written by
Srinivas Rao

Advice without Action is Mental Masturbation

3 min read

Every few years, someone will ask me for advice about writing book, building an audience, starting a podcast etc. Basically, they're saying "tell me what to do." There are several problems with this.

First, asking for advice without taking any action is mental masturbation. As I said in one of my books, speculation has never been the catalyst for turning ideas into reality. Action is. Even if the action you take doesn't produce the result you're seeking, it gives you data. Now, the advice anyone gives you will be much more valuable.

The Problem with Advice

Second, there's one variable that throws off everyone's formula for success: YOU. If that wasn't the case everyone who read a fitness book would have six pack abs. Everyone who read a book about money would be rich. Every guy who read Neil Strauss's book,. The Game, would be adding notches to their bedpost.

Third, all advice is context-driven. An investor in a company will tell you it's the next-killer app that everyone needs to be on. I'm going to write about the value of meeting in person because planning. And the person who sells a course on podcasting will tell you that everyone should start a podcast. It's not that their intent is malicious. But if you're going to listen to their advice consider the context and whether it's relevant to your situation.

Fourth, following instructions that someone else gives you is no longer enough to stand out in the world. It's a minimum requirement. If you follow someone else's instructions to the letter, you put yourself at a disadvantage. You squash the opportunity for discovery and what Naval refers to as specific knowledge.

I took a blogging course in 2009. The lesson for the the week was interview someone as a way to get traffic to your web site. Rather than interview one person, I turned it into a weekly series, which eventually became Unmistakable Creative. I didn't follow the instructions to the letter and it made all the difference.

Fifth, all advice is just experimentation. It's an opportunity to determine whether or not that advice is aligned to your natural gifts and talents. If you love to paint, and hate talking to people, don't start a podcast no matter what you're favorite online celebrity says.

Sixth, any piece of advice that's given to the masses ensures you'll be washed up in a sea of sameness. You're not going to build an audience trying to become the next version of someone else. You build it by becoming the one and only version of yourself.

You get into trouble when you mistake mimicry for modeling. Treating guidance as gospel is a recipe for dogma, regardless of whether it comes from the Dalai Lama or Danielle Laporte.

You won't Derek Halpern's results by copying his site design.

You won't become the next Marie Forleo by sounding like her

My mother's kitchen is a haven for unmistakable flavors. But, you'd be hard pressed to find a single recipe. If my cousin Rama is there she brings her own explosion of flavors into the kitchen. They both use the available ingredients, but come up with recipes of their own. Needless to say, you should never turn down an invitation to my parent's house for dinner.

By all means steal like an artist. Take ingredients from other people. But come up with recipes of your own. You'll get far more out of any advice you follow that way.