Tag: work

Take a Break! April 9th I am doing it

Post author By jrlsage
Post date March 16, 2016

I haven’t yet taken a break

After quitting my job, I had this idea that I would take a few weeks, do some travel, and let my mind relax. It was one of the fantasies I had, going out in the world with friends, avoiding the New York winter, and having a good time. It was a beautiful dream.

I didn’t do any thing like that.

I went in the opposite direction. I started working harder. I started hunting for projects right away. I connected and reconnected, put forth a few ideas, and gave my white board some serious pen love. It paid off. At my last count, I am working on seven different projects with seven different teams.

There is a part of me that doesn’t want to give up the work. There is a voice in my head that gets scared, and says if I calm down, I won’t matter, and if I don’t matter, I don’t exist.

Luckily for me most of the projects I am working on are on a short-term basis or long-term enough for me to take a break. I am circling the date of April 9th, my birthday, as the time to take a week or two off and give myself a vacation.

Making this public so I can’t back out. Hold me to it.

Tags blog, break, projects, recovery, too much, work, working hard

Blog Post

“It’s Easier Said Than Done”

Post author By jrlsage
Post date February 17, 2016

I hate empty phrases

An empty phrase is a phrase that someone uses to dress up emotion. There is no substance behind it, just a place where something like an excuse can kick back, relax, and spare someone’s ego the hassle of doing something that it doesn’t want to do. It’s a way to make an excuse sound plausible.

They usually come out charged and passionate. When you take a look at them, their emptiness appears, and you realize that you just heard a hot pile of nothing.

One of the empty phrases I hear most often is “It’s easier said than done.” I heard it because I often said it.

I turn it on myself first

I used to say it a lot. It rolls off the tongue. It felt accepted because it’s the first rationalization I can think of. It changes the conversation in a subtle way. What started off as a creative conversation begins to move into the world of “why not” instead of “why.”

I recognized the phrase as an out. Subconsciously, it felt safe. What I later came to realize is that the reason it felt safe is because I used it to shield myself from the mental and emotional labor that comes from something that might not work. If I sensed failure, I would turn try to turn it away with word tricks from my subconscious trying to shield itself from the fear.

That mental and emotional labor is usually the hardest part because you put your ego on the line. Victory is hard to quantify.

Words matter so don’t let them change you

It’s on my hated phrase/word list because what we say and how we say things matter. There is no communication path faster from thought to speech (sometimes we can’t even stop ourselves). The phrase “easier said than done” is a way to deflect from the work that needs doing. If you find yourself thinking that, or even saying it, take a minute when you can, and get to the real reason. It will make you more effective.

Tags charged, confidence, deflect, Ego, emotion, Emotional Intelligence, fear, its easier said than done, passion, self-awareness, skills, substance, talk, thinking, work

Blog Post

What Professionalism Isn’t

Post author By jrlsage
Post date February 15, 2016

I strive for professionalism

This isn’t an accident. Being a professional doesn’t come by luck or happenstance, it comes from deliberate action. Deliberate action is difficult, because it comes at a cost of comfort and space.

I love being around professionals. There are some great byproducts that come from it, like getting better results, having an impressive group of friends, or being well liked by powerful people through getting to know them. All of this is well and good, but they don’t make you one.

Here are a few things professionalism isn’t

Results-based – Just because I get to a million dollars* doesn’t mean I am successful. I made this first because results are the most visible. If I see a millionaire I, and the world I project, will most likely see him as professional. This is wrong. The key distinction here is that successful doesn’t mean professional, because luck plays a role in results, but not professionalism.
Friends-based – Powerful friends don’t make you a professional. I can’t call someone to improve my professionalism. Being around professionals helps, lets me see the model, but there is no such thing as professional osmosis. The key distinction here is that being seen around professionals or hanging around professionals doesn’t make me a professional.
Magic-based – You don’t just wake up one. There is no knighting ceremony or ritual. There is no time need. There is no pumpkin turning into a horse-drawn chariot. The key distinction here is that no one can make me a professional. No one casts “a spell” and creates “a professional.”

Don’t confuse the byproduct with the product

It is far more comfortable to leave it alone and just hang out with the byproducts, or stick around the same conferences, or buying things that will “transform” you. Becoming a professional is tough. It gets confusing. It is often a scary process, filled with dark nights and wondering if it’s worth it. If you do want it though, you should put your effort into the work.

Note: Tomorrow I will get into what professionalism is.

*Insert any resource here.

Tags fear, friends, luck, magic, meaningful, professionalism, relationships, spells, Success, work

Blog Post

The Do Principle

Post author By jrlsage
Post date February 9, 2016

Anything is entertainment

I used to love blog posts. When I woke up I sat in front of the computer, consuming the latest on Techcrunch or Gizmodo. I thought that information, and information alone was power; those blog posts were keeping me up to date on what was happening in the world of technology.

Fortunately, I woke up and realized a few things

Blog posts don’t give any rigor, are usually wrong, and lead to shallow conversations.
Since I didn’t do anything with that time, it was just entertainment anyway.

I realized that reading blog posts is in the same league as wrestling and daytime TV, except they didn’t nail the emotion part as well (those two types of programs are masters of that side of story telling).

Learning how to do starts with doing

I don’t know how I missed that in class, but I finally recognized that action turns knowledge into something tangible, something real. It’s why I started taking this blog seriously. Instead of thinking about a platform for me to sell things, I understood that this place has real power in forcing me to scratch down ideas and deal with chewing through them. The value isn’t in the clicks, but the rigor that I have to do when I write through them.

That ended up being just the tip of the iceberg. I learned that writing through these ideas is fun, and they test me to try to understand and put them together, but ultimately, I need to take the next step… and commit.

Committing to execution is the goal.

Go do. That’s the point of this post. There is a wide chasm between people who just say they want to do it, those who go through the intellectual rigor, and those who actually execute. Anyone who does that has no choice but to become effective because operating comes with lessons, especially in failure. So, whatever you want to do, please, go and do.

Tags activate, do, do talk consume principle, engage, figure it out, life as usual, make stuff happen, principle, trust, work

Blog Post

Scarcity is comfortable, thats why we choose it.

Post author By jrlsage
Post date January 14, 2016

This is a hard pill to swallow

We grew up being told one day we could all “be president” but as soon as that speech was over, given reminders to get “realistic”.

What the term “realistic” hides is scarcity. Scarcity is telling us not to reach so far, not to stand out, not to make too much of a ruckus.

I hate it, and I feel we kill our inner self every time we use it. The question is why do we do it? I think we do it because its comfortable, we decide to live with the “get realistic” ideals of scarcity because its easier to keep yourself trapped then to risk your ego by going out on your own.

The reason I hate it so much is because I am as guilty of it as anyone I know.

Abundance vs scarcity

When we are younger, we learn to hold on to what we have. It isn’t a problem to keep a hold of something. In fact, it’s seen at as a way to win through life. Keep your head down, keep what you have, when its safe, get more.

That’s scarcity.

Taking the next step, trusting your skill, knowing the world has more. Learning to get involved, to count, to matter.

That’s Abundance.

Failure comes in both directions, but you have to ask yourself, which failure sounds more interesting?

But we are comfortable with scarcity

We begin to blame everything and everyone for that fear, but truthfully, its our own demons. Our communities are comfortable with the idea, so saying things like “it pays the bills” or “its a job” makes perfect sense to people.

But, greatness, and understanding scratches that itch. That doesn’t come with being safe. We have to try for more, get uncomfortable with it.

Tags abundance, fear, learning, scarcity, sleep, Understanding, work

Blog Post

Janurary … A Great Time for Questions

Post author By jrlsage
Post date January 1, 2016

Questions are scary

When I get nervous, usually there is a question lurking in me that I desperately want answered, but I am too scared to think about. So, most of my life I didn’t ask them. Internally I thought it better to live with the shame of not standing up then deal with the “problems” that come with asking.

I recognize that I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of that fear.

So, I start the year trying to understand questions. I recognize there is an art here. There are good and bad questions. There are also good and bad environments, recipients, and people who ask. This month I want to explore these things.

This monthly theme ties into communication

At the end of last year I wrote a post that resulted in me picking 5 themes for 2016. They are the guiding light(strategic) for my ideas. Each month on this blog, I break things down into the practical (tactical). This year I want to tie both together, so each month, I have to write the reason they connect.

The art of questions connect to communication as the gate to higher level discussion. As much as we communicate through our words and bodies, it doesn’t mean much if there is no connection to the other side. Questions are that bridge that allows us to know what the other person is thinking, and what it means to the context of our existence.

Reread candidate

A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger – I chose this because it does a deep dive in the ideas of questions. Its even in the title. What I got the first time reading this is how set up we are when it comes to not asking questions, how we get trained in being defensive, and how powerful they are.

Other candidates

Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours

Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin To Munger

Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It.

Questions

How do I ask them in daily?
How often should I do it, when do I decide “is it worth it?”
How do I deal with experiments?
How do I react when someone else asks?
What do I need to do to improve my ability to ask?

Subthemes

Experimentation – Questions aren’t just spoken, they are also projects, i.e. experiments. So how do I approach them?
Note taking – Good questions come with preparation. My Note taking skills need examination.
Vulnerability – Questions are scary and leave you on a limb. How do I deal with that vulnerability without losing my head?

Tags 2016, Communication, intro, January, month, monththeme, questions, reread list, Understanding, work

Blog Post

Compassion Is Not Compliance.

Post author By jrlsage
Post date December 4, 2015

[bctt tweet=”Compassion is hard work, the opposite of compliance. “]

I think we simplify the term compassion, so much so that we lose a lot of its meaning.

I am guilty of it. One of the statements that brings me back on track is remembering that compassion is not compliance.

For me, the idea of compassion instantly brings up Buddha or Jesus. Both figures were known for their compassion.I think of the parables of forgiveness that both have. What I often forget, is that the reason they got to the forgiveness part of the stories is because they sought to create change.

Compassion meant understanding, and that understanding often left them at the opposite side of the things as they are. It gave them, and the people who lean on compassion, to ultimately understand and decide what something meant. If it meant change, they would go about making that change. The base of that energy was compassion, and I think it’s a super power.

Even so, it isn’t comfortable. Questioning people or the way things done never is. Often there is a price to pay for clinging to your convictions, even if it comes in a beautiful package.

It isn’t a clear path to get there. There is a mistake, where people confuse empathy with sympathy. There isn’t compassion to understand, just using willpower to tolerate.

Tolerating, and feeling sorry for someone isn’t a path to compassion, it routes people back to this road of ego. It is easier when you see people who you think are “worse” off than you, but it takes its toll nonetheless.

It becomes a ticking time bomb, a run on your feelings that can’t help to expose itself when the time isn’t right, and the world is annoying you.

That tolerance is just another way of compliance. Its allowing something to happen, which has nothing to do with understanding.

It isn’t a growth measure, it’s a stop-gap, designed to keep people at arm’s length.

Compassion cuts through that, and connects your inner value with your understanding. It isn’t complying to the world around you, its being patient to understand it, and being a change agent when necessary. That leaves people extremely vulnerable, and sometimes, people angry.

It’s hard work, the opposite of compliance.

Tags Brene Brown, buddha, compassion, empathy, faith, jesus, religion, sympathy, work

Blog Post

Problem Solving and the 9 Hour Video

Post author By jrlsage
Post date November 23, 2015

This video took 9 hours to make.

Producing is hard work.

What I assumed would take an hour, took 9. When I strive for more, I struggle. From 4 PM to 1 AM yesterday, I floundered, saw a small amount of success, then problems popped up again. What looked like a victory turned into defeat. It was three steps forward and two back.

It was frustrating. I wasn’t happy. But I kept at it. In the end, what started out as an exercise in producing media content turned into a lesson of persistence and learning through problems.

By producing this video, I had to deal with transfer errors, learning how to edit video, messed up sound, false starts, and even a virus. But, I kept going.

Eventually, 5 minutes came into the world on YouTube and Facebook. As a result, I learned a ton about uploading from my phone, free video editing software, YouTube editor, lighting, and file formats.

Doing this next week won’t take nearly the amount of time. Hopefully I will fun into more challenges along the way. Each challenge is nothing more than an opportunity to learn and build a knowledge base on problem solving.

Tags problem solving, video, work

Blog Post

Computer Screen

Post author By jrlsage
Post date November 15, 2015

I sit and stare at my computer screen.

*click.click.click*

Nothing comes out. No well of inspiration, no big post, no reflective musing – nothing that is worth putting on the page.

Then I head for the feedback loop of Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Yahoo, and back again.

So, inside, I scream. Each moment filled with anticipation and anxiety.

Then I do or don’t. Its simple.

Things don’t get done unless I do them.

And voilà, a post appears.

Tags action, to do, work