The Unicorn And The Jackass

You tried meditation but quit because you didn’t feel any different.

You tried getting more sleep but stopped because it didn’t seem to give you more energy.

You opened an AdWords account and sent a few clicks then quit because nothing was working.

You dabbled at building a list but your optin rate was only 10% so you said fuck this and quit.

One by one, we fall for the myth of the unicorn: the myth of the overnight success, the instant breakthrough, the home run.

The price you pay is broken calibration: the only hit your brain counts as success is the home run. Base hits don’t even show up on your radar.

Of course, unicorns ARE real. But they are borne of momentum. They only visit bodies already in motion.

And while the unicorn is tremendous and rare, its counterpart the jackass is lowly and common as shit.

But here’s the thing about jackasses. You stack enough of them together, and you have a unicorn-sized win.

Success rarely “appears.” Success ACCRUES.

Success is a long pack-train of jackasses strung together.

Take a closer look at all the little wins you’ve been blind to:

That meditation didn’t bring you nirvana, but it easily reduced your stress by 5 to 10%.

That extra hour of sleep may not have turned you Bradley Cooper Limitless, but safe to say it gave you 5 to 10% more energy.

If you dig into that PPC campaign, you just might find a keyword / ad / landing page combo that gives you a 10% ROI. Not the 100% you were fantasizing about, but a win nonetheless.

And your 10% optin rate may not be great, but it’s better than 0%, and gives you something to build on.

String enough of these jackasses together, and you have the makings of a quantum leap forward. Provided you have the eyes to see.

“Screw this piddling shit! I want to crush it!”

Yeah, I know you do. You’re a creator, and creators are wired to jones for the unicorn.

But I’ve learned the hard truth that when you snub the jackass for the unicorn, you burn out. Your fire goes cold.

When you scorn your marginal wins, you are pissing on the spark that’s trying to light you up.

So now you’re shivering in the dark, waiting.

Waiting, waiting, waiting for the unicorn.

You end up quitting the twenty things that could have, in combination, moved the needle 100% because all you saw were isolated experiments that “only” yielded a 5% lift each.

Waiting for the unicorn is like a chicken trying to fly the Atlantic. It’s white meat trying to do the work of dark.

Bathe yourself in jackass, in wins big and small.

See them for the gift they are.

Weep with gratitude.

USE them to build your empire.

Your unicorn will come.

But only if you’re already working your jackass.