Just Get On The Damn Bus or Intuition vs. Google Maps
I moved to Austin this past March. I don’t have a car here so I get around exclusively via the bus system. When I first got here I was obsessed with looking up directions on google maps. I had to know where I was going before I did anything. Why? Because I didn’t want to get lost and google knew the way. Google was my key to the city. I didn’t do anything without it.
I had my ritual. I looked up the address. I pulled it up on my phone and THEN I got on the bus.
As the weeks went by, I started to realize that google maps didn’t always make life easy for me. Google would make me take buses when I could easily walk. Google made me walk when I should be on a bus but I still trusted google maps to show me the way.
One day, it was literally 5,778° K outside. I know what you are thinking. “Shenee, isn’t that the temperature of the sun?” Yep, I thought it was a little weird too.
I am waiting at a stop, getting ready to get on the bus that google told me to get on. The 3. My bus. And I waited. And waited. I saw another bus, the 5, one that I didn’t know very much about but recognized driving around where I was going.
BUT GOOGLE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT the 5.
The bus stopped in front of me and I stared at it for a while, not knowing what to do. I consulted google. No signal. Would this bus take me where I needed to go? I hesitated. I searched the bus driver’s face for answers and he just chewed his gum. I was holding up the line. My thoughts were interrupted by a homeless person nearby:
“Just get on the damn bus!”
He was right. I should just get on the damn bus. So I did.
And it was fine. You know where the bus dropped me off? 3 blocks from where I needed to be. I got off somewhere I recognized and got instructions from a friendly hipster.
So what is the point of this story?
Just get on the damn bus.
You know what I am talking about right? That post you have been stalling on. That product you don’t think you are ready to release. That BIG thing you need to do that you think you need permission for?
Just do it. You go a little out of your way? You can always get help finding your way back.
You know that moment when you take that leap, do that thing, say what you want to say?
You can do that on your own. You don’t need google (or anyone else) to help you.
And if you are reliant on someone else to get you there, you might not get there the way you want, you will proboly get where they want you to go. I have met SO many women who have let themselves get trapped in a corner because they keep waiting for the right time or the right advice. This is a cop-out. Take responsibility for your business and take ownership of what you do.
Business is NOT about what you know. It isn’t a learning game. It is an intuition game.
The people who make it don’t invest the most, they DO the most.
I now trust myself more than I trust Google Maps. GM makes suggestions but I make the decisions.
I heard a quote by Lady Gaga that says it all.
“Look to yourself for the answer — stop calling your girlfriends and stop calling your mom– you know if it’s working or not, you either feel like a goddess or you don’t” — Lady Gaga
I would add something to it:
You KNOW you are ready to make it happen and if you are waiting to get the permission to do it, you will NEVER get it.
HBA? A total “get on the bus” moment. If you would have asked any marketing expert, I wasn’t ready to run a class. I don’t have thousands of followers. I haven’t been in business for a long time. I don’t have any connections. I just did it and here we are 4 months later for round 3 of the class. I have almost 40 HBA graduates and I am looking forward to working with more.
And yes, I have totally gotten on the bus and ended up in the middle of nowhere. But that’s ok too. I got some good help and got back on.
What bus are you going to get on this week without permission from anyone else?
HBA is on and poppin’ ya’ll. Ryan is ready for you to join the class. HBA is my greatest joy and proudest achievement and I would love for you to join the class. Ryan does too! Click on him to learn more about the class.
