Stop Seeking Attention, Start Doing Work That Matters
"If I talked a lot I should be like a parrot, which is the bird that speaks most and flies least." - Wilbur Wright
At the beginning of any journey you must ask yourself one important question: Are you doing it for the experience or for the Instagram pictures?
Whether starting a podcast, writing a book, or founding a company, your actions should be in service of something more than a performative accomplishment.
I look to the Wright brothers for inspiration when I’m tempted to toil toward feats of vanity. Their example is the apex; less a realistic goal than a true north towards which we can all navigate.
Wilbur and Orville Wright’s indifference toward financial gain helped them to be the first men to fly. The brothers funded their flying experiments with profits from their bicycle shop. They were financially beholden to no one, so they never felt inclined to sell out or race to make a quick buck. Because they never bet the farm, they stayed alive long enough to succeed in their goal - manned flight.
Wilbur and Orville didn’t have investors to please like others attempting to fly. Samuel Langley famously demonstrated his flying machine in 1903 before a crowd of on-lookers and reporters on the banks of the Potomac. The event proved anticlimactic when the flying machine flopped into the river, wasting $70,000 of investor money. Meanwhile, the brothers toiled in obscurity on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and achieved a successful outcome on about $1,000. With no rush, no external pressure, and no ego, success found the men.
After their first manned flight in 1903, Wilbur and Orville returned to Dayton, Ohio, without a parade, a newspaper article, or a public congratulation. In an era where we celebrate middle school graduations, this is hard to believe. Interestingly, the brothers couldn’t care less. Instead of wasting time celebrating, they got right to work preparing for their next round of trials.
Ryan Holiday discusses the same idea in his book, Ego is the Enemy. The best approach when creating is to not tie your ego to your outcome. When Holiday publishes a book, his next one is already in the works. This practice keeps him grounded and insulates him from ego if the current book is a smashing success. It also gives him a distraction if the book is a total dud. In the same fashion, the Wright brothers were busy at work on the next iteration of their airplane before anyone even cared about the last one.
Small steps toward a goal are what compound to major achievements. Pats on the back and sixth place ribbons compound into good feelings but nothing more.
The best example of the Wright Brothers absence of ego happened during a demonstration in Washington DC. Wilbur distilled his exhibition experience into a simple line of advice for his brother:
Don't go out for all the officers of the government unless you would go equally if they were absent.
On that day in DC, Wilbur followed his own advice. In front of a crowd of thousands, including the majority of the Senate, Wilbur decided the wind was too strong and wheeled the plane back into the shed without a demonstration.
One Senator wisely remarked, "I'm damned if I don't admire their independence. We don't mean anything to them, and there are a whole lot of reasons why we shouldn't."
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the severity of the situation. A group of the most important people in the country cleared their calendars to come to an empty field and watch the Wright brothers perform. Remember, this was in the early 1900s. The Senators didn’t summon an Uber from their iPhones and travel to the airfield in air-conditioned comfort. They walked in the sweltering heat. Or they took carriages. Either way, it was a hassle. Despite the audience, and without a hint of embarrassment or a shade of shame, Wilbur wheeled his plane back to the shed, locked the doors, and called it a day.
The brothers simply didn't care what people thought.
It’s a quality I can’t imagine in myself but hope to someday acquire.
As always, I try to apply the practices of great people to my own life.
I use Wilbur and Orville’s example as a guide. In fact, this very piece serves as an example.
I write these articles to improve my thinking. I write them to remind myself how I ought to act. I write them because I enjoy synthesizing ideas into words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages.
External outcomes are nice, but if they were my primary motivation, I’d face constant disappointment watching my email list grow at the poky pace of a hearty old oak.
Instead, I measure my success through my efforts and inputs.
Is this piece better than my last one?
Did I tell an interesting story?
Am I internalizing a lesson to become a more effective person?
These are the metrics that matter to me.
Subscribers and followers are a nice benefit, but when they become more than that, I’m missing the point.
I still find myself checking my numbers - email list subs, Twitter followers, podcast downloads. Millenia of evolutionary history programmed me to care what others think. Breaking that habit is harder than snuffing your final cigarette.
When I get caught in those nasty loops of refreshing the page and tallying the views, I remind myself of the Wright brothers wheeling their airplane back into the barn. I remember I’m building something larger than click throughs and likes. I reflect on Wilbur’s wise words:
A man who works for the immediate present and its immediate rewards is nothing but a fool.
Then I get back to work on the things that matter. For me, it’s consistently creating quality content. For you it could be building your app, closing your next client, or editing your most recent podcast.
Whatever it is, remember the Wright brothers, and make sure your effort is toward long term success, not short term excitement.
