The concept of “building a plane while flying” was never meant to be the most effective or efficient approach. In reality, it is messy, requires constant tinkering, and feels repetitive and slow with its incremental gains.

I’ve heard this phrase many times in my corporate life, and at first, it took me a while to grasp this seemingly impossible concept because aren’t products and projects supposed to have a defined start and finish? Aren’t we supposed to stow away with an amazing idea, create it and then release it out into the world and make millions?

With more finicky consumers and the increasing speed of technology, more and more companies are using the “Agile” approach to manage their projects which precisely follows this idea of building the plane while flying. The projects I have been involved in using this approach have seemed inefficient and a bit forced, but it gets the project progressing at a pace that a linear process would not, so the messiness of it is worth it to its stakeholders.

As humans, you and I are constantly building the plane while flying. We are always a work in progress while out in the world doing the things. And really there is no other way to live. “Flying” (living life) actually helps inform “building” (develop) who we are. We have to be building while flying or we come to a dead stop. We have to follow this process because life is an iterative process – it isn’t linear. We can’t start at point A, create an amazing version of ourselves while in hiding and then release ‘Me version 3.0’ in the world after 3 years. How do we create a new, amazing version of ourselves without living, making mistakes and trying new approaches?

Maybe this is why life feels like an impossible, scary task at times. A linear approach would be so comforting for the nervous system – direct, predictable, and safe. But life isn’t like that!

For someone who wants to “make something of myself,” it can feel like a very messy, frustrating and incomplete process. But maybe we are never meant to “release” ourselves out in the world. Maybe we are always meant to keep building while flying.

The price of a product or service is not simply the cost plus % upcharge and ultimately, irrelevant to the seller.

The price is representative of the value to the purchaser. The value is completely subjective and a logical approach to pricing is not going to be effective.

To find the right price for our products or services, we have to tune into our buyer, understand what is the value of our product or service and charge that.

Paying is a commitment of the buyer to themselves that they value our product and service and feel it will improve their life in a certain way. Paying is a commitment for them to that change. It has nothing to do with us though our ego wants to think otherwise.

As buyers, we pay what we want to pay, and that determination is steeped in self-beliefs and our sense of worthiness. How much we are willing to pay is linked to how much we believe we deserve that thing and as much as we want to blame a seller for pricing an item “too high,” the price has nothing to do with them, but everything to do with us.

Looking in the mirror is hard.

But there are people who look at us all the time.

Our children. Our partners. Our families. Our friends. Our neighbors.

Dozens of people who are not repulsed, but elated by the very being we see in the mirror.

And why is that?

Because of what they focus on vs. what we focus on.

We see the wrinkles and freckles and bags under our eyes whereas our children see the arms that embrace them. Our partners see the ears that listen to them. Our families see the fingers that text to check in on them. Our neighbors see the friendly face that greets them.

The same happens in our business. When we look at our business, it’s like looking in a mirror. Our vision is cluttered with all of the things that aren’t the “ideal.”

It takes a different set of eyes to appreciate and capture the things that light others up about you.

(Are you a creator and change maker running a mission oriented business who is struggling with the copy for your website or for the marketing of your next program? Sign up for a Light Them Up Marketing Audit.)