“You’re not in control of when you get wet when there are waves”.
From the squeals a few minutes later, I guess the sea exerted its control and the two swimmers got a quicker dousing in cold water than they’d hoped for.
But if you swim in the sea, then that’s the way the waves roll.
It made me think though.
Isn’t control just an illusion?
If the past couple of years have reinforced anything it’s how little we actually have control over. The big thing is learning to get comfortable with it.
It’s not about our timetable
Like most freelancers, I’ve got little control over when work turns up. It’s never on my timetable.
There are times I want to turn off the phone and email, and then others when you wonder if your emails down, and the mobile network is having a moment.
Eventually something happens.
I’ve (mostly) stopped worrying about it.
The algorithm is never going to be in our control
We all want shortcuts. More views. More likes. More sales.
There are lots of snake oil salespeople out there happy to tell you how to get control of whatever algorithm you fancy.
We all know the truth, if we’re honest with ourselves.
There is no shortcut.
Do the work and play the game
The things most of the algorithms seem to like are the same. They’re not exciting, they’re not new.
- Produce quality content.
- Turn up consistently.
That’s all we can control. The results are out of our hands.
The way I look at it is that you put the control where you really want it to be: in the hands of your customers, your tribe, your followers.
Turn up, give them what they want. Entertain them, educate them, surprise them. And then remember to ask for the sale, the sign up, whatever you need, at some point.
Give up on control
If you’re going to swim in the sea, waves and unexpected cold splashes are part of the deal. Same with working for yourself, ebb and flow is in the nature of the deal.
Sometimes you have to know you’re not in control of everything. And that’s just the way it’s going to be.
What do you think? What have you given up control of and how is it?
