Are You in Survival Mode?
Related Articles:
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The You Show – Seth Godin
Are You Who You Want to Be? – Jamie Varon
Things we Think About But do Not Say – Jonathan Mead (Zen Habits Blog)
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Ryan – this is great advice. I’ll have more on this later (working on a similar topic myself) but it’s clear that in order to get where we want to be in life, we have to stop surviving and start LIVING. Coasting through life, conforming to mediocrity, it’s all fine and well if you are in survival mode, but becoming excellent at what you do, being ‘all that you can be’ requires you to step outside your comfort zone, putting yourself out there, and pushing through, even if it means taking a step back to take a giant leap forward. Good thoughts man.
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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 1:27 am
@Matt – Let me know when you hash out your topic. I’d love to take a look and contribute to the discussion. For me it boils down to something Tim Ferris, Ramit, and my good friend Charlie Hoehn always preach and that’s long term thinking and strategy. We need to be thinking about where we want to end up, and then in the scheme of thing small steps back are nothing compared to the leaps forward we can eventually make.
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Mediocrity sucks. If you want to be complacent about life and just go from paycheck to paycheck…fine by me. I can destroy you. I look at business and life as a constant competition (I’m a good sport obviously) but I do play by different rules (if any).
When I started The Lost Jacket…I was a nobody. I still am to a certain extent but due to the relationships that I have built I think I’ve been able to raise myself above the current mediocrity, but only just barely. I still have to work harder to succeed in my mind.
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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 1:28 am
@Stuart – You’re now officially the top commentator on this blog. I just want to say I really appreciate all the contributions you’ve made to this blog recently. And you’re journey with the Lost Jacket is a perfect example. You’re pro-actively making noise, with the right people, and with the right places. Best of luck to your continued success, and looking forward to our joint post!
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Hey Ryan,
Nice thoughts. Of course it depends on what you mean by survival mode. If you mean that you shut down and withdraw to a cave to wait out the winter, then I agree with you.
If on the other hand your survival instinct is to get creative, innovate and fight harder to stay in the game, then survival mode is one of the most constructive processes you can go through.
Sometimes, you can’t make the leaps of faith or think outside your comfort zone unless you are faced with your survival.
Good food for thought though.
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admin Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 1:28 am
@David – Excellent points, and something I did consider after recording the video. I was using the context of the quote I shared from the magazine, but without a doubt. “Survival Mode” in a different sense definitely forces some people to step up and challenge themselves and to succeed.
For this particular video, I think Stuart is spot on in that I’m definitely interpreting it as a mode of complacency, doing what one can do to “just get by.”
Either way I think it’s an interesting state of mind worth evaluating, and I appreciate you taking the time to comment!
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Definitely a great “deeper” look into a “simple” quote from ESPN. Coincidentally when I was reading that article I took away the same section. Especially the idea that sometimes you have to take a step backwards to be able to take 5 steps forward. In our extremely driven, ambitious young professional generation, it is sometimes far too scary to admit that we might have to deign “lower” to get the future we want.
For example, I’m trying to start freelance writing more, which is a field to break into that is somewhat similar to an actress in LA. There are millions of us (writers) and only a few of them (jobs.) So what did I do to set myself apart in my market? I got in touch with a ton of local weeklies to see if they would let me write community and opinion pieces for their papers. It was totally a step back from what I wanted to do. While I love writing the articles & being featured is quite an honor, it isn’t exactly what I envision my writing career being. You know what, though. While others I meet with who are also trying to break into freelance writing lament a thin portfolio and no opportunities I’m starting to get into publications I never would have before.
It’s easy to creep along in survival mode, occasionally grasping out for something more but being scared to make a move (in either direction) to change your circumstances. Great post!
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June 3rd, 2009 at 10:11 amGreat points. So many people work in jobs they don’t like for years just so they can retire and spend a very short time (when they’re also not always in great health) trying to do what they love. Why not just go for it now? Do what you love or at least start laying out a plan for how you can do this.
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June 3rd, 2009 at 10:15 amAt the risk of sounding gushing…. I love you.
You have absolutely no idea how much this helped me today. I’ve been having a really hard time the last few weeks because I knew I failed—and failed bad. And it wasn’t so much a fear of the failure as it was a fear of admitting the failure that was paralyzing me.
I didn’t have phrase for it at the time but I absolutely was in “survival mode” until about 2 days ago when I stood up and said NO. I’m not going to let my life live me. I’m going to live my life and take control again.
And since I did that, the kharma boomerang came back around and things fell into place one by one.
Oh and by standing up and taking responsibility for my “failure” I’ve actually been able to see it for what it was: a mere setback, not a failure at all. It’s just a challenge to overcome, learn from. I know how to make it a success and know the steps to do it.
Thank you for reminding me. Bookmarking this to watch everytime I need a mental pick-me-up.
(and very sneaky using David’s name in a video! Not sure that topped my “david is a brownie” reference though….)
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June 3rd, 2009 at 11:16 amDont be ordinary!! So true. So many kids just dont want to take the leap. Get that safe job first and Ill pursue my dreams later. They never go back.
Do it right from the start!
If you want to live the dream you have to be doing thingsa little differently.
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June 3rd, 2009 at 6:07 pmLove the video, Ryan! Especially that the Sham-WOW and Snuggie are right up there with Google as top innovators.
This brings me back to a question I ask myself in relationships and at work: Is good enough really good enough? So many people settle for something that is good enough, ordinary (as you put so well) but not exciting. They think survival mode is somehow “better than nothing.” But that’s not how people thrive.
Hate to use Jamie as an example, but since you linked to her in your related articles, I’ll go ahead anyway! Jamie got ripped apart in the comments at Penelope’s blog for quitting her job after two weeks. But she is absolutely THRIVING right now, with more and more freelance work coming her way, learning so much about web design and running her own business. If she listened to those hundreds of pieces of condescending advice and settled for being ordinary out of fear or survival-mode, she would be miserable right now. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone if they have the choice (I realize all circumstances are different).
Thanks again for a really great reminder for us all to live big and take risks! Oh – and I love ESPN magazine too
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June 4th, 2009 at 12:08 am