YCDBSOYA
The Lost Mantra of Getting Your Shit Done…
You’d be forgiven if you thought the title of this post was a typo. Or some weird, butchered Russian word. Or, as a friend of mine, who recently introduced me to the term, said: “I always thought it was some kind of Yiddish thing…”
YCDBSOYA is an acronym. You can get it on tie pins from the 1950s. It stands for “You Can’t Do Business Sitting On Your A$$”.
Before we had productivity apps, life hacks, and 12-step frameworks for success, we had this. A simple, powerful, and slightly abrasive kick in the pants. A reminder that creation, innovation, and success are not passive activities. They are contact sports.
The world is drowning in ideas. We have notebooks full of them, whiteboards covered in them, and Notion docs packed with “the next big thing.” But ideas are cheap. They are potential energy. The magic, the money, and the momentum are all locked in the second half of the equation: Action.
YCDBSOYA is the antidote to the modern epidemic of “analysis paralysis.” It’s the cure for the endless cycle of research, planning, and strategizing that feels like work but produces nothing. It’s the voice in your head that screams, “Enough talk. It’s time to build. It’s time to ship. It’s time to sell.” You don’t learn how to swim from reading a book; you learn by jumping in the damn pool. You don’t build a business by perfecting a slide deck; you build it by making the call, writing the code, and putting your offer in front of a customer.
Action is the ultimate clarifier. It’s only when you’re moving, doing, and engaging with the world that you get real feedback. You can’t steer a parked car. You have to be in motion.
Those old-timers who wore YCDBSOYA on their tie pins understood a fundamental law of the universe: The world doesn’t pay you for what you know; it pays you for what you do with what you know.
Thinking is essential, but it must be a prelude to action, not a substitute for it. Planning is crucial, but it must serve the doing, not delay it.
Now, get up. Go. And build something that matters.
Don't forget NIHITO--Nothing Important Happens In The Office.
Long ago, I recall mentoring less experienced software engineers on my team. Looking at an aggressive schedule for a company objective, they had agreed that there was no time to write-up and circulate designs, to better coordinate roles and responsibilities with teammates, or to consider testing strategies.
Panic had set in. They needed to start coding right away.
I invariably told them they had no time NOT to do any of those things. To not confuse movement for progress.
I'll take effectiveness over efficiency any day. At least then you're working on the right things.