I don’t need my ducks in a row

‘You think you do, Mike, but you don’t.’

This is something I tell myself on the regular. When I catch myself overthinking. When it’s pulling me away from the doing.

I didn’t used to.

I used to be all about linear ducks. 🦆🦆🦆

That was before I was a solo entrepreneur bootstrapping a purpose-led start-up.

That was before the realisation that getting all of one’s ducks in a row and launching a start-up to market are diametrically opposed paths.

The perfect start-up has never been launched. It’s still being talked about.    

Have you ever actually watched a family of ducks?

Literally sat there, by the pond, on that cold-ass bench, watching ducks doing duck things?

Mostly, baby ducks just do whatever the hell they want. Wander off. Annoy their baby bro ducks. Get stuck on the wrong side of the footpath.

They’re mostly into chaos.

Then, like magic, the fam is together again. A perfect little chain of fluff.

But it’s never quite straight. It’s more like a mobile ‘S’ bend of fluff.

I’m beginning to think I do my best work when my ducks are a little bit ‘all over the shop’.

When I’m focussing more on finding and following interesting and epic dots rather than trying to force them to connect.

Invariably, they will connect. Probably in a way I never could have predicted.

Just like baby ducks.