Ship in Six

Challenge #1: Start at the End

OK, so you've read Lesson #1: Start at the End...right? No? Well, take 5 and go do that. I'll wait. :)

Now it's time for ACTION!

This is not a drill: this is real world work time. Here comes the place where you find out if your mouth has been writing checks your butt can't cash.

  • Sit down.
  • Take out a piece of paper.
  • Grab your favorite writing implement.
  • Make yourself a mini-mind map based on the template below.
  • Fill the page! Hell, fill the back! Fill two! Go wild. Get it all out. Answer every question.

This process will help you picture The End, so you can Start There.

I made a handy-dandy template for you based on the key questions from Lesson #1.

You can either copy my mindmap by hand, or click to download and print it:

mind map document

Now: Your answers do not (repeat: DO NOT) have to be perfect.

They're not final and you're not stuck with them. This is a beginning, not an end.

But the act of physically writing down the details for That Thing will kickstart your creative subconscious. There's a shift that happens when you take ideas out of your brain and put them on paper. Your mind will begin to take it — and you — seriously. And it'll keep working for you in the background.

This is the first concrete step you can take to turn your dream into a reality.

(And yes, you really must do this on paper. Screens are a kind of dreamland for the mind. Paper is real.)

Next up: Wednesday's lesson will show you how to distill these wild, brainstorm-y notes into something you can actually do. Yes, you. For real. In six weeks.

Stay tuned,

Amy


Did you get this challenge from a friend?

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Here's what comes next

  • WEEK 1Start at the End, Design Your Destination
  • WEEK 2 — Cut Without Remorse, Break It Into Bites
  • WEEK 3 — How Do You Stay Motivated?, Finish Something Microscopic
  • WEEK 4 — The Myth of the Big Win, Creating the Little Win Habit
  • WEEK 5 — The Life Changing Magic of Shipping 1 & 2
  • WEEK 6 — Myth of the Big Launch, The Fear of Shipping
  • BONUS WEEK 7 — You Shipped! Now what?