There’s an old joke in marketing that goes, if you wait for 100% of the data, you’ll miss 100% of the opportunity.  I genuinely believe in the philosophy.  We all have a certain order we expect things to happen in.  We assume if A happens, then we’ll do B, which will lead to C, etc.  But, what happens if A doesn’t happen?  Do you not do B?

A good friend of mine calls this the “I love you paradox.”  In a relationship if you’re waiting for the other person to say “I love you” so that you can say it, and that person is waiting for you to say it first; well, neither of you will ever say it.  At some point you have to do B even though A hasn’t happened.

A better way to think about this, is how we learn to swim.  You could say, well I’m not getting in the pool until I know I how to swim.  But, you can’t learn to swim, if you don’t get in the pool.  Chicken or the egg, right?  Me?  I just jump right in.  That’s actually how I learned to swim. My parents through me into a pool and survival instincts kicked in.  I was swimming in no time flat.  As the story goes, I learned how to swim in a weekend.  We did the same thing with Cora and she took the water immediately.

If you wait for 100% of the data, you will miss 100% of the opportunity.  Mark my words.  If you want to do something or something, just do it.  Don’t wait.

Do you want to eat lima beans and broccoli or do you eat them because you think you should? Ditto on working out, getting your boss a Christmas gift, sending a thank you card, attending your wife’s best friend’s wedding, and oh so many more examples.

Whenever someone does something I unfortunately feel the need to critically evaluate their intent. Are they doing it because they want to do it, or are they doing it because they think they should do it. Obviously, I value want over should. I want you to want to do things instead of doing them because you think it’s the right thing to do. I want you to send that thank you card because you genuinely want to, not because you think you’re earning points, making a good impression or doing the “right” thing.

How much better, simpler and more genuine would the world be if people only did the things they want to do instead of doing the things they think they should do? Heck, even if we went to an 80/20 or 70/30 split between want and should; things would be better.

The irony is, I’m guilty of doing things I don’t want to do…Yes, I’m raising my hand and turning myself in. I’ve done things because I felt like I should. It’s frustrating and I kick myself in the ass right after I do it. It’s a tough habit to break because it’s become a natural part of everyday life. Society expects and demands a certain amount of “fakeness.” And that’s just tragic for a society that also demands honesty and transparency