willie jackson

Blog

  • More rest, more (less) work

    I recently made the following changes to my schedule:

    1. Sleeping in until fully rested.
    2. No meetings during the week.
    3. Breaking my day into task-based sections.
    4. Taking a daily break for a walk and snack at a local cafe.

    I think I’m onto something, and I’ve noticed the following results:

    1. I get more work done.
    2. I enjoy my work a lot more.
    3. I complete tasks more rapidly.
    4. I need fewer breaks when working.

    Constant course correction seems to be the name of the game.

    Also, these banana muffins I’ve been on lately.

    Amazing.

  • Not to be outdone

    My friend Chris proposed a writing challenge this afternoon, and I accepted.

    I won’t tell you what’s at stake (not because it’s interesting or scandalous, or involves breaking the law or public nudity, but rather because secrets are fun), but I will tell you that I’m back (and alive, as it turns out).

    I’ve got a lot to tell you.

    Chat soon.

  • Quote by Albert Einstein

    Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.

  • First hand

    No amount of research or crowd polling or envisioning will ever replace first-hand experience. Sure, buy travel guides and reference materials and inquire of those who have walked your desired path, but expect to forge new trails when you take the plunge—it’s just the nature of life.

    And while you’re at it, a helpful perspective shift might involve moving from “what can I learn before doing this that would mitigate my risk?” to “what can I do to share the most valable insight from this experience to those who need it most?”

    Because with that simple switch, you’ve become a leader. Someone we look to and look up to and need.

    You might not be the first, but you can certainly be the best.

  • Your quitting point

    If all you need is one “yes” (from a VC or professor or customer) then the only question that remains is how many times you can deal with the “no” before giving up, and how deterred you’ll be with each one.

  • Taking a stand

    I think it means so much more than deciding not to go out one night, being a martyr for a cause, or throwing yourself into new pursuits.

    I think it means making a promise to yourself (an hour of yoga in the morning, twenty pushups a day no matter what, a mini-vacation once every three months for the rest of your life, volunteering on Saturdays…) and keeping it.

    The last part is the hardest, but we’re the sum of our habits and the promises we keep. The people I respect the most (and consequently, the most successful) are those I see keeping their promises.

    The ones they make to themselves.

  • You don’t need advice and tactics

    …you need to decide that you’re willing to do whatever it takes.

    And then you get started.

  • I didn’t even know you did that

    I’ve been accused of being unnecessarily modest when talking about myself, and there’s probably some truth to that. There’s more to it, but what it comes down to is the fact that I don’t derive my sense of self-worth from external praise and regard.

    What I’ve tried to make a conscious effort in perfecting (and testing), however, is the narrative around my work. I think it’s possible to keep the world apprised of what you do without waving your accomplishments around like a banner.

    This has become more important to me as I made the switch from clueless freelancer to less clueless team leader, as there is an urgency in (real) business that must always be present.

    More broadly applicable is the fact that our networks have needs, and that those connected to us would much rather hire us (or someone we recommend) for a job rather than a stranger. If we don’t talk about what we do, how can we serve those around us when our opportunity to help arises?

  • What do we call them, then?

    Today I’m at Raquette Lake in the Adirondack Mountains, delivering a talk called Rethinking Careers. I wrote about the idea once before, and it’s turned into a presentation.

    The biggest takeaway I hope to leave people with is that regardless of the employment type or status (corporate employee, startup founder, freelancer…), it’s our responsibility to find the intersection of:

    1. our specialty (something that we actually know)
    2. our interest (something that doesn’t make us want to die)
    3. our value demonstration to the market (something people will pay us for)

    Also: this work never ends. We have to remain in a posture of finding out where that intersection is, and to courageously seek it out.

  • A tool for everything

    I discovered Workflowy the other day and was pretty excited. Finally, a simple todo list app that works like my brain does. Just like the product video says!

    And then I realized that it, like many other tools that came before it, quickly turn into a crutch. A distraction, and an excuse. What I need isn’t another app.

    What I need isn’t even a devotion to plain old pen and paper for my todo list.

    What I need is to face each day courageously and purposefully, prioritizing what’s important over what’s urgent, and to take my work seriously.