STP 135
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[00:00:03] James Marland, MBA: So sometimes not choosing is actually a a choice to not finish. So not defining it means that you're never going to be done. You're just gonna be working and adding and researching forever. So here, here's the gentle push, I guess Create a finish line. Create a finish line for for yourself.
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Introduction and Podcast Rebrand
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[00:00:27] James Marland, MBA: Hello and welcome to the Scaling Therapist Podcast. I'm your host, James Marland. ~Uh, ~this is the show where we help you turn wisdom into in income. And today I am gonna talk about what happens when you have too many ideas and you don't know where to get started. First, before we begin, I wanna talk about, ~uh, ~the, the name of the show.
[00:00:49] ~Uh, ~I'm going through a, ~uh. ~A change, a rebrand, ~uh, ~from the scaling therapy practice to just scaling therapist. And I am going to be changing my webpage [00:01:00] and some other assets, probably my social media to just scaling therapist, ~um, ~just for a more unified, ~uh, ~a unified output so that people can find me easier.
[00:01:11] So. Look for that change on YouTube for scaling therapist videos. ~Uh, ~this is the Scaling Therapist podcast of the scaling therapist webpage and the scaling therapist, ~uh, ~cohort and scaling therapist directory. All those things are coming in the works, ~um, ~in the future, but I just wanted to let you know if things start changing.
The Basement Project Story: A Lesson in Scope Creep
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[00:01:30] James Marland, MBA: If you can't find some links, it will be because of, ~um, ~the, the name change. So now with that out of the way. You know, let's talk about having too many ideas. And if you're like me, you've probably had a lot of ideas and sometimes you don't know where to start or you don't, where the project starts and ends, or there's some sort of scope creep.
[00:01:51] And I want to tell you a true story about how scope creep impacted my life. And it starts with a basement project. [00:02:00] And in this basement project. It. We, we bought the house. It was an unfinished basement, but there was a lot of potential and it was, ~uh, ~it was kind of run down, ~um, ~like the, the, ~uh, ~somebody had started to build a wall but didn't finish.
[00:02:15] There were swear words written in duct tape on the floor. There was a rusty sword down in, like, behind some of the walls. Like it was just weird. It was a weird place and. And I was like, oh, we can turn this into a, a game room and maybe some storage and have some nice couches and a tv. Like I had a vision down there, but it started with half, half the basement.
[00:02:40] Half the basement would be, would be the couches in the tv and the other half would be storage. 'cause we needed storage. But then I thought, well, what if I could build, remodel the. The storage half into an office. And then we'd [00:03:00] have, you know, I'd get an, I'd get an office for work, for home. So in one decision, I doubled the amount of work.
[00:03:07] I added plumbing because I had to move the washing machine and the dryer, I added, ~um, ~extra doors, ~uh, ~and extra build out and extra, ~uh, ~electrical. Extra materials, like double the materials and ~uh, ~you know, that one decision just doubled the project and it made it very overwhelming because then I didn't know where to start.
[00:03:33] And then I was like, oh, well then if we're doing that part, we need to redo the stairs that go up to the basement. And then it started to creep into, well, if we do the stairs, we gotta do the trim. And if we do the trim out by the door, then maybe we paint the living room and we paint the living room. And it was just like, blah.
[00:03:52] It just was, went more and more. I had all these ideas and it, it just ballooned out a picture. It just [00:04:00] ballooned out of of sight. Like it just, there, there was just too, too many things and I had all these ideas. And I just drifted. I just drifted to do more, more, more, more, and just kept adding. And then it never felt done.
The Power of Stopping and Defining Limits
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[00:04:16] James Marland, MBA: But when I decided to stop adding things, I was able to make progress. In fact, because I kept adding things and I kept changing the plan, I, I got started and didn't put up. Har hardly any walls for a year. ~Like, ~like it, it kept me so stuck, but when I decided, okay, this is what we're doing, this is where we're stopping, then I was able to move forward with the project.
[00:04:47] That that's the true though about, about. Getting things done. ~Like ~once you, once you break it down into the parts that you can do and you stop adding, you actually make [00:05:00] progress. So let's, let's pause here and say, first I wanna affirm you that having a lot of ideas and being a creative entrepreneur and having agency and wanting to try things and having great strengths, that's not a problem.
Creativity vs. FOMO: The Challenge of Too Many Ideas
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[00:05:15] James Marland, MBA: That's just a sign that you're creative, but you have to. You have to reign that in. You, you probably have a dozen good ideas every day or every month. But the, the, the flip side of that, and the, this is, this is true for me, I'm speaking for myself, is I have all these good ideas and I feel like I'm missing out.
[00:05:36] It's called fomo, fear of Missing Out. I have FOMO about missing out on. All these good ideas. If I don't tra, if I don't chase them down, then, then I'm just wasting. I'm gonna waste another good idea and then. Then I, then I get stuck into research. Like, I like to research and plan and, and dream. [00:06:00] Then I don't, then I don't act on it.
[00:06:02] I don't put it in motion and the research makes me feel good, but it's not actually a accomplishing anything. So maybe. Maybe if you're thinking about a project that you wanna do, maybe it's build something outside your therapy practice or build a, ~uh, ~a project that creates income stream outside of one-on-one services.
The Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Approach
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[00:06:27] James Marland, MBA: But you're stuck in adding things or you're stuck in doing research or you're, you're stuck because your fear of doing wrong, you're. You're not, you're not stuck because all these ideas are bad. You're, you're, one of the reasons you could be stuck is you just haven't defined what you're doing. The minimum people call it the minimum viable product.
[00:06:50] MVP you haven't designed. What is the minimum amount it takes to get this to work? Now, if I would've done this in my basement, the minimum I would've wanted [00:07:00] wanted would be half the basement walled in. With, with an electricity for a TV and maybe a couch. That's it. If, if I was going to do the minimum amount to make me feel successful with the basement, that's, that's what it was.
[00:07:16] No electrical or no minimal electrical, no rearranging the plumbing, no extra doors. ~Um, ~no double the, the amount of material I would've done. The minimum viable. MVP. So maybe you need to recognize that you have all these good ideas, but define them within an end part, minimum viable product.
[00:07:42] And that's what happened for me with the, the basement. When I said, the walls go here, the TV goes here, this is where we're putting the couch, this is where we're putting the lights. It all came together. And I, and I actually got, I, I got my father-in-law to help me. And he built houses and he showed me how to [00:08:00] do some of the, the drywall and some of the electrical, and we were able to make great progress on putting that basement together.
Creating Your Finish Line
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[00:08:09] James Marland, MBA: So sometimes not choosing is actually a cho a choice to not finish. So not defining it means that you're never going to be done. You're just gonna be working and adding and researching forever. So here, here's the gentle push, I guess like create. Create a finish line. Create a finish line for for yourself.
[00:08:34] Pick a few of your good ideas. And then say the finish line for this idea, the minimum viable product for this idea is this goal. When I know I have hit this, I am done. Pick. Pick a target that feels easy to do, or pick a target that feels like you've accomplished something, that it's clear and useful and get [00:09:00] started.
[00:09:01] And that's, that's the, that's the podcast really, like, that's one of the things I wanted to share with you. Just if you're, if you're stuck, maybe it's because you have too many good ideas. You just gotta choose a few, 1, 2, 3 that you, you wanna work on. Put the others on a list that you're gonna come back to for later, and then create a finish line for yourself.
[00:09:25] Like the basement, define where the walls go. Define the steps that you're gonna take to make them, to finish them. You've probably got stuff half done already, like if you're, if you're a creative type. ~Uh, ~or a teacher or somebody who's just really passionate about your topic or the people you wanna help, you already have ideas in your head.
[00:09:50] They're like, they're like, the walls half finished, but you just keep adding. Or you have fear, or you have the, ~um, ~the, [00:10:00] the, you're delaying by research or delaying because of some of, you know, it's just not perfect. You, you're probably already halfway there. So pick an end date, pick a pick a finish line.
Taking Action: Share Your Goals and Get Started
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[00:10:11] James Marland, MBA: And once you've done that, ~um, ~tell somebody about it. Tell, tell a friend, tell a coworker. Email me. Say, this is the project I'm gonna be working on. This is the thing that I was working on, and now I've decided that I have a finish line and I'm going to, I'm going to complete it. ~Um. ~It's, it might be messy.
[00:10:35] You know, new things are rarely ever completed exactly the way we want to, but getting imperfect action is better than delayed action. Get it done. Take it care. Take it care of you. Have great ideas. Start. Start working towards that finish line. This is James Marland Income [00:11:00] Stream consultant. It's now time to put your messy mission in motion.
[00:11:06] See you next time.
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