Like a Rubik’s cube in the dark

Have you ever had a mental block on something it seems like other people can do?

Maybe it’s public speaking or handstands or writing code.

For years, one of mine was Rubik’s cube.

I’d watch others solve them.

They’d stare at one side… Peak around to another side…

Then make a couple of moves and they’d have a bunch of the same color all in a row.

Being this “smart” felt out of my league.

But then something changed.

Now I can convert a scrambled cube to a fully-solved one in just a few minutes.

My previous attempts might as well have been in the dark. It would be just as successful.

I did not become suddenly brilliant (oh, how I wish that was the answer).

Somebody showed me the moves!

For various patterns on the cube, there’s a series of rotations to move it closer to being solved.

That’s it.

For my latest at Heavybit, I used the Rubik’s cube to explain that developer marketing is not hard (as some suggest).

Like cubing, reaching developers can seem difficult until you see the “moves,” like education in place of promotion.

The full post breaks down two more mistakes that get in the way of our goals.