All in Careers
What it boils down to is this: there’s a legitimate fear that if we actually make something, we’ll have to face the true state of our skills and accept how much improvement we still have ahead of us” Chase Jarvis - Creative Calling
This is the hard part about creating - particularly for the very first time, when we’re trying something brand new.
A common question when I’m discussing what I do for a living is whether there’s much travel involved. My answer is always that, yes, there’s a moderate amount of travel involved.
Of course, the term “moderate” means different things to different people. There are those who feel being on the road once a month for a couple of days is a lot. And then there are folks( in consulting, for example) who get on a plane week in, week out, flying out on Monday AM and flying home Thursday or Friday PM.
…Is not a phrase I’m entirely comfortable with.
Sure, there’s a maturity that comes with age - what we can refer to as wisdom. This experience also has a way of tempering our roughest, ‘least-rounded’ impulses which. in so many ways, is not at all a bad thing.
But the idealism of youth brings with it a daring, an audacity that has (more often than not) broadened our way of thinking, pushing our boundaries and forcing us to confront those things that hold us back yet we’ve taken for granted.
“How people may emotionally connect with music I’ve been involved in is something that part of me is completely mystified by...Human beings are really different, so why would it be that what I do connects in that way? I discovered maybe around (Radiohead’s album) The Bends that the bit I didn’t want to show, the vulnerable bit...that bit was the bit that mattered.” Thom Yorke
The 1,000 true fans of what you do, the ones who will follow you through hell and high water, aren’t there because they expect you to sell them something. They aren’t interested in you because you’re thoroughly researched, or because you’re crafted to the nth degree.
It’s a really weird thing.
In the process of learning something on guitar, specifically when I’m dealing with particularly tricky fingerwork, I’ll hit a point when I just can’t get my fingers moving fast enough, or to the right notes, or with the fluidity and rhythm needed for the song.
It’s that situation when the mind knows what to do, but the body can’t translate. Time after time, I’ll try but I’ll miss this note or I’ll flub that one.
When my kids were very young and they wouldn’t sleep at night by themselves (which was a lot), my wife and I would worry about what we needed to do to get them to sleep a) in their cribs and b) through the night.
As is our way, we’d read articles and we’d read books on the different methods that are out there to ensure your child gets a sound night’s sleep. There was the Weissbluth Method (or leave your child in the room and let them cry themselves to sleep) versus the Ferber Method (same thing but you come back in the room periodically to console the crying child).
One of the most common refrains I hear from business professionals - both young and old - is that the achievements of ‘celebrities’, in any walk of life, are the result of luck, or great timing, or some other reason that’s preordained.
In others words, their smarts and hard work were contributors but not drivers of their success. They rationalize that what drove that person’s success isn’t accessible to them, that they’re disproportionately benefitting from forces outside of their control.
There’s a lot of talk these days about Artificial Intelligence. Much of the buzz behind AI and many of the “digital disruptors” that leverage it (think digital twins, IoT, blockchain applications and more) is well founded. Taken together, these capabilities and technologies will change almost every facet of our lives, from how we live to what we buy to how we work.
If you spend any amount of time in the Bay Area, you can’t help but be struck by the entrepreneurial spirit on display (seemingly) everywhere. Billboards promote the latest AI startup, not the usual Fortune 500 monolith. Coffee shops all over are filled with twenty and thirty somethings typing code, while random overheard conversations inevitably turn to the latest tech venture or entrepreneurial startup.
This week, I’m sharing my favorite ideas from “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years”, an amazing book by Donald Miller. It’s a non-fiction book that speaks to how we should think of our lives as stories to be lived, making them more meaningful in terms of how we live it, and how we (and others) will remember ourselves as we grow older and when we eventually leave. This is Day 4.
This week, I’m sharing my favorite ideas from “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years”, an amazing book by Donald Miller. It’s a non-fiction book that speaks to how we should think of our lives as stories to be lived, making them more meaningful in terms of how we live it, and how we (and others) will remember ourselves as we grow older and when we eventually leave. This is Day 2.
This week, I’m sharing my favorite ideas from “A Million Miles In A Thousand Years”, an amazing book by Donald Miller. It’s a non-fiction book that speaks to how we should think of our lives as stories to be lived, making them more meaningful in terms of how we live it, and how we (and others) will remember ourselves as we grow older and, when we eventually leave. This is Day 1.
In my very early twenties, I went on my first business trip with my then boss. It was a quick trip to Bangkok (I was based in Hong Kong at the time) and I remember four things about that trip.
First, I got to fly business class, which was awesome. Business class was nice.
Second, I stayed at the Grand Hyatt Erawan, which was amazing. I couldn’t fathom such luxury.
Third, Bangkok traffic sucked - a 15 minute drive took an hour plus. Apparently, pretty normal back then (and not all that different now).
An endless debate that takes place in popular conversation is the question of whether people are born with special capabilities or whether they craft and mold themselves to become that way.
There’s a comfort in both streams of thought. The latter suggests that we control our destiny, who we are and who we can become. It provides for the mental foundation that we aren’t restricted to what we are today nor to what we have. Dream your dreams, make your plans and get after it. It’s all there for the taking.
“Why are we so afraid of secrets? Why won’t we take risks and figure out something new? We have given up our sense of wonder at secrets left to be discovered?” - Peter Thiel
The problem with the way our educational system works, in general, is that it is designed to produce established skill sets (mostly) that serve a world that has structure. Identify your specific focus area early, dedicate most if not all of your time and academic resources towards that focus area and dutifully march down that well-trodden path to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant, programmer, etc.
There are two types of people in the world: those who plan and those who don’t.
And there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that those who plan are more successful than those who don’t.
Of course, just because you plan, doesn’t mean everything will go your way. Reality has a funny way of doing things that don’t align with our best laid plans.
If I'm honest, I will say that there are many times I struggle with the idea of getting older and dealing with the reality that there are, to paraphrase Steven Tyler, only so many more summers left in my life.
While there's, no doubt, much I have to be grateful for, I'm also flustered by the fact that there's still so much left to do.
And my view of myself doing those things varies - some days I think maybe I'm too old, other days, I'm not at all.
There’s a game that’s played on social media that is focused on one simple objective: Let me show you how awesome my life is.
It’s a game that’s been amplified as FaceBook and Instagram have become household names and as the Kardashians and Reality TV have gone mainstream.
While it’s not a game played by everyone, it’s played by enough folks to be noticeable. In fact, you’ve surely noticed it yourself across any or all of your favorite platforms - people living what can only be called their best life: beautiful vacations, exotic locales, incredible cars, flash clothes, and picture-perfect meals. In fact, they look like they’re living your best life.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott
It’s almost always a bad idea to try and make difficult decisions in the fog of war, unless we absolutely have to.
In the midst of the battle, we’re faced with a host of messages and signals coming at us, non-stop, seemingly at random. Sometimes, our senses are heightened and we’re fully attuned to our circumstances, allowing us to make sharp, intuitive decisions. But more often than not, we’re not. Or we aren’t for any extended period of time.
God doesn’t come from theology, but from inside our bellies - Russell Brand
The fact of the matter is that handbooks, while helpful, are not really needed. The guidance is useful, often thought provoking, and many times, confirming.
