Day #1 back in the office for 2013.
I’m starting the year like I always do with my annual “note to self” — a list of people and things that I’m not going to think about or deal with this year. I’ve written previously about the notion that in a world of unlimited communication the most important time management decisions aren’t about what you say “yes” to — there about what you say “no” to — thereby leaving time for the “right stuff’ to seep through.
You can’t really stop incoming noise — but you can resolve to give it no quality attention cycles. My way of doing this is to keep a file folder on my desk (or Mac desktop) labeled “Waiting for Columbus” (in that this stuff will get dealt with only if Columbus discovers this folder) for every posting from the “note to self” list. It’s not necessarily a permanent purgatory as some things do end up rotating out of the folder — but it is a place where a lot of “if you don’t care about it then why should I” stuff ends up getting buried.
What I do every do may not matter to anybody else, but it matters very deeply to me. I’m not getting any younger, I had ADD long before it was fashionable, and I have my own long list of things I’m curious about or would like to be better at doing. If you’re not willing to run 100 miles per hour with your hair on fire — and go down fighting full of piss and vinegar — then I’ve got better things to do with my time then spend it on the things you profess to care about.
I’m NOT the guy to help folks validate their excuses, rationalize their sense of “victimization”, or help them feel better about their lack of effort or commitment. Sure, sometimes winner’s win because they’re lucky, but more often than not they win because they simply refuse to quit — and they outlast those around them who get tired, or lazy, or quit early.
The world rewards results. Results require complete dedication of your time, your talent and your treasures to the achievement of your goals. If you’re not willing to give that — then unless you’re lucky — someone else will outperform you and kick your ass.
Yes, it’s often really that simple.
So here’s to 2013 — bring on the committed, lunatic, passionate dreamers.
Failure isn’t losing — quitting is.
Cheers! Doug C.
