The main motivator to begin a project is urgency. When the problem can wait until tomorrow, you'll never start today. The three-step process to start today:<ol><li>Identify the conflict: "I'll never succeed."</li><li>Define the solution: "Do this every day."</li><li>Explain why you must start today: "I need sixty comics for my meeting in two months."</li></ol>

Use Goal Urgency 

<img alt="Andrew Folts" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*_6nMkRx7xBMOheFJxESgR" width="28" height="28"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYmKGgtA2-R" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">January 11, 2022 </a>— Big projects are intimidating, but how motivated would you feel if tomorrow was no longer an option?Ever since I spent 3,000 hours on a daily comic challenge in 2019, the one question that’s been bugging me is…“How did I START?”I mean, for thirty years I tried and failed to do a project like this, and a lot of creatives struggle with the same thing — searching for the motivation to do something BIG.So what was the secret? Courage? Faith? Luck?I’ll tell you: it was URGENCY.<BLOCKQUOTE>I started drawing comics because there were only sixty days between me and total humiliation.</BLOCKQUOTE><h1 data-selectable-paragraph="">Hack: Goal Urgency</h1>Honestly, I could have made <a href="https://www.blurb.com/user/aofolts" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">365 Comics</a> twenty years ago, but I never did, because I never HAD to……because the problem of “not being an author” could always wait until tomorrow (or next week or next month).But when I agreed to a coffee meetup with a creative director who wanted to see my portfolio, I realized what a mess it was…and the only solution was to do something BIG……to start my book TODAY.<figure><img alt="Hand flipping through 365 Comics by Andrew Folts. Black and white." src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*69NPGRBXQcgbpjyDwl2Qlw.gif" width="680" height="383"></figure>That experience changed how I think about goals, and ever since, I’ve been starting with a three-step process, using <a href="https://fthelines.medium.com/341-tl-dr-writing-what-if-you-said-everything-in-ten-words-b20e945c3885" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">ten words or less</a> for each…<OL><LI>Problem: Identify the conflict. ex. “I’ll never succeed as a jack-of-all-trades.”</LI><LI>Solution: Define a simple fix. ex. “Draw one comic every day for a whole year.”</LI><LI>Urgency: Explain why you MUST start today. ex. “I need sixty comics for my meeting in two months.”</LI></OL><BLOCKQUOTE>Goals need urgency! If you always have tomorrow, you’ll never start today.</BLOCKQUOTE><figure><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/max/500/1*mmXFYa8Nj89VhiOQ1U0bG" width="100" height="100"></figure>p.s. If you liked this story, you can find more <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fthelines" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">comics</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClw-m9byFFLeYm8pXQ6Lviw" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" dir="ltr">video guides</a> on Instagram @fthelines and on YouTube, or <a href="https://fthelines.medium.com/subscribe" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">subscribe</a> to get new articles in your inbox whenever I publish. Thanks for reading! — Andrew (:

January 11, 2022 — Big projects are intimidating, but how motivated would you feel if tomorrow was no longer an option? Ever since I spent 3,000 hours on a daily comic challenge in 2019, the one…

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CYmKGgtA2-R">January 11, 2022 </a>— Big projects are intimidating, but how motivated would you feel if tomorrow was no longer an option?

Ever since I spent 3,000 hours on a daily comic challenge in 2019, the one question that’s been bugging me is…“How did I START?”

I mean, for thirty years I tried and failed to do a project like this, and a lot of creatives struggle with the same thing — searching for the motivation to do something BIG.

So what was the secret? Courage? Faith? Luck?

I’ll tell you: it was URGENCY .

I started drawing comics because there were only sixty days between me and total humiliation.

Honestly , I could have made <a href="https://www.blurb.com/user/aofolts">365 Comics </a> twenty years ago, but I never did, because I never HAD to…

…because the problem of “not being an author” could always wait until tomorrow (or next week or next month).

But when I agreed to a coffee meetup with a creative director who wanted to see my portfolio, I realized what a mess it was…and the only solution was to do something BIG …

That experience changed how I think about goals, and ever since, I’ve been starting with a three-step process, using <a href="https://fthelines.medium.com/341-tl-dr-writing-what-if-you-said-everything-in-ten-words-b20e945c3885">ten words or less </a>for each…

<ol><li>Problem: Identify the conflict. ex. “I’ll never succeed as a jack-of-all-trades.” </li><li>Solution: Define a simple fix. ex. “Draw one comic every day for a whole year.” </li><li>Urgency: Explain why you MUST start today. ex. “I need sixty comics for my meeting in two months.” </li> </ol>

Goals need urgency! If you always have tomorrow, you’ll never start today.

p.s. If you liked this story, you can find more <a href="https://www.instagram.com/fthelines">comics </a>and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClw-m9byFFLeYm8pXQ6Lviw">video guides </a>on Instagram @fthelines and on YouTube, or <a href="https://fthelines.medium.com/subscribe">subscribe </a>to get new articles in your inbox whenever I publish. Thanks for reading! — Andrew (:

How to Start That Big Project You’ve Been Dreaming Of

Use Goal Urgency

CURATED BY

Related collections

More like this