In 1518, the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, commonly just known as Hernán Cortés, started to round up men and suppliers to sail to the mainland of the new world.
In a short few months, Cortés had gained 11 ships, 508 soldiers, roughly 100 sailors and 16 horses. They arrived in Tabasco, now part of Mexico, where they gained intelligence from the local people.
They then sailed further southeast where Cortés founded the city of Veracruz. He made sure to prepare his armed forces for the battle ahead. To showcase the determination they needed, he sunk all of their ships.
Their only way to survive was to move forward and conquer.
Thinking vs doing
James Clear’s book Atomic Habits talks about the difference between motion and action.
Motion are the things you do that make you feel like you are doing something. Reading, watching youtube tutorials, going to seminars.
Action is putting the things you read into practice. Taking the youtube tutorial and apply the things you learned.
Motion is thinking about things. It feels like you are being productive but you are not achieving anything.
Action is actually doing something. It is way scarier. Action risks something. It risks ridicule, you are creating something and you have to share it, and you might get uncomfortable feedback. It is much safer to think about the project and never complete it.
You can think about your business idea all day, but until you put it into motion and risk some money, time, and potential failure it will not actually be a business.
I struggle
I do this all the time. If only I read one more article, or watch one more tutorial I will get that nugget of wisdom that will make me feel comfortable to start the project.
I have failed over and over again with my business Straightface to test out marketing ideas because I am afraid of them being unsuccessful. Not only will it mean losing some money, time, and energy, I will be failing as a business person.
However, when I do overcome those fears the knowledge I gain from actually trying things always is worth the money, time, and energy.
I haven’t cracked the code in any way shape or form, but I am getting better and the learning curve from action is exponential compared to what you learn from motion.
Post Script
Cortés wasn’t the only person to destroy their boats, in 207 BCE Xiang Yu of the Chu’s did the same thing.
Also, Cortés was an awful human being, causing the fall of the Aztec Empire and helping Spain rule over large parts of Mexico.
Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe 