Sterling Terrell

recovering economist

We Are Growing

We Are Growing

We are happy when we are growing.

I think I first heard this idea articulated within the context of persuasion.

Plainly: The direction matters more than the state.

But I also know this by my own experience.

Take this blog for example.

I am less concerned about how many unique visitors I have had over the last 30 days.

I am more concerned with the growth rate of unique visitors over the last 30 days.

Sure I am working toward a certain level of monthly visitors. But on the way there, consistent progress is what encourages me to keep moving forward – and lets me know I am moving forward in the right way.

Then I thought of a line from William Butler Yeats. “Happiness,” wrote Yeats, “is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that, but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing.” Contemporary researchers make the same argument: that it isn’t goal attainment but the process of striving after goals—that is, growth—that brings happiness.

-Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

Organizational Complexity Kills Deep Work?

Organizational Complexity Kills Deep Work?

Organizational complexity can kill that which you love.

This idea is the difference between entrepreneurship theory and practice.

And why being a food blogger is not the same as owning a media empire.

See, the larger the variation of things you are trying to do, the less time you have to focus on a core competency.

And many of our core competencies are what brought us to the table in the first place.

I think that we should always test and experiment, but that should not take away from the task at hand for one second.

For every ridiculous idea I get and want to try, I am always trying to simplify my processes.

Growth can sometime be worth it, but acknowledge the costs.

But if your mission is to “do the work I love doing without letting the business get in the way,” I strongly recommend against pursuing growth that demands more people on your team. Hiring people adds organizational complexity, the mortal enemy of heads-down, passion-focused, deep work.

-Rand Fishkin, Lost And Founder

Sterling Terrell