This one will be a short one – as many of you know, I’m currently at SXSW. It’s awesome and intimidating and overwhelming all at once.
One of the panels I went to the other day was “Try Making Yourself More Interesting,” moderated by Brian Oberkirch. In his discussion about how to make yourself more interesting, he presented the following, easy guidance:
Do Epic Shit
Many of us aren’t doing epic shit because we think we’re not big enough to do it. Or that it’s better to start with something small and that smallness defines our ambition indefinitely. Or that epic shit is stuff that epic people do.
Wrong. Everyday people do epic shit and then become epic. They weren’t born that way.
Okay, so you may not like “Do Epic Shit” as a mantra. You might prefer to think along the lines of “Create Something Remarkable” a la Seth. They’re saying the same thing, though.
What are you doing that’s epic? Why is it worth talking about? Why should other people care?
Rather than do something small and work like hell to build a story around it, do epic shit and let it speak for itself.
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All you need is the desire and the courage to act. Little people discover that they’re actually epic people every day. ;}
Megan M.s last blog post..Trapped in the Land of Awesome
Well this was just about a fantastic slap in the face from the universe. Excellent and very much what I needed to read. And I write epics, damn it!
I have held myself back in a bid to be “small”, as though “small” is better. Small doesn’t tread on toes, doesn’t offend, doesn’t hurt.
Epic, though, that’s a big thing. But it’s the epic stuff that’s all the more interesting, of course!
Joely Blacks last blog post..The long run that really hurt
Inspiring words. I get advice about not dreaming too far ahead, and taking things one step at a time . . . but maybe I just need to combine these pieces of advice and do something remarkable one step at a time!
Kels last blog post..Cisco’s Comic Strip
In my e-book I put it as “reclaim your audacious goals” because, as you say, it isn’t that we haven’t thought of doing epic shit. It is that we thought of it and then went, “Whoa that’s too audacious. I’ll do this small thing. It’s more likely to work.” And then we stay with the small stuff and convince ourselves that is all we are capable of.
JoVEs last blog post..If I knew then… #2: Publishing in the wrong places
Thanks for a lovely inspiring post. I’m fairly new to software development. My very first project is definitely “epic”. It’s a time tracker that guesses what project you’re working on automatically as you work. This is something I’ve not seen done before anywhere. It’s interesting that you talk about being held back – this is an idea I’ve had in my head for 5 years, but I’ve never done anything about it because I always thought I wasn’t good enough. It’s taken me a while to figure out that it’s setting out what you want to do and working towards it that’s important. As I go I’ll figure out how to do this and learn stuff along the way. If I could do this easily right now, the chances are it wouldn’t be worth doing.
John Gallaghers last blog post..Would You Buy This Product?
I actually like the first one better –
Do epic shit.
I sounds more like something I would say, and epic is the shit that gets done, gets people thinking, gets people moving. It reminds me of the economic meltdown in the US today. If it hasn’t done anything else, it has really gotten peoples attention, similar to another iconic question -
“Can you hear me now?”
Mike Kirkebergs last blog post..greatbattle.jpg
I love the phrase “do epic shit.” But the concept itself? Hey, no pressure!
Catherine Cantieri, Sorteds last blog post..Get your paper managed with the Sorted Seven
I love your quote. Hope you don’t mind if I tell people to do epic shit. Peace.
Absolutely agree! What’s more, epic shit feels great which kind of auto-qualifies it in my eyes.
One thing which keeps a lot of people stuck is a case of perfectionism, where we need to know exactly what to do before we do anything at all. Truth is, you learn by doing, and just about everybody who’s done something worthwhile has got shit all over themself learning how to do it.
Messy but true.
Ben Rowlands last blog post..Step 1 – I Am God
I totally agree. I aspire to create something so remarkable as to be audaciously, unmistakably EPIC. In capital letters and with the power to transform me into a one-name icon…..a guru….an artist.
Seriously, conceptualizing an authentically epic work is going to keep me up all night now.
Melissas last blog post..Hope…and Ascension
Based on your post, I’ll let this speak for itself: http://www.flickr.com/groups/springinto2009/
LisaNewtons last blog post..Travelin’ Local is in Wisconsin Again
I wanna do epic shit! Thanks for the pep talk. To the point, no fru fru garbage. I like it.
Marys last blog post..Beauty Basics From Bobbi Brown
Can I be the lone voice of contrariness, just for fun? What is “epic” or “audacious?” I’m convinced that many times when we reach for “big” goals, it can actually tip us out of our hearts. I’m enamored with the Mother Theresa quote: “No one can do great things. You can only do small things with great love.”
My experience in building my business over the last ten years, and the various projects I’ve been on before, is that invariably the large, audacious goals don’t feel real. The small, do-able bits that are about helping others are deeply satisfying and end up leading to the next. Our business is poised for great growth in the next couple of years, and yet where we are going now feels very doable and reachable. Yet five years ago where we are right now felt unreachably huge and I couldn’t really contemplate it.
When Martin Luther King, Jr was faced with the horrible problem of racism in the US, he dreamed not of becoming a world-renowned peace activist, but of simpler things: “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.” To attain that simple vision- a meal shared by people who would ordinarily be enemies- required huge change.
So, this isn’t meant to piddle in anyone’s parade. It’s just to share my experience that keeping things small, and not aiming to be “epic” can actually be incredibly, powerfully effective, one small step at a time.
Mark Silvers last blog post..Luddite Offline Marketing
@Megan: Right on! People discover that they’re epic; they aren’t born that way. I wonder what would happen if we were all attuned to the potential to greatness that lies within us?
@Joely: Smallness in reach can be a virtue, I think. It’s better to be well-known in a small circle than a nobody in a bigger one. There’s a context here that is easy to loose out. But dreaming small can be very dangerous, as well – especially when we run into people who aren’t dreaming small. It’s intimidating.
@Kel: You’re on it! See the next post.
@JoVE: Well said, Jo. I remember resonating with that when I read your ebook. What if academics really awakened and remembered their role as change agents, and, moreover, took the risk to dream big? If anyone should be dreaming, it’s academics – at least you’d think.
@John: Your last sentence captures a lot of the thinking here. Most of us would get bored with the easy life and know that there’s more out there. In the tension between the real and the ideal is where human ingenuity takes life.
@Mike: Epicness commands attention, no? And I hear you just fine. :p
@Catherine: No pressure, indeed. It’s easier to do than you think, if you take the long view.
@Jimmy: Tell ‘em to. We need more people to dream and start acting on it. A pacified stagnation is the last thing that we need.
@Ben: You can never have all of the information before it’s to late to use it. The trick is figuring out when enough is enough. And that’s messy, as you say.
@Melissa: Actually, if it’s authentic, you’re a long way towards epic. And the transformation will happen because of you, not the thing. But we become by doing, so it works out to the same thing in the end, I think.
@Mary: I try to keep the fru fru low. Sometimes it gives me an allergic reaction. I’m glad you liked it.
@Mark: This was a such a great post that it deserved its own post. Check out “Think Big, Act Small.” (p.s. You’re awesome.)
“Do Epic Shit”
3 words
4 syllables
10 letters
That’s a powerful idea packed into a tiny and memorable sentence.
Stephen – Rat Race Traps last blog post..How to be Successful by Taking Responsibility
Hey, great post (and title!)
My life has really taken off since I started taking on ridiculous, audacious goals. I was always so damn timid with my dreams. I really did believe what you said:
“epic shit is stuff that epic people do.”
Not anymore!
David Cains last blog post..Protect Your Dreams From Contamination
We all have the ability to DO EPIC SHIT. Its how we use our mind, that can dictate how epic our venture becomes. Success is just doing what you love and never giving up.
Do epic shit is my new mantra!
.-= jonathanfigaro´s last blog ..Power of Positive Thinking =-.
Nice and to the point post. Reminds me of a quote “If you think you are too small to make a difference, then you’ve never slept with a mosquito”.
Great points made. I try to think this way daily. I may not be doing something epic everyday but I am always doing something that will help become epic daily. In other words, I do something everyday to build towards ‘EPIC-NESS’.
Great links too…
Dave
LifeExcursion
.-= Dave – LifeExcursion´s last blog ..Minimalism: It’s What’s For Dinner =-.