The human brain is wired to do less than necessary to survive. It is a scientific fact. Our brains burn up so much energy that they are literally hard wired to go into power-saving mode whenever possible to save calories. On one hand, this is useful in that it allows us to naturally “work smarter, not harder” by finding shortcuts and easy solutions to problems. On the other hand, the physiological nature of our brains puts us at risk for something incredibly dangerous – complacency.
Contrary to many people’s attitudes, the things we want should be challenging to pursue. Success should not be defined as being able to stop chasing greatness in whatever you do or aspire to do. Look at truly successful people and you will notice a commonality. They are emotionally ok with putting the work in every day. To their careers, goals, hobbies, relationships, etc. Those viewed as “winners” within society have an idealistic pursuit of perfection and will accept nothing less. This means constant re-iteration of their standard operating procedures and continued effort toward attaining the things they want. Contrary to popular belief it seems more realistic that continuous evolution is a more reliable source of fulfillment than a lifestyle or job that allows you to feel complacent.
While a seemingly unlikely source of motivation with its dark, brooding, and decidedly anarchistic thematic concept, the book Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk (adapted into the popular 1999 movie), offers us this gem of a mantra for avoiding complacency.
“May I never be complete.
May I never be content.
May I never be perfect”
When pondering your next career move or personal growth strategy, channel your inner Tyler Durden and look not for an easy way out, but for the fuel that compels you to change things for the better. This is the approach we take at E.B. Howard Consulting and it has served us well.
In the past year alone we have revamped our approach to funding menus and proposal preparation with regard to operating procedures internally (e.g., how we provide value to our customers, the agendas for internal meetings, our CRM, project management), and revised the content of our website to better relay the message of what we do and why it is valuable to our clients.
Every employee (including the CEO & founder) sets time aside each month for professional development to learn new skills and improve existing ones. These actions serve as a promise to ourselves, our colleagues, and our clients that we will never settle for “good enough”. That we will continue to spurn complacency in favor of evolution.
We work with high-growth startups and organizations that support the startup and innovation ecosystem. We build highly specific non-dilutive funding menus, provide proposal preparation services, and measure outcomes of funding through evaluation. Schedule a consult call with us HERE.