75 Comments (page 1)

First, I don't think this post is long enough. lol Really like the suggestions for the 5 exersizes! Rob

Talk about complete! Bookmarking this and I'll check in after a week using the heuristics :)

Love to see that the "Input Deprevation Week" concept is still going - love it!

WOW. Amazing. I'm floored at the level of insight and practicality of all of this; thanks for crafting such a hard hitting and generous amount of insight & inspiration. I'm going to go take a few bites out of that elephant ;)

I'd love to hear about your results! ... I'm real temped to get some boogie arsenal going after watching your product vid lol

Walt! It's awesome to see you here sir! It's about time we talk

Awesome! Looking forward to hearing how it goes

Hey Rob! Lol I just couldn't type any more words :P I'd love to talk with you about why you decided to stop blogging for yourself btw

Nice write up, it looked like I wasn't going to finish reading it:). I particularly like the mental exercise part.

Do you ever NOT knock it out of the park with your posts??? :-) This is fantastic. And all of the exercises are things I've done off and on (much as you describe your meditation practice) for a long time. But I am committing to a week of free association writing and only making goals for things that I can control, both of which I have lapsed on in a most ridiculous way over the last several months.

Thanks for the kind words, Mani! Let me know how it goes. Those two things together will create a massive shift... and some weird moments of "I'm not allowed to worry about that?".. or at least they have for me. I hope your situation is finding some kind of equilibrium - and I'm so grateful you have the strength to get through it.

Hey Lyke! Glad you dug the exercises. I hope you end up using them!

Thanks so much guys. Overthinking is my current situation now. I feel so much stuck but then out of the blue your e-mail pops up and made me realize that I have to go for it. I'm going to try your methods immediately!

GREAT post Kyle, We're thinking the same things! I even wrote an article using the Nassim Taleb quote in the start -- and some stuff from Shaw. (though not the same that you did). I will re-read this sometime again soon and probably comment again.

I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes :)

Awesome Ludvig! Loving your articles :)

Kyle - first time reader here, and you earned my subscription with this post. As a matter of fact, I would have purchased this if it were an eBook. I'm struggling with this very thing right now—taking action amidst all the noise—and your detailed and insightful post will be my baseline from here on out. Appreciate the work you've done here!

Just re-skimmed the article. And funny enough, yesterday I read the quote from Buffett in "Poor Richard's Almanac". Would you recommend reading the book from William Irvine? I got an email yesterday from a reader who thought I should read it. Does the book add anything new that hasn't been said by Marcus Aurelius or Seneca? On a last point, YOU are definitely the one who got the most out of writing this monster of an article. It's like Marcus Aurelius dialogues on steroids. PS: Great job doing the article for AOM. I'd love to hear more about that!

I think the Irvine book has two things that the old Stoics didn't offer: 1. Organization - He takes us through the evolution and demise of the philosophy and separates out some of the core practices/beliefs, then presents them extremely well. It provided me a framework to hang other Stoic reading on. 2. Modernizing - I believe Irvine is the first modern academic philosopher to seriously look at the Stoics. His understanding of the wider field of philosophy makes his observations that much sharper. hahaha I sure did benefit :D Thanks! I love the AOM community, actually working on another piece for them now.

Just taking the action of leaving a comment. Not really sure what I was planning on leaving in this comment but it sure does feel good to take action. Your post helped me realize that the actions I take and the actions that I avoid taking are all learning experiences. That I must keep making the "scary" actions and that by doing so things will continue to fall into place. At times it seems impossible that my small team of friends will be able to change the way students think about going to school. The thought of how awesome it will be when we help just one student change their view of education and participating in class is what keeps me moving forward. If just one student changes their perspective and realizes that education is a lifelong, fun and rewarding experience I will be happy. Thanks for taking the time to write a killer article it was well worth the read. It gave me a lot to contemplate. I am glad that I had faith in your ability to inspire. Keep on Kicking Ass Kyle!

Awesome takeaways, Cpt. Connect! What is your education project? I'd love to learn more.

I will refer to what we are doing as Project Humble as we are in our infancy. Project Humble is a little dose of gamification at school. By fusing the existing features and benefits of a token economy with video game mechanics, while eliminating the amount of time it takes to start and maintain a beneficial system. We have discovered a unique way to provide teachers with a motivational tool for their classroom. Thanks for showing interest Kyle. If you still want to know more I would be happy to share in an email.

Sounds amazing man - I'd love to know more. kyle at startupbros dot com

Alright. Thanks. Got the book. Will read it in the months to come.

Awesome post, Kyle. Thanks. I printed (this post got 39pages!!!) and took me 2 days to read, but, man, it was worth every second. After reading it, I started the youtube prank channel that I was avoiding to start forever, even though I knew that would be great in the long run to pass through massives social awkward moments. I also started one blog to talk about random stuff, just to practice my writing and think a little bit more. I also asked the top model that I have a crush out and we will marry next week(ok, this last one may not be 100% true). I will try to start some meditation this week. Looks to be a really good habit. Never heard anybody saying that lost their time after starting to meditate. So, let's try! Oh, and I laughed hard about the power of hot girls to increase your willpower. Somebody should make one research about that, the results would be really funny.

Hi Kyle... Cleverly motivating post! For me this is about demystifying fear, or how to smash the last obstacle between you and your business success. What I take away from it is: >>>>>FEAR IS THE OBSTACLE<<<<>>>>TODAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TOMORROW<<<<>>>>THINK LESS. DO MORE. <<<<>>>>YOU'RE BETTER OFF MAKING REAL-WORLD MISTAKES<<<<< Even if your try to imagine every possible outcome or scenario (some people call that "planning"), the world eventually throws you something you don't quite expect. Accept the unexpected. Action gets you places. Planning doesn't. And the only obstacle? Fear... The result for action? Wealth, freedom, success, happiness. I think the true secret of amazing success is the ability to overcome failure after failure and get something out of each experience. I'm not there yet, but I am persistent. Thanks for the well thought out post. It reminded me how overwhelmed I get myself sometimes.

Thanks for the great post Kyle, This is an article definitely worth bookmarking - as it has so much useful juice it can be referred back to again and again. Naomi

Great post Kyle. I certainly appreciated the honesty and vulnerability. I have to admit I often found myself facing an inner conflict while reading: should I keep reading and getting value from this post or should I stop because I'm avoiding taking action! ;) I appeared on Dragons' Den / Sharks' Tank and was mutilated on National TV. I knew it was going to happen and went in with my eyes open but nonetheless it didn't feel good being humiliated on national TV. The cool thing is that after the show I went on to find another investor and my kitchen gadget made it to market. Little did I know that marketing the product was more important than the product itself. I'm still learning.... That experience of being humiliated REALLY played on my fear of being judged and/or failing. It has kept me stuck for quite a while now but I'm tired of being stuck. Hence, I stumbled upon your post and I'm glad that I did. In any case, I wanted to thank you for taking the time to write this. I got much out of it and am now putting together my course: "idea to market for less than $200". My goal is to help as many people as possible to achieve "options". That's my way of saying "freedom" to do what you want, when you want and with whom you want. Will it work? Will people want to pay $99/month for access to my knowledge, processes and most importantly, my mistakes? I don't know. However, I do know that I will never find out unless I take action and put myself out there again. Thanks again Kyle. Wishing you much success. Sasha

Luiz! What is this YouTube channel? I'm pumped to see this....

Thanks for the well thought out comment, Mike! You distilled a lot of the post here: <blockquote>I think the true secret of amazing success is the ability to overcome failure after failure and get something out of each experience.</blockquote> Winston Churchill said something similar "Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." (I'm paraphrasing.) <blockquote>>>>>>FEAR IS THE OBSTACLE<<<<>>>>TODAY IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TOMORROW<<<<>>>>THINK LESS. DO MORE. <<<<>>>>YOU’RE BETTER OFF MAKING REAL-WORLD MISTAKES<<<<<</blockquote> Oh HELL YES!!! Fear is the obstacle we constantly have to push into. Today is more important than tomorrow because what we do today CREATES tomorrow. Awesome Mike. You are consistent man, I've seen that - and I've got full faith in you.

"useful juice" is high praise Naomi, thank you! I hope you leave a comment next time you come back - I'd really like to hear how/if this sticks with you!

Hey Sasha! Thanks for stopping by - I'd love to find you on Shark Tank, what episode were you on? If you need help in building/launching your course feel free to contact me and Will. That kind of information is in high demand - I think you'll be able to kill it! Looking forward to seeing what you do :D

Hey Kyle, I live in Canada so our version of Sharks' Tank is Dragons' Den. This is my episode: http://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/pitches/strawberease. Just be aware that not everything is as it seems when it comes to "Reality" television. There is lots of re-sequencing and re-dubbing footage. I'm not saying that happened in my case because if I said that, it might be a breach of a confidentiality agreement I'm not even saying exists because that would be a breach in itself, but you get my point ;) I actually thought I was going to puke that day! I had never had such a dry mouth in my life! Every time I tried to speak my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth! I could hear myself speaking and knew I sounded like an absolute moron. lol I originally went with the StrawberEase branding but realized, after consumer feedback, that my gadget actually worked well on just about any fruit or vegetable with a core so we re-branded to EasyCore. The site is at www.easycoreonline.com. I realized that it may not be my product that is as valuable as my knowledge. Anyone that has done what I have done knows what I'm talking about as you kind of have to learn everything from ideation to engineering to procurement (I went to China and have some HILARIOUS stories about some of the CRAZY food I ate) to importing to logistics to yada yada yada... Like I said, I've been quite hesitant to put myself out there after my experience but I KNOW I can help many people. It took me nearly 6 years to do something I can do now in 6 months. Plus with all of the methods to test marketability of a concept these days, one can literally test and discount or test and move forward with a concept for under $200 (including validation, building an eCommerce web site and making money). I'd love to hear your proposal on how we might be able to work together. Looking forward to chatting with you. BTW, feel free to email me directly at my submitted email address if you wish. Cheers! Sasha

The market for your expertise is HUGE right now! You could do extremely well helping others get on the fast track instead of taking the 6-year path you took originally. ESPECIALLY coming from someone who's been on Dragon Den!

Oh, would be a honor to have you as one of my first viewers on youtube, Kyle. Thanks! The problem is that the channel is in portuguese, so would be kind of pointless to you to watch. But I promise to warn you if I make some video in english.

Hi Kyle, great post! I have a chronic inaction problem that I am in the process of sorting out, and have actually already stumbled upon many of the things you speak about here like meditation and journaling by accident. I have been working to finish a masters in a field which I did not originally study, and have been thrown against the rocks of incapability and seeming stupidity time and time again, until I literally had no self-confidence whatsoever. I know I am capable, yet my inaction and the size of the task at hand has just kept pushing me further and further down the rabbit hole. Today marks the start of the climb. One step. Just one. I'm going to write one line of code. No more research, no more getting lost in the depths of maths, I'm going to start, and correct my course as I go, not try and plan my every move from afar. Thank you for putting it together so succinctly (I consider this succinct, you could write a library about this topic), it takes a lot of time and effort to put something like this together. It is greatly appreciated. :)

I can't wait to see what you make :D

Great writing! This explains in depth what sort of process I'm trying to go thru. One thing that you didn't mentioned that has helped me is physical exercise. I've started to realize that by pushing My body hard, tasks that before seemed so hard to do is way easier! My conclusion is that you automatically compare the task in front of you with the hard thing you did before, making a phonecall seems like vacation after you been running uphill and your'e legs are screaming!

Amen! I'm a big fan of mind-body boosting. Thanks Joel!

Hi Kyle, I've gotten a job since then but then realized it wasn't for me. Not that I'm picky, I just feel not performing well in that job like thinking about another thing. So I'm going to leave my job since I have now a contact with a small publishing company who is willing to publish one of my novels (it is still unfinished though) the pay isn't that big but at least it's a start, right? :)

Congrats on getting published Abigail!

Thank you for this article. Very different, insightful &amp; refreshing!

This is.... inexplicably valuable! I shall indeed be applying what is written here. I just recently started blogging (finally) and this will truly help me stay on the ball. There is much I want to comment and ask about... but I must know one thing first: Input Deprivation Week --- Im not going to lie... this sounds horrendously stupid and egregiously painful... but so very necessary!! How do I do such a thing though?! I really enjoy learning new things via YouTube (Vsauce, Veritasium, ExtraCredits, Game Theory, Idea Channel, SciShow etc) and blogs, and science articles, and .... but I understand why I should do this... but I dont want to!! HOW?! Does that mean no music too?!!! What am I supposed to do if I can't listen to music for a whole week?? I do not if I can stay sane... What about games? I just got a new game and try to play at least an hour a day (and all day on the weekends) as a way to wind down and relax... it helps.. are you saying I have to lose all my dailies for a whole week??!!! Ugh, and after reading this whole article every single reason (ie excuse) I can come up with is knocked down by the realization that this is the best, and only way to really get things done. Action. Im sorry if I sound a bit incoherent and unhinged here.. its because I am. It is just hard to fathom such a thing. I need (or want) your confirmation that I should really do this... (probably going to do it anyways) but man this sounds so scary 8{

The more you're freaked out by Input Deprivation the more you need it... I think you already know that though. Doing it without music is better. The idea is to be with your own ideas as exclusively as possible. This is how you do it: WRITE in your journal how terrible and stupid it is and how much you want to be playing your videogame or listening to music. Remind yourself that it's only a week. Remind yourself that you're doing something that will strengthen your mind for a long time. Nobody that has ever done this has told me it's a waste of time. It works. Of course, you're the only person who can force yourself to do it. I hope you do.

Wow what a post. I have copied and printed the "Analysis Paralysis" image. Been at the business since last May and have more 1.5 TB of info....yes that is 1.5 Terabytes of information on the online selling business. Talk about overload. That cartoon is exactly how I am coping. It is almost like a drug....just cannot get enough information. I start surfing at one website and down the never ending wormhole I go. Have spent over 5 figures on every offer going. Is there a detox unit for online store seller info junkies. All jovality aside I do worry how to get myself out of this addiction. I will read this post again and again.

Hi Pamela, There's no easy answer. Like you saw in the post, it's usually about consciously forcing painful deprivation of information/input and establishing action. You're in the group though, so on the bonus session we'll talk about some strategies specifically for importers.

Kyle, I really resonate with pretty much everything you've covered here including much of the personal stuff you've shared. Much of this is the way I've tried living my life in general and I say tried, because as we all do, I've often lapsed. The important thing is to be aware of ourselves and keep picking ourselves up faster and faster as soon as we realised we've slipped and keep moving. Keep moving and doing and acting, since this is the best way we can do our lives justice. And it really is all so much easier when we live every moment in the moment, in a mindful way, with purpose. Further to this, reading through makes me feel like I've come home in a way. It's reminded me and reinforced for me who I am and despite the fact that I'm doing things about 80% of the time, activating that remaining 20% will really kick things off to a whole new level. Your writing also reminds me of people I used to hang with in the past and have the most awesomely deep conversations with...and one big thing I've taken away from this is that I need to reconnect with that again and steer myself away from this vacuous world devoid of soul that I've found myself in in recent years. Well here we go then. Thanks for all the time you've put into writing this and for sharing it with everyone and thank yourself too for being true to yourself, the only way to be.

Angela, that comment... wow! I'm so glad this resonated with you. It's been tons of fun having you in the Jumpstart Group. You're a lot of fun to spend time with (even virtually!) Thanks for taking the time to share your insights as well. And for showing up the way you do :)

Kyle, For too many years I've been so busy 'surviving' life that I haven't been living it. I've read so much about ebay businesses, dabbled for awhile - and allowed negativism to cause me to give up. I thought it was others' but it was My own! The inactivity, fear if failure - your description of these life wasters is hilarious but so true.... I'm not sure why your step-by-step stuff is all free, but thank you times a million. My passion is not about being "rich" but philanthropic works require money. That's just how life works. My son is convinced he was born to be an entrepreneur, and had a small retail business that did very well for a while and then failed. Now, he thinks it was his one &amp; only, like the girl who broke his heart in high school. He'll be moving off of consoling himself with inconsequential articles and YouTube and reading your posts. For that, I can't thank you nearly enough. Truly, Kate

Hi Kate, Thank you for the kind words! If your son can do it once he can do it again... and much better this time. There are very few entrepreneurs who have lifelong success with their first venture. He should just be getting started :)

There is a generosity of information sharing here that is rare online. You guys deserve all your succcess.

Ohhh i felt so guilty for reading this and taking the time as I am more than aware of my procrastination, fear and excuses which were even more evident and valid the more I continued to read, damn you for being in my head! I have held such disappointment, shame and dislike for the path I keep going on and ironically I have less respect and time for people who have a world of opportunities for them to embrace yet they talk not walk... so I persevered and kept reading your powerful "novel". It was the boot I needed to stop this mindless clutter of excuses. So I thank you. I will put this advice into action and empower myself and start to believe I am more than capable. Much respect to you. Karena, (small business owner) Brisbane, Australia

Godspeed!

A simple thank you is just all I want to say! You really helped me put things into perspective- I will be looking forward to my "Input Deprivation Week" by God's grace-starting this weekend! Thank you!!!!

Keep in touch and let me know how itgoes!

Fuck. This is exactly what I needed.

I'm sorry this is nothing but BS... The author already lives off writing, everybody in the comments is kissing his behind... If course he can be positive. Then there is that look at your Facebook pics thing.. You were directing a movie? At a book unveiling? Mine were two selfies and some plants oh yes my life is so interesting. And meditation does none of those things... You sit breathe and that's it... No enlightenment, no feeling better... It's a crock. Then you get its better to try and if you failed you tried? Tell that to a land lord or the members of the opposite sex who will shun you cause your real world value is less then zero. Oh I've been writing since 2006, in 2011 I was in a book and neither paid anything and have done f all for my life. Point is its easy for those already living life to tell us losers what to do... Because they have it already. For some of us, life is just nothing but failure, pain and darkness and we will never get out. Drinking the kool-aid will do nothing for it.

The knowledge you shared was priceless and resonated deeply. One action that I have been meaning to take is to start approaching women. After reading this post, I realized that I could no longer rationalize my inaction away. I HAD to take action, and I did- I went out and made multiple approaches last night. Thank you.

Not sure to understand how to create systems or what do you mean by create systems? Do you have a specific post on that specific subject?

i read just a couple of sentence above, and realize i don't need to read the rest and start taking action. Thank you

This is great man, and all true, as I have lived this way since before many here knew what anything was; but there comes a point for some where this type of action no longer works. Then you're done. The realization that all of this stuff about action is ultimately an avoidance of [or bringing one to] non-dual reality i.e. that the game is a lie; it is a massive superimposed collective illusion created by the demiurge [or Satan* if you will] in order to control this world (via collectivism). I'm not religious per se I'm just stating what I have come to clearly see, the obvious. The instant you see this you enter the kingdom of an actual living God that gives you more power and excitement than one can imagine. This is when you begin to float like a feather through life in awe of every moment. This is why all of the propaganda, why the world seems upside down much of the time. Best. *If not, then evil defined.

This resonates with me so much. I was so frustrated, that I actually had to type " How to take actions". I am going to give your article a chance . I am going to make changes. May be it will change my life. May be it will not. But, I will try my best that it changes. I am actually sick of being like this. Thank you so much. I will read in a month and update you about how it went.

Okay, Kyle. You are my new favorite person ever. THIS IS WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! I kept getting the advice, "Take Action, Take Action!" And I was like, "Honestly, what does that even MEAN? I can only think of two things to do after reading 100 or more articles. I've done both of those a few ways and nothing's moving." I am starting my Input Deprivation Week today. I have written down each "tip" and I am putting my actions that I have control over in a one page "note" which has a big font and double spaced. I have always taken action in business because the next step always seems so obvious to me. The problems are clear (measurable--like profit/loss, "likes" up or down, etc). But I have been at a TOTAL loss at how to take action personally (okay, specifically in a relationship potential situation) because...$#!%!!!! I HAVEN'T EVER DONE IT!?! I am 45 years old and I have only ever just rolled along in relationships? Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, dude? This time, I actually care. I care enough to make a decision to pursue it. I choose it. But what now? And it's not a perfect situation (see tip re: starting a business in a depression), and I still choose it. So, I Googled "how to take action." Enter this article. 2 heuristics like a blow to the head. Check. Feelings of powerlessness waning. Check. I am starting IDW when I hit send on this. Check. Journal for SoC Writing by my bed. Check. Ready to learn by doing? Check. Ready to fail a thousand times and put Thomas Edison to shame? Check. Hammock cleaned off for meditation. Check. Ready to die tomorrow? Check (sorta...asking for a week though). So...God Bless Ya, Kyle. You just changed a life. Maybe two, if all goes well. Heck definitely two because if this relationship doesn't happen, and I keep taking action, one will. And it will be the right one, because I finally knew what I was doing enough to rock it. I owe you, man. I will post my results in a week. See you on the flip side. Peace.

Did you do it? How did it go???

They have it because they chose to keep doing stuff. Even when stuff didn't work, they did different stuff. Eventually it breaks (Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point). I know that you wouldn't be here if you weren't valuable. We need you somehow. And I actually made a plant into a relationship (it's a really long story, but a plant is only as interesting as you make it). I hope you choose to be interested in life, and be interesting because your unique take is vital to our world. And for the record, I'm not kissing Kyle's behind. Kyle took a long ass time to write all this out. He didn't do it for his health. He did it because there's no one secret. There's a thousand little actions every day that make us awesome at being us. My success is measured in the oddest ways: did I hear my falcon above my house call today? Then I'm awesome. Did I make someone laugh? Winning. Did I buy someone a new coffee because they didn't like the one they ordered? Sure did. And I feel great. Did I epic fail trying to touch someone to show I thought they were gorgeous. Yep. Never saw such a look of shock and consternation. I officially know one way not to "take it to the next level." This post of yours forced me to really go back through and decide if this article was BS. THANK you for that. I decided it wasn't. If Kyle succeeded doing this stuff then I bet I can too. Keep choosing to act in your own way. We need you.

Look at jamesclear.com he explains it

this is one of the best article

Can I listen to music on my input deprivation week?

This hit me right to the core. Thank you for doing this. Thank you

I've spent 18 months in therapy trying to verbalize roughly a dozen of the points you've mentioned. You did it so concisely! I wish I had found this sooner for a few reasons: 1) I wouldn't have felt quite so crazy in my fear/stagnation/inaction mode and 2) I would have tried methods sooner without having all the [insert impossible-to-reach perfect plan here] ducks lined up. Thank you for putting words to the situations I was struggling to express. This is eye opening.

Great article, I like to come back to it from time to time. Also, ``... what should of happened ...''. Could you please correct that?

thank you for this i loved it so much. so many reminders there.

Thanks for checking out the article! :)

Thank you for the article, it was a very insightful read by someone who seem to truly understand overthinking. I especially liked the "5 Exercises for Becoming an Action-Taker." I am at a crossroads and action is needed more than researching at the moment, so I will try these exercises. I would have loved to have seen more women and people of diversity represented in references to quotes and authors, not just as funny memes.. But other than that, the message still felt authentic. Thank you kindly!

This is my question too :) maybe while we are conducting an action...