I’m bringing sweaty back
This isn’t a story of me. This is a story of my modern-day hero Jeff Sheldon. And I’m not suggesting he’s in any way battling a case of extraordinary perspiration. I’m relating to his penchant for productivity, something lacked in most of our living peers.
And I’ll always abuse an opportunity to rock out with the Trousersnake.
It took me 23 years to be an overnight success.
Why do we deride hard work? Why do we mock those neck-deep in the trenches and instead champion the shortcut, the hack, the rat run and the commensurate chicanery and artifice?
In 2017 the only people who do long haul get air miles. Yet a few years ago we were all at it, albeit in a different context. Everyone sought mastery, and everyone recognised the commitment and tenacity required. Even Sega knew that ‘to be this good takes ages’.
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
Malcolm Gladwell suggests we require 10,000 hours of solid graft and study to attain a complete understanding of your subject or instrument.
Those who achieve such notoriety are unsurprisingly scarce.
Why bask in the glory when we can bathe in the gutter?
Why astonish when we can Tweet?
Why change when we can stay the same?
There’s no question the more we have the less we aspire. Justifiably I blame the parents for how many of our younger generations are turning out. Expecting trainers. Demanding phones. Sensing their birthright is to be chauffeured hither and thither as once was the exclusive privilege of kings and queens.
While we rant about this being the age of entitlement there are occasional examples bucking the trend. And even greater credit is due to they as their contemporaries infect our cultures and society with their yearning for ‘domination’ at any price but high cost.
Here’s one of those outliers.
5 years ago Jeff took cursory steps on a path to helping himself and others enjoy a more zen and productive working environment.
The early prototypes of Gather showed potential. But they were the very first step.
Fast forward to now and the 2017 Jeff would have been pressured by all kinds of external forces to forget about perfection and ship. How many phrases are part of the modern lexicon that urge founders and makers to be embarrassed by their first version in the marketplace?
If Jeff had taken the easy way out and succumbed to the lazy alpha attitude of Minimum Viable Proposition Gather would be gathering dust in a bargain bin.
Jeff’s too good for that. Jeff’s too good to you. Five years later and thousands of hours of grunt work and research, the correct Gather was making its Kickstarter debut.
I know crowdfounding platforms have their knockers. Chiefly because of the MVP boys and girls who don’t even get to the start line, their impossible dreams impressing dreamers as founders charm the pants off VCs.
Not Jeff. Jeff’s our poster child, here. Jeff’s not your typical alumni of this era, our age of entitlement. Jeff’s a pioneer. He’s our age of enlightenment emigre.
Look at the results.
Though I’m deservedly recognised as a bit of a gobshite for going off on long journeys about remarkable things, I’m going to take the liberty of giving Jeff the last word on this fable that should be indulged upon by every young entrepreneur looking for terrific traits for building businesses.
Amen.
Pledge your support for Jeff’s Gather here. For all of us.
