Acting out of character as an entrepreneur
From Brian R. Little's excellent book Who Are You, Really?:
Are you confined only to projects that suit your inborn traits? Not necessarily. … We sometimes want things that require us to stretch ourselves to achieve them. So an agreeable person may act disagreeably to book an urgent appointment with an in-demand physician, or a biogenically anxious person may appear poised and unruffled when first meeting her in-laws. These people are engaged in what I call “free traits.” And they are doing so to more successfully pursue a personal project.
The phrase “acting out of character” actually has two meanings. It means acting away from our characteristic way of behaving. But it also means acting from character. We often act out of character in the second sense when we guide our actions by our values. You may not be naturally open and extraverted. But given an important occasion or project you have little choice but to act out of character, to rise to the occasion and be an alternative you — in a sense, perhaps, an optimized you.
Little's concept of "free traits" applies to indie hackers more than to any other demographic I can think of.
Years ago I went on record saying I think the ability to become who you need to become to achieve your goals is the single most valuable skill for running a business. I went on:
In practice, this means if I ever catch myself asking, "How do I do this thing I don't like to do?" I reframe it to, "How do I become the kind of person who enjoys doing this thing?" And only then do I solve for X.
Looking back on it today, I'd say that those lines do a good job of capturing my philosophy of task-level work and many of the approaches I write about.
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That's a super interesting topic I've been thinking about lately. I believe a big part of learning and intelligence is observing other people and taking after their good traits.
Might also have something to do with getting rid of limiting beliefs.
A good mental practice is to say: "I want to be like X when it comes to Y" . More often we limit ourselves from doing a specific thing just because some person we despise is doing the same.
I think the problem with the above thinking is that people think of their personality as being solid instead of liquid and think they'll be selling out, while it's all just learning and improving as a person.
Thanks for sharing.
Wow, this was a very nice comment. This could also be tied to being present and aware of the situation at hand than anchoring oneself to a past event. You then suddenly become powerful to choose your responses based on what's thrown at you. Would highly recommend watching Richard Linklater's 'Waking Life'. Keep flowing!
Ha, I like doing this too but it can be dangerous. A long time ago as an English undergrad I started writing a novel and tried to model myself after my favorite Pulitzer-prize-winning authors. As soon as I made this comparison I got almost paralyzed by how much ground I'd need to cover to be as good as them. What kept me going was that I could also compare myself to other kids in my creative writing class, which was a lot better for the ego.
I'd say it works best for adopting small traits 'calm like Josh' with people you know a bit of their background.
This is so true and relatable
Great Info
I recommend a masterclass by Elaine Welterotii – Designing your career
particularly on Zone of Genius anad Mindmap
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I've seen the same, though admittedly not that often. I'd imagine people who are completely bottomed-out in founder-product fit tend to select themselves out of the market gene pool?
Either way, definitely a balancing act. I like the idea of using free traits to fill in the gaps of a business but when those spaces get larger than "gaps," it's probably not sustainable.