minimum viable structure

Do first, label later

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Did you know, on the internet anyone can just invent new words? 

Hopefully you won’t see me as an errorist, but here is what I am on about today: 

• Minimum Viable Structure is the mindset of “do first, label later”. It’s the basis of how one converts their natural interests, talents, and passion into a living without becoming unoriginal and burning out

Minimum Viable Structure (MVS) is about doing more of what you love in life, cutting out the bs. It’s about creating harmony between structure (execution potential) and lack of structure (creative potential).

Ever since I quit my job with no immediate plan a few months ago, I think about this concept everyday. I am now on a journey to do my best work… to some way, somehow do what I love for a living.  A few months into the void, I am realizing this journey is all about striking the balance between structure and lack of structure. Especially because what ‘I love to do’ feels like a moving target.

Regardless of your interests and background, MVS is an idea that could help you get more of the magic in your head out to the world. In my eyes, it is the essence of meaningful creation. I plan to break it down in the context of digital creation, which has been top of mind for me as of late. Thus, I will dissect this very newsletter series to help bring this all to life. Prepare for some newsletterception.

The wild west

I don’t have a stat to prove this, but I think we have the largest proportion of people making a living off their passion than ever before. And it’s largely due to the internet. Billions of people are now connected 24/7, regardless of geography. After all, it’s what allows us to share this moment together right now…(did I just make things weird?) 

Consider this: on average, the internet is adding 500,000 new users every day. The opportunity to meaningfully connect with others and even make $ off your stuff is increasing by the day. It’s still the wild west out here. 

Now I am not suggesting you need to be on the internet to do what you love. However, the internet is one of the biggest levers of all time. It dramatically increases the likelihood of other people finding you and vibing with what you are doing. 

Just a few weeks ago, I tweeted about this dumb idea and tagged an awesome account called ‘Buildspace’, thinking nothing of it. They later contacted me to create a writeup for them. Prettay, prettay cool.

When I told my mom about this she was like “great, so you have job now?” Oof.

The reality is, digital creators have a lot of surface area, meaning the likeliness of people finding them, sharing their ideas, or collaborating with them is just a lot higher.

So I gotta become a ‘creator’ now?

Gonna be honest, the idea of being referred to as a ‘creator’ makes me a tad uncomfortable. I think the word has potentially developed a negative connotation - some view hungry fiend in LA who lives and dies by the subscribers and likes. Someone chained to a posting schedule at the brink of a breakdown.

However, most of us are already creators. There is no job on Earth where you are adding value to society without creating something. The ‘digital’ aspect is just about making your stuff accessible on the internet. Putting yourself out there. 

Even if it’s just an instagram post, you are already a digital creator in my books. But to be clear, what I am really referring to is the sharing of your authentic self online in an engaging manner. Your real, meaningful thoughts, ideas, creations…just anything that gets you going. 

When putting yourself out on the internet, it’s not necessarily about being ‘somebody’ or making money from the start. These intentions can get in the way of sharing something meaningful. Your true self plays out over time, it’s defeating to plan on being authentic.

Think about this…can you post a video without being a Youtuber? Can you write an article without being a writer? Can you design something without being a designer? Can you write a twitter thread without being a little cringe? (now that’s impossible). 

When we give ourselves labels prematurely, it can feel constraining. When you come back to do something over and over again - not because you ‘have to’, but rather because you ‘want to’ - that’s when labeling feels right. 

Labels are tools

^But so are guys who don’t like labels?

For the longest time, what kept me from putting myself out on the internet (and occasionally continues to impede me) came down to two things:

• Idk what to say

• What if people don’t like it

Both of these reasons roll up into ‘expectations’. The expectation that I should say something awesome and the expectation that people should love it. To me, it’s clear that expectations, however, come from labeling.

Labels play a critical role in society - they enable us to extract value. When someone is labeled as a lawyer, it allows you to refer to them for legal matters. When you label someone as a jerk, it allows you to prepare yourself when speaking with them. When you label something or someone, you box it up and implicitly create an expectation of what that thing is.

Basically, what I am trying to point out is we should be calculated with how we label ourselves, others around us, and things we do.

Not labeling can feel awkward but it should be freeing - it is the first half of fvckaround, findout.

The come back to Earth moment here is that you can’t be a label-less entity forever. Eventually you must define yourself so others can find you and so that you can benefit as well.

But self-labeling does not have to be limiting.

This newsletter

I started the ff newsletter because:

• I have been writing a lot more recently

• I was fired up to write the first article

I didn’t have a real plan or schedule for what I was going to do after the first article. And to an extent, I still don’t. But in the past month I just forced myself to write about whatever came to mind - that’s it. Committing to a type of content or posting schedule felt like putting myself in a cage. I was worried it wouldn’t be a good fit. 

Now that I have pushed myself to publish a few times, I can see a pattern of some sort. The past three articles have been about navigating the so-called ‘void’ in an effort to think bigger, be more creative, and do what I love all the time. As such, this and previous newsletters will be part of a monthly series called ‘From the Void’ (more in the PS section). Moving forward, at least once a month I plan to add to this series because I really love exploring how to undo mental rigidity developed after time spent in work and school environments.

This is not the full picture, though. There are a lot of additional things that fire me up and I am still making sense of it all. I have been really interested in AI and coding as of late and I am excited to continue practicing stand-up. I am not sure how those fit into anything, and perhaps they may not. But I plan to just see what happens. Expect some different type of content around this stuff soon.

So what now?

Regardless of what people say, I think it is possible to always be excited about your work. Especially in today's day and age. But it does not just happen overnight. Minimum Viable Structure is an idea around how to make it happen and avoid burnout.

Burnout is a result of no longer being excited by the box you have put yourself in. However, the box you put yourself in (defining your posting schedule, what type of stuff you do, who you are…) enables you to focus and get sh*t done. The question is - do you enjoy what you are doing?

Minimum Viable Structure is about identifying what you come back to day in, day out, and exploring how to box that up in a clever way. It’s bottling up the child-like energy inside you. Overtime, by gradually labeling yourself in a genuine manner, the world can experience the totality of magic in your head.

The concept of MVS might resonate if you are someone who wants to figure out what they love to do and eventually do it all the time. If you are at all fired up about this, consider attempting the following:

• Set out some time every weekend where you plan to be well rested and energized

  • 2-3 hours could be a good place to start

• Enter that time with no set goals, or expectations of what you need to get done

• Just follow your curiosities and create something during that time

  • Writing, drawings, videos… even audio recordings work. Basically make something you can come back to

• After X amount of weekend sessions, look over all you have done and think about any common themes. Then post something combining it all online.

  • could be 4-5 or even more sessions… you know when you know

This is a lot easier said than done. It’s quite similar to what I laid out as actionable steps in write now. But it’s worth trying because I guarantee you will surprise yourself with time. And if you are not yet convinced, just keep tuning into the ff newsletter :-)

You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards.

— Steve Jobs

P.S.

This article, along with the previous 3, are part of the series: From the Void. Moving forward, expect a monthly edition breaking down ideas around thinking bigger, being creative, and doing more of what you love.