Greetings Tribe!
This is the first newsletter of James on Success!
I've been thinking for weeks about the format and content of this newsletter. I don't want to just point to blog posts like many newsletters do.
After wrestling a bit with this I decided to focus on success principles (shockingly obvious!).
I am currently working on a list of success principles that I use to build James on Success, write articles, plan content, learn new things, focus, etc.
The first success principal I want to focus on directly applies to starting this newsletter.
Do/Learn/Refine
When we start something new, the goal is to get the ideas out of our head and into some sort of physical (or digital) form. This step is critical because it gives us something to work with.
Once we have something to work with, we'll see the things that need to be improved. Then we can then start refining it.
Over the years I have grown to have more faith in this process. In fact, I can say this newsletter started twenty years ago, when I first started the process of creative expression. It has been a continuous process of Do/Learn/Refine.
What Holds us back?
There is a risk in pushing the GO button (thinking in public). You don't want to learn how to drive in busy traffic. You probably shouldn't perform surgery before having many years of training.
That being said, we tend to make the risks way bigger than they are.
What is the risk of putting out the first newsletter and not having a clear design yet? Zero risk. So do it. And I did.
Today I gave myself one hour to write this newsletter. I felt one hour was generous and would constrain me to keep it simple, clear, and most importantly, DONE.
Benefits of the Do/Learn/Refine Principle
Here is a quick list of the benefits of the Do/Learn/Refine principle.
Do - Start sooner. Start simple.
Learn - Gain insight by doing.
Refine - Apply lessons learned.
Repeat the process.
Finally
This was fun! I hope you got a little out of it. As a reminder I plan on doing a newsletter once a week every Monday.
As I continue to write these newsletters I will learn more and adjust.
As always, feedback is crucial (that’s a principle). I would like to know what you are struggling with or simply what you would like to know more about.
I will close this newsletter with my definition of success. If this definition resonates with you, then I'm confident we can grow together.
"I believe the best definition of success is living a life of integrity while pursuing your dreams. Success is manifested by the daily creation of value that serves others."
To your success!
simple systems work best!