The enemy within

Or: how to stop sabotaging your comic book and learn to love the Lizard.

Almost all failure comes from self-sabotage.

We say we want to be thin, but we order a burger with fries. We say we want bring our book to the market, but we find excuses to sandbag the shipping schedule. We say we want to be better at our craft, but we allow ourselves to be distracted instead of studying the masters or taking that class.

Self-sabotage is human nature - there's a little lizard living in your brain (psychologists have a fancy word for it: the Amygdala).

Our lizard brain is programmed to take the easiest way out, to avoid the pain, to satisfy the immediate need. It whispers sweet words to you: "Take it slow, fellow. Careful now. Time to back off. Why don't you have a cookie first?"

This is why so many entrepreneurs and artists don't succeed - they are a slave to the lizard. They fear the critics, and instead of holding true to their inner vision look to compromise. And you know, the bigger the challenge, the more resistance the lizard will offer. After all, if we don't do it, we don't have to be subjected to the risk of the harsh criticism of the world. We are safe.

But we will also amount to nothing.

So you've got a choice: you can listen to the lizard's voice - it will never go away, it is part of your brain - or you can argue against the lizard. Tell it that you will commit to the pain, that you will allow yourself be subject to risk and ridicule. Because no matter how harsh the world treats your book, you are learning. With every embarrassing failure, you learn new tricks, you get stronger.

It won't be easy. If you want to succeed you've got to be in it for a long haul. Malcolm Gladwell tells us in his book Outliers that it takes 10,000 hours to master any craft. That means you probably have a long way to go.  But on the flip side, it also means that every hour you spend failing is an hour you chip off that 10,000 hours. Congratulations! You are now one hour closer to becoming the master of your craft.

So tell the lizard you'll take the pain, even savor it. Let it know you are committed for the long haul. You're going to put yourself out there because it is the only way to become a master in your craft.

 To make a difference.

To be someone.