Instead, I watched the elder do this:

“Ok, let me show you…” (He climbed back on to show his brother the starting position.)

“First you go like this with your hands.”

“Then you go like this, down until your foot touches the ground.”

“Then you go like this, and all done.”

“Ok, I will help you. Come on…”

He taught his brother first instead of merely holding his hand down the see-saw.

Metrics That Don’t Matter

My son taught me a simple principle: most metrics we cling to in order to prove our value are for vanity.

Like these for example:

• Number of people you manage
• Number of projects you’ve completed this year (or quarter, month, day, before brushing your teeth, etc.)
• Number of social media followers (Pro Tip: follow me on Instagram andTwitter) ✌️
• Number of bedrooms in your house
• Your height
• How much you benchpress (Bro Tip: nobody cares)
• How busy you are

Being a Multiplier is a Measure of Impact

How many people have you multiplied today?

Make that your daily goal and experience a completely new approach to making your mark in this world. Some of the greatest joys I experience each day at Medallia, mentoring founders at 500 Startups, and being a dad to my sons include:

• Teaching a coworker how to automate 50% or more of their repetitive tasks to free their minds to be creative
• Overhearing said coworker multiply another coworker to automate their repetitive tasks (Multiplying multipliers)
• Witnessing a founder’s “aha moment” after using a design framework to get them unstuck
• Learning a new approach to design from someone whom I taught design!
• Showing my son how to drive in a screw with a Philips head screwdriver, immediately followed by, “Ok I can do it now!”

Multiplying Our Audience

What happens when we approach each day embracing opportunities to be a multiplier? We change people’s lives.

Imagine what happens when you’re a multiplier to your users, customers, or readers. That’s exactly what Brian Bautista does at SoundHound, Inc., with “Hound How-To” educational videos:

FYI: We scripted, filmed, edited, and produced this video in a single afternoon thanks to Wistia’s DIY studio. Way to be a multiplier, Wistia!

The Essence of Being a Multiplier

You might think the heart of being a multiplier is being a teacher, or having a teacher mindset. While that’s partly true, I say there’s still something missing.

The essence of a multiplier is having an entrepreneurial mindset combined with an educational mindset.

I don’t mean go get funded by a VC and start Snapgramiscope.

An entrepreneurial mindset is to shift limited resources from lower yield to higher yield.

It means taking the limited resources you have and making the most of them. When combined with a teaching mindset, you enable others to make the most of their limited resources.

Be a multiplier today. And let me know how it goes.

Typically, you ask upfront. You ask before a project begins. Before you start building a solution no one wants or needs. Before your new year’s resolution to go to the gym everyday or start your new diet.

So you’ve started. Congratulations. It feels good to start. It feels good to feed off the enthusiasm. You started something. You believed in it. You even got a handful of others to believe in it.

And they want it. They want more of it. They want more of you.

Then there’s the in-between. You know the in-between. It’s the familiar spot where you often find yourself when you’ve lost the spark. The inspiration has faded. Your Muse is silent. When just one more episode is your comforting thought.

You’re in between the savory start and the elusive end.

This is where we usually forget. We forgot why we started. Too often, this is where we stop. We quit.

I’m asking you right now to remember why you started. Remember why, and keep going. Get back to it. Show us what you’ve got.

“The saints are those who struggle right to the end of their lives, who always get up each time they stumble, each time they fall, and courageously embark on their way once more with humility, love and hope.” (The Forge, 186)

And I asked myself, “Why does the struggle matter so much? Why is it critical we courageously embark once more?”

Creativity is meaningless without struggle. We tinker, experiment, test, fail, and grind away. We do it to discover. We do it to venture. We do it to scratch a curious itch, to prove others wrong that we’re not crazy with all our ideas. To prove to ourselves that it’s worth it.

It’s worth it to solve problems. It’s worth it to fill needs. It’s worth it to use our gifts for the greater good. And it’s worth it to struggle.

We empathize and build compassion in the struggle. Empathy and compassion help us understand the people we design solutions for.

We can empathize and be patience with ourselves too. In our own reflection, we understand our quirks, habits, and tendencies better. It allows us to be patient each time we stumble and fall, and design solutions for ourselves.

Last year when I met Bill Burnett, Executive Director of the Stanford Design School (d.School), he told me, “Designers invent the future.”

The future we design can be full of love and hope, for the people we design for as well as ourselves.

That’s why each time we stumble and fall, we courageously embark once more: To invent a future of love and hope.