Welcome to One Thing Better. Each week, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine (that’s me) shares one way to be more successful and satisfied — and build a career or company you love.
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Today’s one thing: Doing what you should do.
That one thing, better: Doing what you can do.
You want to do something new…
But you’re hesitating, because you’re not sure if it’s the right thing to do.
You have certain skills. You followed a certain path. Maybe people expect certain things from you. There’s a lot you “should” do next — but those things don’t excite you.
Today, I’ll help you make a shift:
I’ll introduce you to a concept I call the ticket. It’s a way to stop thinking about what you should do, so you can think about what you can do.
And to see how it works, I’ll first tell you about a friend who’s in this situation right now — feeling stuck, at a crossroads, and searching for courage.
What you “should” be doing…
My friend James (not his real name) just left his job after 12 years. Peers reached out with new job offers, but he turned them down.
Why? Because even though he was really good at his job, that work doesn’t excite him anymore. He doesn’t want the corporate grind. Doesn’t want the responsibilities of leadership.
But this makes him feel guilty.
“I spent a career learning to run a team, to develop products, rise the ranks,” he told me. “What if I’m throwing that away? Shouldn’t I be using those skills?”
That’s the wrong way of thinking about it, I said.
Then I told him about a job I almost got, and the lasting lesson I took from it…
The origin of “the ticket”
In 2012, I applied for a job editing the Strategist section of New York magazine.
This was a high-profile job. Strategist was (and remains) one of the most inventive sections in magazines, and every magazine editor watches it — especially back then.
“If you get this job,” a colleague told me, “you can punch your own ticket.”
In other words: If I got this job, I’d be able to get any magazine job I wanted afterward.
And then… lol, I didn’t get the job. That was OK, because I realized something: That wasn’t the only place to get a ticket.
The idea of “punching your own ticket” really stuck with me, and I started to see it everywhere. All work earns you a ticket — which is to say, you earn the freedom to pursue new opportunities.
The big question is:
What’s your ticket good for?
Your experience. Your knowledge. Your connections. Your resources. These are spendable assets. Combined together, they get you something. They are your ticket. And although this ticket won’t get you everything you desire, it can get you something desirable…
So what is it?
For example, let’s go back to my friend James, who left his job after 12 years.
James accumulated a lot of experience. He built a good network. He earned some savings. Now he’s wondering… should he build upon all that?
“It feels like a trap,” he told me. “My experience could get me another job in the same industry, so maybe that’s what I should do — but it’s not what I want.”
“So stop worrying about what you should do,” I told him. “You just spent 12 years earning a ticket. What does that ticket look like? And how do you want to spend it?”
That’s a question full of possibilities. He loved thinking through it.
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We agreed:
Based on his savings, this ticket buys him at least one year of experimentation — exploring creatively satisfying projects, and taking lots of interesting meetings.
Based on his experience, this ticket buys him the ability to shape his next step. He has marketable and transferrable skills — and with enough creativity, he could assemble a collection of opportunities like fractional executive roles, consulting gigs, advisory positions, and more.
Based on his network, this ticket buys him a lot of favors. He’s done well by other people, and he knows they’ll want to do well by him. If he approaches people with this new mindset, they’ll respond.
He’s earned something new. He’s ready to cash in his ticket.
You can apply this in many ways
Are you feeling stuck in your job? Consider what you’ve done, and what you have to show for it. This is your ticket.
Are you stuck in a relationship? Maybe the experience taught you what you really want, and you know yourself better than you did before. This is your ticket.
Do you own a company, but it’s struggling? You’ve studied your customer, understood your market, and accumulated expertise. What does that ticket get you? A smart pivot? Cash to hire the right person?
Hell, you can even apply it in super small ways: Did you spend the weekend catching up on work? You just earned a ticket, which can be spent giving yourself a break this week. Go take a walk. Catch up with a friend.
Everything you do earns you something. Your experience is a kind of currency, spendable in ways that you get to define.
So what have you earned? What can you claim? What is now yours for the taking? What powerful, magical, all-access pass do you hold in your hands?
Define it. Then spend it.
That’s how to do one thing better.
