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Hit The Ground Running

2020-08-14 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:55 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Everyday life · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion, community lore

Hank reflects on keeping going with a project after the enthusiasm fades: pressing on just because you said you would is stubbornness, not perseverance, and success after it is luck, yet his answer is to keep going if there is an end date in sight; he closes with plugs for Bizarre Beasts, SciShow Kids and Journey to the Microcosmos.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Starting a thing with enthusiasm, the fuel running out, and deciding whether to keep going

  • ★★ Hank describes deciding to do a thing and loving it at first: its greatness fills your tank so you hit the ground running and sprint for weeks or months without questioning it. — 00:00:00
  • ★★ When the fuel runs out or the world changes annoyingly, you may have to decide, even three quarters through, whether to keep going; continuing is the default, so stopping is hard. — 00:00:29

00:00:58 — Stubbornness versus perseverance, getting lucky, and Hank's answer: keep going while an end date is in sight

  • ★★★ Hank says insisting on finishing just because you decided to, even if it's no longer fun or a good idea, is not stick-to-itiveness or perseverance but stubbornness. — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ Even when driven by pure stubbornness rather than fortitude or the hustle, you may find something new or inspiring, learn about yourself, or see the world change so the idea becomes good. (hedged) — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ When it works out, people credit their relentlessness, but Hank says it wasn't genius or relentlessness: they were stubborn and got lucky. — 00:02:03
  • ★★ It is just as likely, maybe more, that a sprint the world keeps saying isn't working will only get stickier and more laborious, while onlookers shake their heads. (hedged) — 00:02:03
  • ★★ The only honest answer to onlookers is: I said I would do it, I can't stop, and once done, at least it will have been done, and that will be something. — 00:02:32
  • ★★★ Hank's answer to what to do: just keep going until you're done, as long as there's an end date in sight, even if it makes no sense; you never know what you'll learn or see, and at least you'll have done it. — 00:02:32

00:03:19 — Plugs: Bizarre Beasts episode 2 on its own channel, SciShow Kids returning, James's new microscope; sign-off

  • ★★ Hank says this is just something he has been thinking about, not aimed at anything in his life right now, though he has been through it before; maybe it helps John or a viewer. (playful) — 00:03:19
  • ★★ The second episode of Bizarre Beasts is up on its own YouTube channel, hosted by Sarah Suda and about the hoatzin, one of Hank's favorite birds. — 00:03:19 · Bizarre Beasts, Vlogbrothers, YouTube
  • ★★ SciShow Kids, Orin's favorite YouTube show, is coming back: its hundreds of episodes are now at youtube.com/scishowkids, and new ones start going live on Monday (17 August 2020). — 00:03:19 · SciShow Kids, Orin Green, YouTube
  • ★ James from Journey to the Microcosmos just got a new microscope so beautiful it made Hank cry. (playful) — 00:03:49 · Journey to the Microcosmos

In the description and comments

  • ★ In a comment Hank says the hustle can help some people but is really unhelpful to him; he has avoided a takedown video so as not to yuck on people's yums. — creator comment
  • ★ Told by a commenter, apropos of nothing, that they still like the song All Star, Hank replies he's not sure why they brought it up but feels the same way. (playful) — creator comment

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Mentioned

Bizarre Beasts · Hoatzin · James (person, mentioned from 2019) · Journey to the Microcosmos · Orin Green · perseverance · SciShow Kids · YouTube

Only in the description or credits: All Star · Sarah Suda

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