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Lucky + Good.

“Crush it where you’re at.” — Skip Prosser

On Friday, Florida Gulf Coast — a school that did not exist when I was born — beat Georgetown in an NCAA Tournament basketball game. It was one of the biggest upsets in the history of March Madness.

There were a lot of moments in the game where it looked like FGCU could pull the upset. But the moment when I knew, when I was absolutely sure it could happen, came with 2:17 left. FGCU’s Dajuan Graf stepped to the free throw line. His team was up 8.

And his free throw hit every part of the rim. It hit the backboard. It hung up there forever. It had no business going in.

But it did.

To pull of a huge upset, you need to be good AND you need to be lucky. You need the bounces to go your way when it matters most. You need a lot of things to align.

That matters in basketball, and it matters in your work. It is not enough to be good. Getting the breaks matters, too.

Lucky + good is a pretty excellent combinations. On some nights, even for a 15 seed going up against a 2, it might just be enough.

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Building Big Things Never Happens Fast.

“Velocity, not speed.” — Siqi Chen

 
There is a funny misconception that exists in the general public about building big companies. They see something like Instagram, which sold for a billion dollars, and think: The path from A to B(illionaire) doesn’t take that long.

Wrong.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong.

I work at BuzzFeed now. That photo at top is what our office looks like today.

But this is what it looked like in 2007, in the earliest days of BuzzFeed.

Not quite as exciting, right?

I remember those types of days at Stry.us. I remember sleeping on the floor in a small apartment next to a cow pasture. I remember that when I hit the “Sleeping On A Floor In A Small Apartment Next To A Cow Pasture” point, that was actually a big milestone for Stry.us.

Good things come slowly. You build with good people. You find ways to hang in the game as long as you can.

The road is slow and long and kind of boring sometimes. If that doesn’t sound like your idea of fun, that’s okay. Building big things isn’t for everyone.

But if that sounds like something you like? Well, start as soon as you can. You’re going to need all the time you have.

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Another Thing I Learned Watching Missouri Play Basketball.

“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” — John Wooden

 
So that photo at top is of me. That’s me from, I believe, my sophomore year at the University of Missouri. Yes, that is my yellow pinstriped jacket. (Also, yes, that is very bad sophomore year beard.)

I went to Missouri, and I love my alma mater. The sight of our colors makes me happy. Tigers, in general, now make me really happy.

And I love rooting for my Missouri Tigers. There aren’t a lot of Missouri fans outside of the state of Missouri. But we are a passionate few.

This year, Missouri has a strange basketball team. They have a really good point guard, and several really good shooters, and two really good big guys. They rebound extremely well, and they have lots of experience. They should be an exceptional basketball team.

Except that they are not. In this last two months, Missouri has lost six basketball games that were decided in the final 30 seconds. Missouri has lots of talent, but it just can’t seem to win close games.

As a Missouri fan, this crushes me. I WANT them to win. I absolutely love it when we win.

And this year’s team is SO dangerously close to being a really good team. But they are not. Great teams win games — they win blowouts, and they win close, and they win when it does not seem possible that winning could ever happen — and this Missouri team does not do that.

When I look back on this season, I feel a sense of disappointment. This team is that friend that everyone has, that friend who has lots of talent — who has ideas, and ambition, and decent skills — but who can’t figure out how to put it all together.

This team is disappointing for another reason: They cannot figure out how to put it all together IN THE MOMENT in which it matters.

Doing the work well matters, but doing it well in the time you have matters even more. There is a moment for your work, and when it passes, it passes.

So it goes for my Tigers. There will be other seasons, sure. But for this team, for this moment, time is almost out. The work is almost over. The season will be over with one more loss.

This time won’t come around ever again. You put it together now, you get better, or you find yourself watching others get their moment instead. How it goes.

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In March, Tomorrow Is Never Guaranteed.

“There is no great genius without some touch of madness.” — Seneca

 
So this is the part of the year where I lose touch with reality and start watching about 12 hours of college basketball a day.

It has always been like this. I love college basketball. I cannot really explain why I love it the most. I just do.

And this month is MY month. Six months watching these teams play, and then, in a week, in a day — it could all be over. Lose, and the season’s done.

But I love March for those moments when it’s all on the line. Like this moment: This was the game-winning shot hit by Valparaiso in the Horizon League tournament this week. This shot saved their season.

An awesome shot, right?

Now take a closer look at their coach, though. Watch his reaction.

Their coach’s name is Bryce Drew. Maybe that name rings a bell? It’s because he’s also the man responsible for this shot:

Bryce Drew hit one of the most famous shots in college basketball history. But there he was, in a game against Green Bay, played in front of just a few thousand fans, still losing it over the chance to play one more day.

In March, we remember: You play today, but you really play for the chance to play again tomorrow. Tomorrow is offered, but in March, it’s never guaranteed.

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Two Great Questions: Why Not? And What Else?

There’s a pizza place around the corner from me that’s pretty good. They’ve got a good pepperoni and mushroom slice, and they’ve got this chicken caesar pie, too, if you’re into something kinda different.

But what I like most about this pizza place are the guys behind the counter. There are two guys I see most often working the counter, and they’ve each got a catchphrase.

The first guy waits for you to order, and when you announce your choice of slice, he says, “Why not?”

Order another slice, and you’ll hear, “Why not?”

Hang around the restaurant for 10 minutes and you’ll hear him say it over and over again.

The second guy behind the counter has a different way of responding to each order. Each slice is followed by a simple question: “What else?”

And usually the customer pauses and says, Well, maybe that one? Or that one?

“What else?”

Maybe that one…

I really like this pizza place, because I really like those two questions. I like how, subtly, really good questions can challenge a captive audience. The right questions can force someone to take action that they might not otherwise take.

I’d like more people to ask questions like that when they’re taking on new work. Something too big? Too scary? “Maybe I shouldn’t do this,” you find yourself saying.

Well, why not?

And when you think you’ve hit the end of some work, and you’re trying to figure out if there’s anything left to do:

Well, what else? Is there something more to do?

Those two really good questions could unlock a lot of really good work. Don’t thank me, though. Thank the pizza place on the corner.

———

That photo was taken by Peter Bravo de los Rios for Unsplash.

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The Easy Way Out.

“The journey is all. The destination is beside the point.” — Leo Babauta

 
Let me pose a hypothetical to you for a second. Tomorrow, I’m going to give you the chance of a lifetime:

I’m going to make you a lottery winner. You’re going to get $20 million. You’re never going to have to work again.

But there’s a catch: In exchange for that $20 million, you’re also never ALLOWED to work again.

You can take the $20 million, and never work another day in your life — never ever — or you can stay on the path you’re on, grinding it out, trying to make it in this world.

What do you choose? A life without work but lots of money, or a life with a lot of work and whatever money you can make along the way?

If it’s me, I take the latter. Yeah, the $20 million would be nice for a while. A few months on the beach somewhere, swimming and napping and drinking away the day. I could do that.

But after a few months, where would I be? What I’m doing matters to me. I want to make a big contribution to this world, and my work is largely how I make my stamp. Take away that, and what am I?

People say they want the easy way out, but I’m not so sure I buy that. The road ahead is tough. It’s going to suck.

But it’s also really rewarding. There is satisfaction in putting in the work, day in and day out.

So me? I’d reject the money and stick with the road I’m on. I know it’ll be rewarding. I know it’ll be hard. Maybe it’ll make me a little money along the way, or maybe it won’t. But it’ll my road to make.

I probably won’t get the months and months of drinking on the beach on this path, but if I do good work, I might get a few good weekends a year in a sunny place. That’d be alright by me.

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The March Edition Of The Awesome File.

Every month, I put together a list of 10 things to inspire you to do more awesome work. (Work results may vary.)

Let’s get into it:

1. That Awesome Photo (at top)

DC in the morning after a full moon. Amazing shot.

2. This Awesome Letter


This is the letter Tim Burton sent to Disney when he was 18, trying to get advice about a cartoon he’d done. It’s an awesome moment from an artist who was about to do big things.

3. This Awesome Desk


This is the desk everyone is going to be asking for in 2013.

4. This Amazing Old Subway Poster


It was part of a series of awesome posters for the London Underground.

5. This Awesome Rap Song

Never change, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.

6. This Awesome Reddit Thread.

A worthy, awesome question: If someone gave you the entirety of Wikipedia from 100 years in the future for only 10 minutes, what would you read?

7. This Awesome Taylor Swift Remix


The Internet is awesome, sometimes.

8. This Awesome Moment


These Atlantic City firemen got sworn in on an iPad. It’s the future.

9. This Awesome Lessons

Here’s 14 lessons from a Wall Street guy’s 80 years on this planet. Really good stuff.

10. This Awesome James Bond Remix


50 years of Bond in 4 minutes. AWESOME.

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Too Late/Too Soon: The End.

When do you know that it’s time? The eighth and final post in a month of posts about how I learned to stop worrying, buck up and do the work.

 
So if you’re ever trying to decide whether or not to end a project you’ve been working on for the previous 30 months, here’s a recommendation:

Drive across Kansas.

Take a few hours to drink something strong. Sleep it off.

Then drive across Wyoming.

After Springfield, the team shipped off to various parts. The rest of the team got jobs. I headed west for a few days, to visit friends, and to think.

I’ve always found that my best thinking happens when I’m moving. Sometimes, it’s when I’m actually running. Sometimes, it’s when I’m just traveling long distances.

It sounds dopey to say it aloud, but I find that the literal act of heading toward a fixed destination makes me think about where I’m going in my own life.

Some 25 hours in the car across the Midwest and the West gave me time to reconsider where Stry.us had taken me. It had given me amazing opportunities. It had taught me far more than I could have ever imagined about business, and about working with teams, and about learning how to screw up royally and then get up off the mat. It showed me what I could do when I put the right parts in place, and it showed me that I wasn’t going to be able to go back to some desk job.

It humbled me.

But I also started to think about whether or not I wanted to keep it going. It felt like Stry.us was just starting to grow and get moving. Was now the time to put it aside to go work on something else?

I thought about what I had at my disposal with Stry.us. I had a really great website. I had a little bit of attention for the project. I had plenty of time.

But I also thought about the timing for me. I had some momentum, personally. I had a lot of new things I wanted to learn.

And with Stry.us, it had been 2.5 years. Either it had to make money, or I had to.

In the end, it was time to face a hard truth: I was ready for something new, and that meant that Stry.us had to step aside.

It was hard putting the project behind me. It felt like I was breaking up with a longtime girlfriend. I wasn’t really sure who I was if I didn’t have “Stry.us” attached to my name.

But in time, I started to recognize it for what it was: An amazing experience, and an amazing opportunity. It carried me so far, and I’m not really sure how. But I’m sure thankful for it. I got to speak at conferences because of Stry.us. I got to travel all over the country for it — to Biloxi and Boston and St. Pete and Phoenix. I got to tell stories because of it.

It was a big break for me, and it really sucked letting it go.

It’s been months now since I’ve done work for Stry.us. But something funny happened last week. I was at a party here in New York. A buddy introduced me to his friend. “This is Dan from Stry.us,” he said.

His friend looked at me. “Stry.us? Big fan.”

I still haven’t stopped blushing over that. It was a hell of a lot of work to make all of Stry.us happen. It’s nice to know that someone noticed.

I wish it wasn’t over. Maybe Stry.us will continue in some other form — the lessons from it sure will.

But for now, it’s been left behind, somewhere in the Ozarks. For me, for my team, for everyone who supported us, it’s onto the next thing.

Sometimes, you have to know when it’s time to move onto the next. I think I made the right choice this time. I hope I did.

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Too Late/Too Soon: The Team.

When do you know that it’s time? The seventh in a month of posts about how I learned to stop worrying, buck up and do the work.

 
A year ago this month, I called up Jordan Hickey and told him I wanted him to be my editor at Stry.us. It was a strange conversation. It came a little out of the blue.

But I knew I wanted it to be Jordan. We’d known each other going back to our freshman year at college. I knew he was the guy for this project.

Here’s the conversation we’d had in March 2011, when I was stuck with Stry.us:

Jordan: how about you? — grant proposals coming along?
me: meh, kind of mired in the dip right now
me: that point where i’m getting frustrated and considering the ‘what if this doesnt work out’ part
Jordan: have you heard back from any places?
me: i mean, i’ve been rejected plenty
me: that doesnt really bother me
me: the funny thing is, im getting plenty of positive feedback from reporters and journalism people
me: i just need a bit more success with the foundations and such
Jordan: hmm
Jordan: i really do hope you keep with it, man — i was always really impressed by everything stry did
me: thanks, man
me: appreciated
me: i mean, im still here working on it
me: i still think it has a ton of potential
me: so we’ll see what happens

Jordan had stuck with the project since the beginning. That meant a lot to me.

And it meant even more when he decided to quit his job and come work with me in Springfield, MO.

And with Jordan on board, the team really started to fill out. Sarah signed on, then Roman, then Zach, then Bari. And some amazing people agreed to help us: The Library in Springfield, MO; Dave and his newspapers in the Ozarks; Jason and his political website in St. Louis. And the guys at Sparkbox in Dayton.

Stry.us had always been a project built for a larger team.

It just took two years to actually put together the team.

But with them, it’s amazing what we got done in a summer. We launched an amazing website. We told amazing stories. We put on a live town hall. We pumped out some eBooks.

Something as big as Stry.us demanded an awesome team. I needed them, and I’m so thankful for them. They made that Springfield project something fantastic. I could not have done that alone, and I would not want to try something that big without a team just as great as them.

I cannot believe, looking back, that I had the nerve to even try it alone. I can’t believe I was that dumb. I can’t believe I made it as far as I did alone.

I wouldn’t do it alone again. Something like Stry.us is better shared.

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Too Late/Too Soon: The Break.

When do you know that it’s time? The sixth in a month of posts about how I learned to stop worrying, buck up and do the work.

 
The big break probably came in April 2011, when the University of Missouri decided to award me a fellowship to work on Stry.us. They gave me money to keep working on it, and they gave me time to work on it.

Finally, I felt like I had permission again to work on this big thing. I had the money, I had the time. I had new resources at my disposal. I had no excuses.

The problem, of course, was that I still had no idea what Stry.us was, or what I wanted out of it. Money? Experience? An opportunity to lead?

So the real break came later, when months of idling had brought me to a better realization: I had the time to do whatever I wanted, but I wasn’t going to do it alone. I wasn’t ready to do it alone.

Looking back, I’m amazed that I went so long without help. I can’t believe I tried to do it alone like that. I can’t believe I was crazy enough to try.

I just didn’t know any better, and I was stubborn enough to believe that I could pull it off by myself.

But eventually, time showed me that I had to have others onboard with Stry.us. If I really wanted to do the work, I had to bring other people on board and chase a single goal.

That realization was a huge, huge break.

I’m so thankful for what happened next. Without my team, I’m not sure where the heck I end up. Not here, I’d bet.

Photo of those two paths comes via.

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