Constantly surprise yourself
I never finished college. The time I did spend in college I learned about web design. But I consider myself more of a web developer than a designer. And I never learned a thing about entrepreneurship. (Ha, I just had to look that word up in the dictionary.)
When thinking recently about some of the values I subconsciously lived by when starting Threadless, I kept coming back to one. I was never afraid to figure things out on my own. Things may not have been done as well as an “expert” could do them but they got the job done. It is also extremely gratifying to just stumble your way into the unknown and come out of it with something new that you learned or made or figured out. The feeling of surprising yourself, finding out that you are capable of doing something you didn’t know how to do.
It’s a value I look for in people I work with. People willing to step outside their comfort zone every once in a while and do something new… innovate.
If you don’t already know it, you are capable of so much more than you already know. Push it. I bet you could figure out how to make the best blueberry pie in the world if you wanted to.
I stepped outside of my comfort zone and moved (out of Boulder) to a new city (San Diego). Wondering if that’s not all I should do… so your post has gotten me to think a little more about what other comfort zones I can abandon. Hmm…
Hugs to Arli!
I totally agree. I got a call last night from a potential client. After finding out exactly what he wanted I couldn’t believe that he was calling me. He was asking me something he very well could do on his own if he just tried. Instead of trying for himself, he would rather hire someone to do it for him. I can’t complain, it keeps me in business but it’s shocking on how much people don’t even attempt. If you don’t know how to do something, learn it, figure it out. Everything I know is from trying. And the college thing….. I finished and I may have used 2 things that were directly taught. Try it! what do you have to lose but the time it takes to try?
You are right, so right. The reason I write is because some crazy guy who stood 9 feet tall and talked like Kerouac told me and a bunch of trembling poets, writers, and musicians to “Scare yourself!” I’ve been hearing those words for 16 years. Damn skippy. Threadless makes me happy. What more can you ask?
Jake-
I like the things you’re saying. For the past 2 years, I’ve been working on a new concept in outerwear that has never been attempted before. Looking back at when we started off, I was amazed at how many times I was faced with the response “We can’t help you” or “that’s not feasible”. But what’s more incredible is that I never realized the transformation I was undergoing by working through those obstacles. I never considered the implications of hearing “No” beyond the fact that now it was up to me. We just did what we had to do to keep our dream alive, and that’s because we believed in what we were doing. We were creating more than an outerwear company…we were creating a culture. And when you start breaking down barriers using those same values, that culture becomes a reality. It becomes a way of life.
Shoot me an email when you have the chance.