

Till next time…