The Art of Making Sh!t Up

Chapter 12Be Patiently Impatient

I'm the most patiently impatient person I know. On the one hand, I believe in making shit happen as soon as possible. Cut out the crap that wastes time or doesn't make sense to do. Cut corners as long as you are not hurting anyone physically, emotionally, or financially. If you ask for permission from someone else you are going to wait a long time to do what you want to do.

On the other hand, I can play the long game. Yes, I'm trying to make shit happen now, but I also have my eye on a much longer play down the road. I can wait out the idiots, the bureaucrats, the haters, and the cowards.

What I lack in talent, and it's a lot, I make up for in the ability to keep coming back again and again and again. I can accept short‐term setbacks because my goal is not immediate gratification but to be standing there at the end, however long it takes.

To both stay in the game and move it along, you need to be patient and impatient. If all you are is constantly impatient, you will oftentimes become frustrated at the perceived lack of progress. Everything can seem like it is taking an excruciatingly long time to move forward.

This often leads to discouragement and ultimately giving up on whatever it is you are pursuing. Chronic impatience can lead to a person starting a bunch of different projects but never completing anything. If you are in a leadership position, constant impatience can dramatically increase the stress and anxiety of your subordinates.

If ...