Imploding the mirage

I've made the case recently that I value quick decision-making followed by quick action. For example, while one person is considering whether to buy a book, I've already purchased the Kindle version and started to read it. When one person says, "That looks like a cool podcast, I'll have to check it out when I have time," I make time to listen if it's a topic that is important to me. I do not let excuses get in the way of taking action.

One classic excuse is not knowing how to do something. I had no idea how to publish articles online until I found Medium and figured it out. The day before I launched my newsletter, I had no idea how to do it. I found Substack and the rest is history. I had no idea how to launch a podcast. I found Anchor and now have over 100 short episodes.

Imploding the Mirage is the name of the latest album from The Killers and also the last track on the album.

I generally appreciate songs for the melodies and instrumentation at first and only later do I then appreciate the lyrics. Such is the case with this song, which bubbled to my attention today.

I had to do it, I had no other choice
You've got to listen to the inside voice
A bullet train will get you there fast
But it won't guarantee a long last
Sometimes it takes a little bit of courage and doubt
To push your boundaries out
Beyond your imagining

While you were out there chewing on fat
For probable cause, I let go
While you were out there weighing odds
I was imploding the mirage
While you were out there looking like that
I struck my name from the camouflage
I wasn't lost in the collage
I was imploding the mirage


Some people might suggest that this is impatience on my part. One person's impatience is another person's bias for action.

One of Amazon's leadership principles is a Bias for Action. "Speed matters in business. Many decisions and actions are reversible and do not need extensive study. We value calculated risk taking" I say speed matters in your life, too. The problem is that we think we have all the time in the world.

I believe that inaction becomes a habit. 

I'm certainly not perfect. I drag my feet on things, too. I still haven't gathered up all my paperwork for my tax filing this year. I'm not in a hurry to cut a check to the government anyway.

For most other things, I'm out there imploding the mirage.

Abraham Kim
drewbaca_
 

I'm also with you on this. I also like to caveat a little further because I actually think obsessing over speed sometimes lead to people kidding themselves or lying to themselves to get faster metrics that actually don't mean what they want it to mean.

What I like to think of instead of speed is momentum.

2021-02-11 01:45:32
Brandon Wilson
Yes, momentum is key, especially when inaction becomes a habit. I was thinking about speed in terms of the distance between making a decision and taking the action associated with the decision. 
2021-02-11 01:52:20
Abraham Kim
Ah yes. That's a good point. The delta between decision and action
2021-02-11 01:55:57
Gabriel Greco
I have the tendency to be the exact opposite; weigh all of the options, analyze the decisions, blah blah, next thing I know the window of opportunity flew by. The only cure is, as you both say, momentum, because that always makes you want to go one step further. 
2021-02-11 09:08:20
Drew
I like especially the part of inaction becoming a habit, i guess you can build momentum going the other way. When abe i talked about this in the past we used running as a metaphor. You can't just run 10 miles, it takes a lot of days of 1 -2 miles, no miles, 3-4 miles , no miles, repeated and stretched for months. But I guess a part of it is like you said, just doing the thing. Or a thing, maybe a small piece of that thing. 
2021-02-11 12:08:52