Are These Superhumans De-Motivating You?

January 11, 2008

Do you ever feel that everything you touch seems to turn into a big pile of crap? Do you make so many mistakes in business that you feel demotivated to the point of giving up?

If you do, you’re not alone. The trouble is, there’s so many supposedly perfect people in the media and on the Internet - you begin to feel that being human just isn’t enough to cut it in business anymore.

Take Tim Ferriss - author of the 4 Hour Work Week, for example. There is no doubt that his book is brilliant. And in his early twenties, Ferriss has done far more than many people will achieve in a life time. But, as Skellie pointed out, in her excellent post: Writing Dirty, “What I’m really interested to hear, and I imagine a lot of other people are too, is what Mr. Ferriss absolutely sucks at.”

And it’s true - it’s difficult to feel inspired by these perfect people who breeze through life without making a single cock up ever, and conquer two lifetimes worth of goals in a couple of years. In fact, reading about what they’ve achieved in the last couple of months can demotivate you to the point of inertia. After all, what chance do us mere mortals have of succeeding in business when we keep making mistakes?

Well, I’ve come to the conclusion that either these superhuman beings are not being honest with us about their mistakes, or they’re living in hell.

Yesterday, I was discussing heaven with a friend. When we finally got there, there would be no conflict, no problems, no assh.l.s to put up with and more importantly, no politicians. We’d lead perfect lives and we’d never make any mistakes.

But, then it hit us - there’d be bugger all to do. There would simply be no challenges - nothing to motivate us. And we wouldn’t even be able to learn anything, because we’d know it all. And then, it finally dawned on us - the heaven we’d created in our minds would actually be more like hell.

And you wouldn’t want to live in hell, would you? So, next time you’re reading about some superhuman entrepreneur, don’t let them make you feel like shit. Hit the backbutton and take some inspiration from these people who have screwed up more times than Jocelyn Wildenstein’s plastic surgeon, and they’re proud to admit it:

If you’re worried that your business is on the verge of catastrophe, check out Ian Denny’s excellent post: Business Success versus Failure: “The Matrix” - How Science Fiction Can Help.

And if you’re wondering how many mistakes you could actually make in business and still survive, check out: Five Business Mistakes I’ve Made, by Derek Featherstone.

Then read about how Ben Yoskovitz confesses that he screwed up by managing his employees with a Jell-O-Fist. If you’ve ever employed people - you’ll instantly feel less of an incompetent tw.t.

And if you think it’s impossible to screw up to the point where you’re financially destitute and still go on to build one of the best know brands in the world, check out: Six Things You Can Learn From The Man Who Had No Shoes.

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Inspiration and Motivation, Mistakes

Comments

12 Responses to “Are These Superhumans De-Motivating You?”

Ian Denny on January 11th, 2008 2:50 pm

That’s so true. It can be off-putting to witness the superhumans who leap out of bed every day like a cornflakes advert and never put a foot wrong until they go back to bed at the end of the day.

I do like to hear about the failures too - Peter Jones of Dragons Den fame had a video on his site where he talked about his failures - http://www.peterjones.tv/index.cfm?fuseaction=PeterJones.Video_Index

I like to see people fight back and win in the end.

Ian Denny’s last blog post..IT Support: 95% Resolved Within 4 Hours
Ben Yoskovitz on January 11th, 2008 2:53 pm

Thank you for the link. I’m certainly FAR from superhuman. And I think it’s fair to say very few people, if any, truly are. We all have faults. We’ve all screwed up. Most of us have screwed up many, many, many times. I have no qualms about airing some of that to the outside world, because it helps to see the “less-than-stellar” side of things. It helps me to write it, and hopefully others when they read it.

Ben Yoskovitz’s last blog post..Sprinting to Start Up: How to Launch a Startup
cathlawson on January 11th, 2008 3:36 pm

Hi Ben - Thanks for dropping by. I loved your post. I have made many of the same mistakes, particularly on the recruiting side.

I think it give a great deal of reassurance to other readers, knowing it’s not just them who screwed up. And also, it’s helpful for those who may find themselves in a similar position in the future.
cathlawson on January 11th, 2008 4:13 pm

Hi Ian - for some reason your comment wound up in the spam filter. I still haven’t sussed it out - it lets all the drug flogging tossers through and filters the regular posters out.

I will have to check out that video. I should imagine that Peter Jones would be another great person to learn from.
Nicole in Kuwait on January 11th, 2008 4:18 pm

Thank you once again for the good Information and all the links to get more
Yes, those Superhumans sometimes scare me, but they sure give a boost of motivation as well
cathlawson on January 11th, 2008 4:50 pm

Hi Nicole - thank you. That superbug in the photo you took would have scared me close up.

I’m hopeless at photography, but I love looking at the work of others.
RacerX on January 11th, 2008 6:29 pm

CathL

Great post.

I really believe that you do learn more from failure than success! I just hope it is others failures!

RacerX’s last blog post..The 861 Tax Argument Brought to you by Wesley Snipes
Mrs. Micah on January 11th, 2008 7:37 pm

It’s true. I know I’m only 22 and I’ve had some moderate successes, but I also go through periods where I get highly intimidated by the more successful.

Somehow I think that if I didn’t HAVE to work, I might be more motivated to do it. It would be more exciting and less stressful.
cathlawson on January 12th, 2008 6:18 am

Hi Mrs M - I’ve been sitting here for a few minutes trying to remember what it feels like to be 22!

And I can remember feeling the same way you did. But, I suppose that changes as you get to meet and know more people.

I can understand why starting out your working life saddled with a heap of student debt would make work more stressful. And I think it might be worthwhile you sitting down and thinking about what you would really love to do if you didn’t have to work. Then find a way to do it.
louise on January 12th, 2008 5:40 pm

thats so true Cath, perfection would be incredible boring really, and it’s the people who share the screw up’s they’ve made that are much more interesting and helpful to me, usually have a better sense of humour as well;-)

louise’s last blog post..How to Survive Debt Collector Harrassment
cathlawson on January 13th, 2008 3:29 am

Hi Louise - That is so true - I can’t remember ever having a laugh with any of those perfect types.
Barbara on January 15th, 2008 5:25 am

Hi Catherine,

Perfection…it’s something we might strive for, but few actually achieve. Plus, spending time with those who think they are perfect, is a real bore.

I think if we can learn from our mistakes, we become better individuals because we develop empathy and compassion for others who may be facing a similar situation.

That’s one great thing about blogging. Our blogs may not include “titles” behind our names, but we are teaching our readers lessons, based on our own experiences.

I would much rather learn from someone who is “street smart”, than book smart.

Barbara’s last blog post..Blog Loses Massive Traffic Due To Profanity