What is Enough?

Level 4: Serious Player

“I joined the Guardian Academy not long ago and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. There’s a word we use in TGA and that words is Enough. That word by itself transformed my career”
-Dan John

Is it enough to just ask you 'What is Enough?' and leave it there?

My dear reader, I, your faithful writer, am sitting here in a pickle of a quandary.

My problem is simple.

It's to illustrate the concept of "Enough" to you so that it sparks something in you that may lead to growth. Naturally I must figure out what is enough to accomplish that effect.

Like “Raising The Floor”, It's both simple and surprisingly complex.

Will you join me as I unravel it all?

Have a seat.

Enjoy a coffee.

I want to start by telling you a story.

The Farmer and His Horse

There once was a farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields.

One day, the horse escaped into the hills, and when the farmer's neighbors sympathized with him over his bad luck, the farmer replied, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills, and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, "Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?"

Then, when the farmer's son tried to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, "Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?"

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck? Who knows?

-

If you have heard the concept of "enough" you might think I would tell a story about doing the bare minimum to get the result you desire. Which IS indeed related to "enough." Minimum Effective Dose would be the technical term.

But "Enough" carries with it a meaning far beyond the measured quantity.

Understanding "Enough" in it's most powerful form is to recognize that it is not an absolute state. But rather it is more of a perspective of restraint amidst the unpredictable and uncontrollable fluctuations of life.

Recognizing "enough" is about being in the present moment with yourself and knowing you don't need more to keep going.

So you see dear reader,

I don't think it's "Enough" to simply give you the question "What is Enough?"

For this to matter, I think you've got to have the perspective not of "getting more of what you want" but rather of "nurturing the garden of you, from which what you desire will emerge" - clearing the weeds and brushing away the fog, disturbing as little as possible so that exactly what needs to be revealed is just so.

I think in many ways "Enough" ties into Growth.

What is enough to Grow?

My wife and I like to grow things. There's a deep satisfaction in the connection with the natural world in having a little garden.

When I lived in the city in an apartment, I would rent a rooftop planter. I didn't even really have a specific outcome I was looking for,

I just wanted to grow things.

Now we have a house. We have a vision and plans for a garden. The whole thing hasn't taken hold yet.

But,

We are surrounded by growing things.

We have a little forest just to our west up a sloping hill, and many natural plants growing somewhat wildly around our property.

The previous owners kept a tight control over their little garden beds, the yard ... a nice classic suburban home.

We're a little different.

Right now, we aren't trying to make it into a specific thing. We love to grow things and to help things grow, but we aren't driven by the need to do it in a specific way.

Rather, we prefer to allow.

We allow what grows to grow, we observe what grows, and then we work with the natural world around us to manage things,

Just enough.

We prune and cut the plants which are choking off the ones we'd like to see grow more, and which get in the way of other things we want to do with the space.

But we don't obsess over the look of if. We don't stress about *making* the plants be what we think we want them to be.

No, right now we are just allowing.

And observing.

What is enough?

What will grow?

What does the earth and the garden need from us to grow well?

Can we grow corn here? Can we grow fruit? We sit back and learn and observe what will be enough from us to participate and nurture.

It's a longer road. Our "yard" isn't "as pretty" as other people's by conventional standards (to us it's perfect for now).

But we grow things and we have that connection with the earth that matters to us.

How is life any different?

Do you know what is enough for YOU to grow naturally? Do you know the minimum efforts necessary for YOU to change and get what you want in life?

Do you see the weeds and the invasive species which are choking the plants you'd wish to see thrive within yourself?

How is self growth any different than garden growth?

Growth doesn't always have to be something huge. It's often little things. You plant a seed of a question, an idea, a gap.

That's the "open loop" in our vernacular ...¹

And then you sit in the uncertainty of what the answer will be. You tend not to forcing the answer, but to nurturing everything around it. Yourself. Your day. Your life. Your work ... whatever it is.

When the conditions are met ... the answer will often reveal itself. If you are receptive.

Let me give you an example:

Writing this Article

I asked myself "what is enough" when I started writing, and then I just let that go and sit with myself in the present - the ideas the thoughts the words they all come because my intent is to communicate this idea and the best writing i do happens when i allow those things to breathe and come to me.

"Enough" means considering the ideas and then letting go, so that the rest can come to me when the time is right.

Which can be hard.

When I have a deadline and creative energy and focus time available. Conventional wisdom says push and get the work completed because you have a deadline.

"Enough" says otherwise.

For me "Enough" is recognizing that pulling back and letting go actually leads to the better outcome sooner.

For my writing, it's recognizing that "Enough" is planting seeds and letting them grow naturally.

I'm the kind of person who often pushes myself. I go for more. I extend. I can't work on things I care about and NOT put everything I have into it.

So because of this pulling myself BACK to enough is a good move.

It's tricky. Because we have to know the outcome we are going for.

It's not enough for me to just write about 'enough' here, because what I'm trying to accomplish with this writing and these articles is, hopefully, pulling you into my emotional world just a little bit, to hopefully intimate a concept with a perspective that helps you transcend your own ...

If just for a little bit.

Because its in that transcendence of our own perspective where we see ourselves from the outside, from different views.

Remember, everything is a mirror.

If I do my job right (by my eyes), my writing becomes a mirror for you to expand the edges of your own perspective. In that expansion you can discover growth, if you are present and looking for it, and if you are willing to take the action necessary to put that new perspective into reality.

To do the work.

To engage the field.

So if my job with my writing is to do that, then "ENOUGH" is when I have accomplished that.

But, Enough is more than just creating an environment for nurturing the blossoming of a seed.

You're not just creating the possibility of growth, you're actually honoring all of the energy surrounding the seed to begin with. Not just for the benefit of the seed, but the benefit of the soil, of the air, of the water.

How you nurture the seed with respect to your resources impacts your ability to nurture future seeds.

Enough honors the reality that we have limited resources.

As a writer I have limited time, limited energy, limited creative TAP into focus, limited perspective, limited understanding.

(As an interesting side note, stepping onto the field increases some of my resources, because understanding and perspective are a resource for me)

We've talked about this before in Collapsing Time². In that article we talk about people's inclination towards getting as much as they can as fast as possible - but this is done without regard to the resources you have available.

If you're on a path to getting what you want, but you run out of resources ... you don't get there.

Your question of "what is enough" is a Bumper³ that allows you to find the right next step, to move forward toward what you want, while preserving as many resources as you can.

In my personal example, I could attempt to spend every minute of every day writing these articles, but what's going to happen is I'm going to run out of resources, burn out, lose consistency, and then be completely unable to keep up.

I actually had this problem in my personal email list.

A problem I only recently solved by figuring out "What is Enough".

Let's see if I can unpack it:

There are innumerable ways to run an email list. If you get into the nitty gritty of email marketing and copywriting spheres you'll see common "recommendations" are to send emails as frequently as possible.

So, a 'daily' email is a popular frequency.

I'm not going to get into the why of figuring out the frequency, because that all depends on variables unique to you and your situation.

For the context here, you just need to know that I decided for me a daily email would be a good and effective choice for achieving my solvable problem. (again, lots of surrounding context you don't see)

Well,

In the beginning I struggled with this.

I like to write in depth. I like to write at length. I like to explore perspectives and pull threads. You read my articles, you know.

And you can do that in email.

BUT

It's really hard to do that in email effectively on a daily basis.

For two reasons.

One is because in order for that to be effective you've got to have a list of people who want that depth and density and powerful insight every day.

But two,

And perhaps more importantly,

In order for "daily" to work, I have to write daily.

Sounds stupid obvious right?

Do you know how hard it is to write in depth deeply insightful epiphany creating emails every single day?

That exhausts even me.

I couldn't do it.

I tried.

I'd get like a few days, maybe a week and then hit a wall.

As I look back on it now, I can see I was running out of my resources. And there are certainly ways to figure this out, to manage your workflow so that you can keep it going ...

But the truth is it just didn't fit me.

And I wasn't enjoying it.

So ultimately I asked myself "what is enough?"

What is enough to get the effect and outcome I need from emailing on a daily basis?

The short explanation is this: Whatever is enough to keep the relationship going.

That's what email is to me, it's a connection tool for building and having relationships. In the case of business, with prospects, customers, etc.

In the realm of Email Marketing and Copywriting there is this idea that you have to GIVE VALUE every time you send someone an email. People lean heavily into that 'GIVE VALUE.'

Because people think that email readers only read because you give them value, or they think they are getting value and if you stop giving them value why would they keep reading?

But again, I asked myself, what is enough?

My answer:

In order for people to want to read your emails ... they just have to want to read your emails.

If they feel good, they enjoy seeing you show up in your inbox, they enjoy opening and reading what you share no matter what ...

THATs all I need.

I already understood this on numerous levels, but implementing it for myself took a perspective shift.

Because again, I asked myself what is enough for people to enjoy what I'm writing?

My answer?

When I ENJOY WHAT I'M WRITING.

When I am having fun delighting you people is when I know it's going to work.

This also has the added benefit that if I enjoy what I'm doing, it becomes pretty easy just keep doing it each day. (I think I recently hit 100 days in a row)

Sounds simple when I look back on it.

But I couldn't see it until I slowed down and I found what 'enough' is to step forward.

I tried it out.

I started writing really WACKY and WEIRD stuff. Because I ENJOY IT.

I got people telling me they were the funnest emails they'd ever read.

Here's the neat part:

Truth is even though every time I sit down and I focus on writing what is fun and engaging and weird to me ...

Each email still contains a lesson. It's not always overt. In fact, much of the time it isn't. But if you're paying attention you pick up on it.

That all came from asking,

What is Enough?

And then Engaging the Field⁴ once I figured out What is Enough.

There's real magic in this. Shit we can't really consciously conceptualize. By honoring the limited and valuable resources around my creativity, focusing on Enough, I create the inevitability of great new things.

There's a structure in this we can explore.

I'd like to introduce you to an idea.

I call it "The Pyramid of Complicated Shit"

(Nic presented this at the last Guardian Academy Event - he called it The V3 Pyramid, I thought that was boring)

Remember from Collapsing Time, how our default is often to go for more, go faster, try to get all the things we want as soon as possible, but without regard for even knowing that you're headed in the right direction?

Basic human trait - we overstep the simple things because we want the flash and the excitement.

Well,

This phenomenon happens in many areas. It's not just about going faster.

Let me show you this pyramid:

The V3 Pyramid

This is in a pyramid shape for numerous reasons. One of which is that this particular shape is especially suited to illustrate what we think about "the top of the pyramid."

That is ...

We tend to default towards thinking higher is better.

Even the phrase "the top of the pyramid" probably conjures up some component of superiority in your mind.

We don't need to delve into the damaged psyche of humanity which defaults to thinking "higher is better," but here's the thing ...

You see the top of that pyramid?

It's all 'Complicated Shit.'

Because whenever we try to do ANYTHING, but especially go into a new endeavor, figure out a complex system, build something, etc ... we have this tendency to think complicated is better. We go for the complicated shit because we think that's what's needed to do the thing we want to do.

Fitness.

Have you ever decided "I need to lose weight" or "i need to be less fat" or some variation there. And you got really detailed in your process. You started restricting the foods you eat, you started measuring everything religiously, you tracked all your macros, you got all the supplements, and you started a new workout routine. The workout routine was highly detailed and specific, aimed at bringing you from nothing right now to the ripped sexy body you desire as soon as possible.

And then

A week or 3 later, it all just comes crashing down. You're not good enough. You can't do this kind of fitness and eating. Your body is not made for this kind of diet or workout. Etc.

Well,

Maybe you just went straight to all The Complicated Shit and skipped past the fundamental base layers necessary for you to just be healthy in general.

It's those base layers that make everything possible.

Below The Complicated Shit is actually 'Novelty.' You might think Novelty is the most superfluous based on the name, but it isn't.

Novelty is actually something we need in our lives - we don't need it from everything, but every one of us always has Novelty fulfilled in one way or another. Sometimes when we don't understand ourselves and feel like we need more Novelty, we wreck ourselves by chasing after it (and skipping the baser layers below). It's a similar mistake to going straight for The Complicated Shit.

Novelty can't be clear until you have an established Structure. That's why Structure is below Novelty. Because Novelty is ... bear with me here ... *novel variations on a structure.*

Now, you might think Structure is the base layer.

But it isn't.

You don't actually need Structure until ... again, bear with me ... you have something worth structuring.

You might see where we're going, but I'm still going to walk through the next layer.

Balance.

Balance is an interesting one because you probably haven't thought of this as being important.

You might also be starting to notice, in this exploration, that importance is not related to how high up you go on the pyramid, but rather how much the layer you're considering supports. The further down you go, the wider the layer, the more important it is.

It's all about foundations.

Balance is something you figure out once you have determined 'Enough,' in order to keep going sustainably.

Enough is ... well, the least effort you can put into what you're doing while still getting the outcome you desire.

Just to quickly illustrate:

Let's use Laurel Portié's ads strategy as an example.

(I'm skipping some of the details, if you'd like to learn more about Laurel's ad strategy, we have several articles in the Marketing Section you can explore) "Enough" can be considered whatever the bare minimum is for you to get conversations with prospects (figuring out the right messaging in your ads). "Balance" can then be whatever you need to implement to keep those conversations consistent (figuring out the ads you can run consistently without fail). "Structure" then can be systems which add efficiency to the whole process.

Back to weight loss. What is "enough" in order to lose weight?

I'm going to shortcut a much more complicated conversation here and input the answer - it's enough weight change to remain within the natural standard variance of your day to day and week to week weights.

(The short explanation of why that is, is that if you remain within your natural variance, which can easily be 1-2 pounds day to day, week to week, your body doesn't notice you're actually losing weight, and therefore doesn't start combating you with significant metabolic changes in order to maintain equilibrium)

So let's say for example that "Enough" to lose weight is losing less than 1 pound per week. Which may not sound like much, but if you can be consistent with it, do you think you'd be closer to your goal in a year if you lost 52 pounds or even 25?

Balance is what you need to do in order to make sure that Enough keeps going.

Back to The Pyramid of Complicated Shit

The V3 Pyramid

Do you see how "Enough" is the most important thing to figure out?

Enough informs Balance which informs Structure which informs Novelty which informs Complicated Shit

The funny thing is, if you focus on Enough, most of you reading this probably won't ever go past Structure.

Most goals we have are more than served by doing Enough and finding Balance, and then maybe adding structure.

Enough goes beyond quantity. It's easy to think of it that way, after all the word itself conveys "an amount."

As I write this I am reminded of the many instances throughout my life where I extended far beyond "enough" and the times in my life when I unknowingly chose "enough" because it naturally felt right.

Moving beyond "enough" was almost always a response to uncertainty, lack of self belief and awareness.

A move to do more because I wasn't aware of what I really needed, or what would be, truly, good enough.

I know now that "enough" isn't about setting a minimum acceptable quality or quantity, but a way of weeding the garden, conserving breath and energy, and calming making way for the best parts of myself to just be.

Don't just ask yourself "what is enough of this thing I can do to get my outcome," but also ask yourself "what is enough in me?"

"What is enough within myself for this to be something I can do for a long long time?"

"What is enough to nurture the seed which will reveal the clarity and understanding I need to find the certainty of getting what I desire?"

For me in writing, that is simply doing enough of all the things that maintains my joy of the process. Because as long as I enjoy what I'm doing, I will easily maintain a state of receptivity and for this creative work, that is when all the insight shows up. I am my best gardener of me when I am in receptivity.

Enough is not just an amount, it's a focus for you to unlock all that is possible, if only you don't drown out what is there by piling more than enough on top.

Finding Enough (The Process)

Our Framework For Setting Sustainable Goals (below is an exclusive, 10-page excerpt from the V3 Letter, a $147 a month direct mail letter for the Guardian Academy. V3 does not allow any digital copies of full issues)