Lesson 1: A Non-Squishy Strategy
But to come into reality, actual things have to be done, actions to be taken, that are focused on specifics. It's similar to when a quantum wave becomes a particle. As a wave, it is a bunch of probabilities; it is not until it is focused into reality that it has actual (albeit temporary) "fixed" observable attributes. |
Some concrete things happen naturally, like the writing of the books that happen by inspiration. The drawings, while not exactly "fun" like writing, serve a really therapeutic purpose and I love the way they translate into digital images for books and animated cartoons. Creating the first book was a pretty obvious concrete step as well. The basics of copyright filing, work-for-hire contracts, proofing and printing (which cannot be squishy things) were also worked through. But other than that, most of the activities so far have been a pretty squishy magical process.
When I started planning the crowd funding campaign, the need for non-squishy functions became clearer. To over-compensate for my lack of non-squishiness, I threw a lot of money at things that I thought would create that structure. Although those things didn't achieve that goal (at least not as quickly as I envisioned), I see now that what I really need to do is to create a non-squishy strategy, a strategy that precedes the hiring of other non-squishy functions, and most likely something I need to do on my own.
Lesson 2: Competition is in the Mind
I have always had an aversion to competition since I was a child. Many things I tried when I was younger, which I really enjoyed like gymnastics or was naturally good at such as swimming and playing pool, I would do it so long as it was for fun and competition wasn't on my radar. Once "competition" against others, or a pressure to reach a certain expectation came onto my radar, I would walk away. The decisions at the time were subconscious, but I can see now that the pressure was rooted in a fear of failure, very much linked to self-esteem and worth.

Getting it OUT THERE to the public where it can really be viewed on its own merit, is indeed a challenge, even though there's plenty of attention to go around, and there's room for all the stories, great ideas and inventions in the world. It has more to do with confidence, communication and strategy than being the "best" product (there's a lot of products of varying quality!) But it can "feel" like competition for attention because of the perceived lack of attention one is receiving - it "feels" like a finite resource, when really attention is as abundant as air if one can only tap into it within one's sense of self-worth.
Lesson 3: Being You Is Still the Best Thing To Do
He states that yes, all those things you hear about like extreme confidence balanced with humility, heaps of positive energy, and being smart, talented, curious and highly collaborative, are all important aspects of success. But, he says, "The most powerful thing you can do is be real [authentic]." And that in time "your humanity will come to be your most appealing virtue..."
Lesson 4: Don't Give Up!
So while I am clear now that my take home point from this Kickstarter experience is to create a non-squishy strategy for reaching people, I still believe in the squishiness of Squishy Blueberry!