I’m not going to see The Avengers this weekend, because we are holed up at home, potty training our son Aiden.
Honestly, we probably waited too long for this (he’s almost three), and now we’re regretting it. The past week, we’ve been teaching him how the potty isn’t something to be afraid of and pooping your pants isn’t as cool as it sounds.
We’re putting him in underwear and whenever he starts doing a little funny dance, we pick him up, and race off to bathroom. He sits there for anywhere for a few minutes up to half an hour, reading books and waiting for it to come.
This morning, the third time we did this, he peed. In the potty. We danced. We sang. We celebrated. A star on his potty chart and oozing pride from both of his parents ensued. And you should have seen him beam with confidence.
Potty training wasn’t as difficult as we thought — not for us and not for Aiden. But what it did take was:
- The decision to start.
- The determination to see it through.
- The discipline to stick with it until the end (we cleared our weekend calendar).
This reminded me of the way we approach our passions. We worry. We stall. We never begin.
Maybe you have a passion you’ve probably neglected in some way. Call it fear or resistance or just plain laziness, but most people struggle to start things because they’re afraid.
Really, what I think this is is learned helplessness.
The Potty Train Your Passion Challenge
So I’m issuing a public challenge. It’s called The Potty Train Your Passion Challenge (#PTYPC). Over the next 48 hours, you’re going to pick a passion and take measurable action on it. And I’m going to join you.
Here’s how it works:
- Decide. Pick a passion. Make it something easy to do on your own that doesn’t require any extra money or resources to implement.
- Learn. Watch or listen to somebody else doing what you want to do. Spend no more than 30 minutes doing this. Then get to work.
- Do. We don’t learn best by listening or watching. We learn best by doing. So get started, practicing your passion.
- Share. This can look like hitting publish on that blog post, bringing your product to market, or making your first sale. The point is feedback. You MUST deliver some kind of result (e.g. X amount of new visitors to my blog, Y amount of book sales, Z amount of money from my new product) that involves interacting with someone else.
This will last 48 hours (it ends on May 4 at 3:00 P.M. CT). Anyone who participates will get a chance at one-on-one coaching with me (plus free membership to the highest level of my new Art of Work Course). I’ll be picking three winners and sharing their stories on this blog.
In the next 48 hours, I’m going to figure out how to roast my first batch of coffee beans and sell them. I have no clue how to make, much less, sell coffee, but I’m going to try. (I'll be using all the techniques I teach in my latest course and sharing what I learn along the way via Twitter.)
Warning: You may fail. The point of this challenge isn’t to succeed. It’s to do something and learn as you go. The product will be greater confidence and clarity (and maybe some cash in your pocket).
Are you in? Just post a reply (“I’m in”) in the comments with a little detail about what your #PTYPC project will be. Let’s get started!