Comments on: Start Before You Finish: A Case Study

By: When I Grow Up - The Blog » Blog Archive » Link Love: August 2009

When I Grow Up - The Blog » Blog Archive » Link Love: August 2009 — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:23:38 +0000

[...] Start Before You Finish: A Case Study on Productive Flourishing [...]

By: How to Get Started on Things You Keep Putting Off — Aliventures

How to Get Started on Things You Keep Putting Off — Aliventures — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:49:33 +0000

[...] (You can find out about those assumptions, and what steps Charlie really needed to take, in Start Before You Finsh: A Case Study) [...]

By: Ali Hale

Ali Hale — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 17:25:55 +0000

Great post Charlie – especially as I’m thinking of launching an Aweber newsletter myself within the next couple of months.

I’ve seen a lot of people recommend giving away a freebie. To be honest, I think it encourages site visitors into the mindset of signing up, getting the freebie, then unsubscribing (I know I’ve done this a few times). Frankly, I want it to be the content in the newsletter itself that’s the “cookie” encouraging me to sign up. So I have done.
.-= Ali Hale´s last blog ..Is Productivity Really Getting You More From Life? =-.

By: Sherrill Leverich-Fries

Sherrill Leverich-Fries — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:59:13 +0000

Ouch, ouch, ouch! Quit poking me, Charlie!

Thanks for a spot-on post – this is so helpful. Having to have it all perfect and know ahead of time what it all looks like is probably the single most ugly thing I use to keep myself stuck. Here’s to getting rolling!

By: Jenny Ryan

Jenny Ryan — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 13:27:22 +0000

Thanks-this is so helpful. I get stuck in those same places, so it is a relief to hear someone say that I can let go of all my attachments to things being a certain way and Just Do It! .-= Jenny Ryan´s last blog ..It’s Gonna Take A Whole Lot More Than Milk To Do This Body Any Good =-.

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:39:38 +0000

The author Holly Lisle in her (fantastic) course on turning writing process into a repeatable system has a great line about getting started and finishing:

SAFE never starts,
PERFECT never finishes,
VICTIM never acts,
FEEL never thinks.

I use it on myself for everything and it really works to get me moving.
.-= Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog ..Lessons in Happiness =-.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 03:48:37 +0000

What irony. I JUST hit the "Launch" button for my first newsletter tonight, and two minutes later saw this article in my reader! Like Brianna, I too went through the same thinking and procrastination until I finally DID IT. I even erased everything accidentally Monday night! Oh well. You know I had the same trouble with Thesis and ugly opt-in forms. Hmm. Well, at any rate, we have done it! We launched and now it's just getting better form here. Thanks so much for sharing with all of us today Charlie. Looking forward to reading your newsletter! .-= Adam´s last blog ..Inspiration Through Connection =-.

By: Briana

Briana — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:41:56 +0000

This is too funny – I went through the exact same process on Monday, with the exact same stuck points! It felt like a major chicken-or-the-egg dilemma: Freebie first? Newsletter first? Sign up for my newsletter and get the freebie? Then I questioned signing up & paying for aweber when my numbers will be so low… Well, um, you can’t exactly grow those numbers until you have a newsletter! And omg, I’m committing to sending out a newsletter and people (like, 3 of them) will actually be expecting it?! Anyway, I loved how you explained it as a metaphor for so many other things that really take just a few simple steps to begin, and then the project takes care of itself. Thank you!
.-= Briana´s last blog ..Breaking news: Success is better than failure =-.