Dream Project Hotline
notes on how to get started
We opened up the Dream Project Hotline to answer your questions about Brainstorm Road and making Dream Projects happen in real life.
Here’s our fourth and final submission for this season of the Dream Project Hotline:
Q: I finally decided to start working on my project and it felt like such a relief. But now…I don't know what to do? I feel like there are a million things I could do next and I don’t know which one to choose and I also feel like I need more of a plan before I can start. I thought I was ready to get going, but now I’m afraid I don’t actually know what I’m doing or which way to go. What should I do first? What’s the best way to get started?
Let’s get into it.
There’s a lot of energy and excitement when a new cohort begins at Brainstorm Road. The air is buzzing with possibility. We have a “Say Hello” thread where folks, well, say hello and answer a secret question (iykyk 🥧) and share a glimpse of what they’ll be working on. It is the most fun to read through this thread. Dozens and dozens of folks sharing this thing they really, really want to do and have finally committed to making happen. It’s thrilling.
But then.
We have to get to work. And the getting to work part can be a little tricky because an idea is not necessarily an easy thing to get to work on. What exactly should we do first? What is it reasonable to commit to finishing in the next six months? Tough questions to answer and so we freeze.
Here’s our best advice (and by our best advice, we mean Dani Shapiro’s advice):
“Build a corner. This is what people who are good at puzzles do. They ignore the heap of colors and shapes and simply look for the straight edges. They focus on piecing together one tiny corner.” - Dani Shapiro in Still Writing
One tiny corner.
That’s all you have to build.
Answer this question: What’s one thing that you can see from here about your project?
Build that. Begin there.
Some folks will do well to plan out their Dream Project at the start. They’ll take a highly architected approach with a nuanced, six-month roadmap.
Other folks will rush off with a commitment to taking daily action and not much of a sense of what will unfold. Stephen King calls these types of folks “pantsers,” as in they fly by the seat of their pants. The characters show up on the scene and start making moves and the writer types up what’s happening.
Then, of course, there are folks who do a little of each.
There isn’t one way to get started on a Dream Project. You can make it happen being a planner or a pantser or by being somewhere in between.
No matter your style, there is one approach we come back to again and again when we feel paralyzed by the bigness of what we’re trying to do and the ephemeral nature of ideas: we build a corner.
That’s all you have to do.
And that’s why we always ask this question: what is one small action you can take this week to move your project forward?
Take one small action this week. And, by the way, it doesn’t have to be the “best” action or the most pressing action or the action will take you most expeditiously from here to there. Merely take an action. Then come back and do it again next week. We’ll be there handing out high fives.
Come hang out with us today!
Brainstorm Roadies and paid Substackers have a monthly huddle and our next one is today at 4pm ET. Upgrade your subscription now and then come hang out with us later today. Plus, you’ll get daily prompts to help you stick with the projects you start and you’ll get access to our exclusive member’s only High Five Friday threads. See you soon!