Sometimes you just gotta ask “who” not “how.”

If you are anything like me, you think of university time as the best time of your life. A time where you could plunge into fabulous rabbit holes around the most varied topics. From nano physics to the philosophy of aesthetics, I fondly remember those times. My curiosity tiger was fed with fresh flesh everyday.

One of my challenges is, that I see many things around me as invitation to learn. And by learn I mean mastering something to the extent that I could be considered a solid generalist.

I now see that as a double-edged sword.

Creating a landing page? Sure, I could do that! Coding a chatbot for my product? Absolutely, I could learn that. Does it require Python? No worries, I can pick that up. Or wait, I could let ChatGPT handle it and learn how to prompt it effectively. Need a Flask app for the UI? Sure, I can figure that out too.

Do you see the problem?

I am the queen at productive procrastinating. I gave my procrastination monkey the most beautiful outfit: the learning hat.

I am annoyed because in spite of all the learning, I am not progressing as fast as I want reaching some of my goals. But, hey! I am half through the 100 days of code in Python!

While learning is important, it shouldn't come at the expense of achieving your primary objectives.

So I am experimenting with this:

Rather than asking how something can get done, I ask myself who can help get it done.

I need to focus on the things with the highest ROI of my time. And leverage other people's expertise for everything else.

This doesn't mean abandoning my love for learning but being strategic about where and when I invest my time and energy.

This also means acknowledging and valuing non-academic learning as well. Spending a day networking at a conference might give as much learnings as completing days 60 of the 100-days-of code challenge.

Conclusion

The fact that I could do something doesn't mean that I should do it.

This shift from "how" to "who" has been transformative for me. As a (still) solopreneur, trying to do everything myself was a natural inclination. However, realizing the power of leveraging other people's expertise has been a game-changer.

If you find yourself constantly bogged down by the need to learn and do everything yourself, I encourage you to start asking who instead of how. Focus on what truly matters and use other resources as currency to achieve your goals more efficiently. This mindset shift could be the key to unlocking your full potential and propelling your business forward.