I was reading a great article on one of my favorites, Tim Ferriss. It was a telegraph piece about an interview done before releasing his newest book, the Four Hour Chef. The article was good, a fun read and an insight into the actual life that is born from the principles put forward in the 4 hour workweek.
The author's discussion was great of how he thought Ferriss would be an overbearing human machine focused on productivity only to find out that Tim takes four hours out of his day for an hour long interview. The idea being, we open up time not just to fill it in more.
The most intriguing read was in the comments however. I am guilty of scrolling down after I finish reading anything and touching on the comments, there is just something about trolls that gives my life balance and meaning.
A particular troll had three great points. He went by the name reids. This troll said Ferriss was a ripoff for cheating (there is a section of his first book where he wins at kickboxing by playing the weigh in game to an outlandish level, competing at a much higher weight than his rivals, and just shoving them out of the ring for a TKO).
Now this is not cheating, cheating is when you do something against the rules. The following year the kick boxing association was so upset they changed the rules so you weighed in directly before the match, if he did it now he would be cheating, doing it then was just knowing the rules better. Ferriss discusses the difference between getting what you want (just the outcome) or becoming world class at something (years of hard work). The point seemed to be lost on the troll.
The second thing this pajama clad typist pointed out was that Ferriss was not really a NYT best seller because he got his "legion of followers" to buy copies just the right way to make sure he got on the list. If you don't think that publishing companies haven't been doing this for years you must sleep with tinfoil on your head. Secondly, anybody who has a "legion of followers" willing to buy books in any fashion is a NYT best seller, the entire moniker "New York Times Best Seller" is about your ability to sell books to legions of people.
Lastly, he talks about the Tango world championships and how Ferriss just stands there while a pro dances around him, I'm not sure if you've ever seen Tango but that is the point. Also, isn't Dancing With the Stars just this concept put into action for like ten seasons now?
All of this troll bashing has a point however, and that is the troll lives inside of our head. The troll in reids case just escaped through his fingers for five minutes after he read that article. The troll tells us three things, your a cheater, your riding other peoples coattails, and your a fraud.
If you are not cheating you are not paying close enough attention is something put forward by Seth Godin in Purple Cow. He talks about how an airline who has employees not in a union is cheating and winning because of it. The point is, where is the fat that has always been there and how can you cut it when everybody else says that it is impossible, that is cheating. The first time somebody does something new it's cheating, the second time it's revolutionary and the third time is just back to competing the way it's always been done.
Riding other peoples coattails is such a strange thing to fear because it is the hardest thing to do. Building a tribe and then working together with them is the new economy, and using that tribe to accomplish things is literally why you build it. I've seen Tim Ferriss use his tribe to work his way on to the NYT best seller list and then turn around and use his tribe to raise six figures for kids in school. I've bought all three of his books and my life is better because of it, not worse.
Lastly, being a fraud and diminishing what you've already done. The troll in my head plays this card a lot. We get energy from momentum, we get energy from having done before, we produce art from energy not from inspiration. Therefore, the best way for the resistance to keep us from making art and putting ourselves out there is to kill the energy, crush the momentum.
You can do the work, you are allowed to Tango, even poorly if you want. You can write about it, talk about it and face the trolls. The truth is, the trolls that will come find you if you ever reach fame are just a shadow of the troll you have to fight in your own head everyday you set out to do something meaningful. Fight the troll, reids sucks, and go do the work.
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