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“Until” Will Kill You
Some noble obstacles are personal and unique. They’re tailor-made to you and
would be impossible to detail in a book that millions of people will read.
(Speaking that into reality.) Others are common and easily identified, such as the
word “until.” I’ve used this one in my own life many times.
“I can’t do my taxes until I know what kind of business I’m really trying to
build.”
I told this to a friend, who laughed at me.
I was attempting to tell him that until I had a deep purpose, which I’ve
already written about, a perfect mission for my business and really my whole
life, I couldn’t figure out a way to make my taxes easier. “Until” is just
perfectionism wearing a Halloween costume.
Karen won’t start her blog until she’s checked in with a copyright lawyer
first.
She is concerned that her blog will become so successful that someone will
steal the content. She wrote me an e-mail and expressed her concern that this
thief will steal her royalties on T-shirts, foam hats, and the graphic novel
adaptation. As a fellow writer, I can’t tell you how much cash I’ve made from
the thriving foam hat industry.
That might seem like a silly worry, but how often are our worries rational?
This is such a great example of the first kind of noble obstacle, because how
easy is it to find a good copyright lawyer? And if they’re anything like the
lawyers I’ve worked with, they’re expensive. Now, before she starts writing,
Karen has to save up for legal fees. Brilliant!
Writers aren’t the only ones who use the first kind of noble obstacle. I know
some guys who say they can’t work out until they pick the best exercise
program. They’d hate to make a mistake and pick the wrong one. So instead they
don’t choose a single one because they just haven’t had time to do the research.
“Until” is a hurdle you throw up on your track until the lane is so clogged
you couldn’t possibly get started today. Look at all those obstacles. Today’s not
the best day to go.
The tricky thing is that “until” often wears a cloak of responsibility. It
pretends that it’s not about being lazy but rather about making sure everything is
in order before you start. It would be foolish to come up with a great invoice

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in order before you start. It would be foolish to come up with a great invoice
system until I really know what my business is about. Once I have a core
mission, the rest of the pieces will fall into place, but until then, it would be
wasted effort.
Until I know why I have an issue with food, I can’t walk around the block at
a brisk pace for more minutes today than I did yesterday.
Until I know what my entire book is about I can’t write the first hundred
words.
Until I know where all the stuff in every room of my house is going to go I
can’t clean this one room.
Until I pick the perfect goal I can’t work on anything. That’s what tripped up
so many people during the 30 Days of Hustle. One participant remarked, “I
honestly have so many ideas and can find justification for each of them being
‘the one.’ It leaves me pursuing several things at a level of mediocrity.”
Until I get rid of distractions I can’t get anything done. If we believe we
have to eliminate all distractions before we get work done, we will never work.
There will always be one more amazing distraction. Our minds will do anything
to avoid the challenge of focusing on something.
The second you hear the word “until” pop into your mouth, spit it out like
Brussels sprouts that have been served without bacon. You can always tell how
gross a vegetable is by how much bacon has to be added to it to do all the heavy
lifting.