Lights, camera, freeze! Anyone that is even slightly familiar with the movie business knows that the preceding statement should be lights, cameras, action. The key word in the phrase is Action! I was speaking to a friend yesterday about a project he was thinking about working on and he told me about all the research he was doing for the project. My question was, have you actually done anything?

So many of us get to the point of actually doing the thing we need to or want to do and then we freeze because we are worried about screwing it up or failing or looking bad. All of these are legitimate thoughts but they are also the thoughts that hold us back from doing so much. The truth is that the first time you try something the chances are very high that you’ll be bad at it.

A term often used in the military is ‘embrace the suck.’ If you can move yourself to getting comfortable and curious about why you are bad at something you can then use it as a tool to get better and take more action.

Commit yourself today to taking one small action towards something you’ve been thinking about doing for a while and see what you can learn.

Constantly seeking external validation from friends, family and peers is a guaranteed way to lose who you are. We all have a desire to belong but very often we go about it the wrong way. Instead of being ourselves we curtail our thoughts and hide our feelings in order to be accepted. We put our self-worth in the hands of others seeking approval and validation. Yet we admire the individual that stands up and speaks their mind. We admire the trailblazer that people line up to follow. These ‘unique’ souls that take the stand and say this is who I am. The irony is that you don’t know who will align with you until you stand for you who you are. Your thoughts, ideas and emotions are what make you unique and special.

Renowned investor Peter Thiel has this great question “what is something you believe that nearly no one else does?” Answering this will be one step in finding and expressing your uniqueness.

To help I’ll go first. I believe that immortality will be made possible very soon. In fact back in 2003 I had expressed a desire to live to be 132 but now that I have young children I’ve chosen to extend it indefinitely.

Remember, validation is for parking tickets : )