Month: June 2012

I try to write here not from a position of an advisor, but as a student who’s learning out loud. I’m enrolled in what I’d like to think of as a real life MBA right now, which is absolutely what I need.

I’m not looking for shortcuts or an easy way out, and I know that the only way to go through the fire and not die is to move quickly. I do the work I do because it’s important and worth doing.

It requires a constant re-evaluation of my goals and progress, and ultimately, I’m the only person responsible for my own success. And failure.

Thanks for reading along.

I don’t know where he got the quote from, but my dad says it all the time:

“Oh ’tis a new day dawning, tell me will you let it slip uselessly away…”

We have access to the world’s information at our fingertips, and the barrier to entry in almost any field worth mentioning is lower than ever.

When you get right down to it, we aren’t really precluded by time or capital or access or opportunity. What we’re really precluded by is fear. Fear, stubbornness, and self-deception.

There will never be a perfect time to act (aside from two years ago), but this doesn’t stop people from launching businesses, having kids, and joining the circus every day.

The only issue worth discussing is whether or not we have decided that we are willing to put in the necessary work to achieve our goals.

Not the emailing and research and planning and operational items, but rather the emotional labor of beating down the brick wall of Resistance every day.

We surround ourselves with people who implicitly and explicitly reinforce the lies we tell ourselves about why we’re not further along, what we need in order to progress, and how much time is needed before we’re ready.

What we really need is to surround ourselves with is people who have long since sold out for excellence, to take an honest look at our own pathetic efforts, and to be ashamed.

Ashamed every day that we haven’t done more, sooner, and with more conviction.

And the next step — the only possible next step — is action.

The ideal position for you is unlikely to come from a Monster Job listing, or to even involve your resume. I’m willing to bet that it’s not something that you even apply for.

My friend Carl tells the following story:

I crossed the street with the Naked Cowboy last year. I asked, “how’s it going?” He said, “I have the best job in the world.” He may be right.

You might need to create what you’re looking for.

[Fun fact: Mr. Cowboy owns the trademark to his character and operates it as a franchise.]

I’ve been thinking a lot about work lately.

Not the nebulous “what I do all day” kind of work, but rather a reflection on how my relationship with my daily tasks is an indicator of my personal and professional life.

Questions like this come to mind:

• Do I treat my work time as sacred?
• What’s stopping me from doing more?
• Do I start each day with a to-do list?
• Do I actively prevent and mitigate distractions?
• Do I force others to treat my work time as sacred?
• Do I always know what comes next after completing a task?
• Does the list of things that’s stopping me from doing more get smaller every day?
• Do I only work when I feel like working, or have I grown past letting my emotion influence my productivity?
• Do I recover from distractions when I’m knocked off-task, or does it take me hours (if not all day) to get back on task?

Reflection

When I think back to the days when I had first left my job, I remember floundering in my free time. I had gotten by my entire life by being smart and charming, but not by hard work. All of my “accomplishments” were a result of my doing just enough, or being liked by the right people. I had terrible work habits, honed in the belly of the beast.

I used to sit down at the computer and spend most of my days brainlessly refreshing feeds and news sources until my brain turned to mush. I never carved out the time to be still, hone my craft, and learn the art of business. This free-wheeling nothingness was a result of 1) me not having a boss anymore and 2) never developing a habit of self-managing.

Amateurs and professionals

When I look at the habits of people who get things done, it’s obvious that work being taken seriously is at the center of their achievements.

On one end of the spectrum is the amateur who works in the shadows on nothing in particular, as needed. The amateur isn’t building anything intentionally or working with a sense of purpose or determination, so their work reflects this. As my mentor would say, they don’t know how to work.

On the other end of the spectrum is the professional who realizes (and has long since sold out to the idea) that work is not a choice. Work is a part of our life that must be practiced just like any other habit. It’s not influenced by how they feel, what other responsibilities they’ve taken on, or how nice the weather is.

Professionals do what’s needed, every day, period.

Bridging the gap

One doesn’t go from sitting on the couch watching TV for eight hours a day to playing back to back pickup games at the local basketball court overnight. By the same token, the amateur doesn’t become a professional overnight by sitting down to do work all day. This isn’t to say that the mindset and habits of a professional can’t be immediately emulated, though.

With tweets and texts alarms and chimes all around us, it’s easy to spend less than an hour being productive every day. Think about that! The legacy of what we’re working towards as artists and world-changers accomplished in sixty minutes a day.

What’s interesting to note is how much gets done when we focus. We love a great just-in-the-knick-of time stories, and glamorize the last-minute sprint.

It’s asinine.

What reinforces this lazy work habit is how good it feels to accomplish something under pressure, and how we remind ourselves each time we do it that this is how it’s done. Yes, instead of making a habit of doing the work we’re proud of by focusing intensely and proactively on our tasks, we get off on the euphoria of almost being embarrassed. And thus the cycle continues.

I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, and I hope that you’ll join me. Nothing is more important for my career and quality of life right now, and I appreciate those who set the example for me and those around me.

I’ll never forget playing basketball in middle school (in part because that’s one of the last times I played basketball…). We had a great team and a great coach, the only problem is that I wasn’t a starter.

It pissed me off because I felt like I was a better player than the guy who had the starting spot for my position (sorry Chase). To vent my frustrations in practice when the coach wasn’t around, I would take great pleasure in working him — pure, unadulterated, immature showboating.

It was great. Until game time, when I would sit my showboating jersey on the bench…

One day in practice, the coach was walking us through a new play and we were simulating the reaction of the defense. When the defense (Chase) shifted, the coach paused to discuss possible options.

Seeing what was obvious to anyone with even a little experience playing basketball, I explained that I would just back cut my defender and move towards the basket. The coach paused and regrouped after saying, “ok good, I didn’t know you would do that.”

Really?

There was my problem: the person who most needed to know my skills was oblivious to them, and I spent energy trying to embarrass my teammate when I could have been addressing the real problem, which was my skills not being on display.

What an idiot.

Now as for you: perhaps you have a superpower that your boss doesn’t know about, such as technical writing or business development. Maybe you have secretly taught yourself a new role and you feel like you could add value to your team by lending your new talents. I don’t know what it is, but I’m not the one who needs to know.

This post is a friendly kick in the pants for you: speak up, stop being unnecessarily modest, and show us what you’ve got.

A lesson I’m currently learning is that my job is less about looking for the next mountain to scale, and more about making a habit of putting one foot in front of the other (in the right place), over and over and over…

It’s so easy to get distracted.