I’m good at “SET” —the last mix before we master; the final proof before we publish; the one last link-test before we launch. I’m also good at “GO” —that instant when the print command is given; the site is finally launched; or the director yells, “that’s a wrap!” At that moment I’m ready to celebrate!
However, the “READY” part is much more challenging. The READY part is everything that comes before SET. That’s where the real work lives. The planning, the meetings, the choices, the decisions, the arguments, the approvals—mostly from folks who are only concerned with their bottom line. The only way to really survive the READY part is to put on your boots and step on to the battlefield.
And why do we do it? Because at that very instant when you arrive at GO, when the curtain opens, the record is released, the book is published or the site is up and running, that divine “rush” is so profound it takes your breath away. That’s when you realize that the satisfaction, joy and bliss you experience when you finally arrive at GO, is always worth whatever it takes to get READY.