Plunge In and Quit

James Marcus Bach has written a book called "Secrets of a Buccaneer Scholar". His book is about how to learn. Well, it's about a lot more than that but the goal is to kill the evil dragon that breathes the message "THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO LEARN!" James is an engaging writer and leads his readers through a labyrinth of related topics. We walk, get ambushed, waylaid and suddenly find ourselves back on the path - walking taller, more confident, ready to greet the next learning adventure!

It is his notion of "Plunge In and Quit!" I'd like to open for discussion. 

By James' definition, "Plunge In and Quit is a way of approaching any difficult task when you don't know exactly how to do it or even if you can do it." In my world, friends have heard me say, "I just dive in and learn along the way." Even when I knew I was drowning, the times I refused to quit were due to one of two things: Either I wanted things to happen my way ONLY or I was listening to the advice of well meaning others and not to my intuition.

James lists three elements in his theory: 

NO PROMISES
Do not have expectations and do not be attached to the results. 

TACKLE THE HARDEST PART, NOW!
Dive in and do it. Learn along the way. Because you've not set an unreasonable standard for yourself, you can do this without drowning. 

IF IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, STOP.
Listen to your intuition. Many people are uncomfortable trusting this practice. There's no hocus-pocus here. You know if it's working or not! Stopping doesn't mean it won't work. It means you are taking a break to see if it's worth it to continue. Need to reframe your plan, rework your idea? Time to start over, go back to the drawing board? 

Picture yourself inside a specific challenge. Big or little, stop and picture it right now. 

For example, I'm seeing myself, standing in front of a giant wall of letters that spells

                                     M A R K E T I N G 

and even though I need to be informed, for some reason it seems the more I read, the more intimidated I am, the BIGGER THE WALL BECOMES! I feel small and insignificant  and I hear myself telling me "it's useless. The internet is so vast and I'm not well known and no one wants to read my writing or hear my tunes. I'm just a nothing ...." WHOA.  STOP RIGHT THERE. See where this is leading? Self-deprecation and cowardice. Scaredy Cat!

Instead, I take 10 deep breaths to clear my head and I see it for what it is. A game. Marketing is just a game. It's playful and fun and I have lost my sense of humor in all of this. Marketing is communication. It's letting people know about my products and services . It's sharing and community oriented. I was VERY good at that according to my kindergarten report card! Marketing is my swimming pool right now. I'm learning a lot of new strokes by gathering information and trying things out. It's not hard at all and I'm already getting positive results! I plunge in, gather information through reading and talking with people who have been successful in this area. Then I plunge in again, start talking about my work/projects in present tense, trying different things, asking for help when I have exhausted my knowledge/expertise and when I get really frustrated or seem to hit brick walls everywhere I turn, I look at quitting as a viable option.

Each of us has walls to climb. Some walls are bigger than others. The current economic times are bringing forward new challenges in every arena. Some of the tried and true ways aren't working any longer and we are forced to find creative ways to make a living, to view and adjust our lifestyle, rearrange, replace, rework ... so we don't fall through the cracks. Plunging In and Quitting is a great way to explore new territory, discover new things about ourselves and best of all, to grow and learn.

I watched Ken Burns' series on our National Parks last weekend. Margaret Gehrke, wife of Edward Gehrke, was a writer and kept a fastidious journal during the years she and Edward worked to preserve the American land they so loved. She muses in one of her journal entries after describing the perseverance and diligent efforts people make in their lifetime .... "What else is there but to dream and do?"

That about sums it up for me. 

"A dream is a wish you make on a star. It makes its way from your mind to your heart. Your body will help by acting it out, bend and stretching ideas about. That is the moment the magic begins ...."  (pages 2-9, What Color is Your Dream?) 

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