Maybe not MANY, but I am looking forward to celebrating the engagement of my former roommate and current best friend this weekend. It will be nice to see him and his fiancé! Congratulations to both of them.
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From the category archives:
Fortune Cookie Messages
I’m leaving for Russia on Monday. That means three things.
- This website might not be updated next week;
- Hopefully I’ll get some cool photos to add; and
- According to that fortune cookie message, I’ll be “great[ly] transform[ed]“
Traveling is something I’ve missed a lot over the last few years — I’ve been tied to Greensboro (a/k/a the BEST city on the face of the planet!) In any event, having the opportunity to explore new places has always been important to me. And I have been fortunate to travel far and wide. But on Monday, I’m trying something totally new: A trip to Moscow, Russia. It’s the first time I’ve been that far East (or is it West by that point?). Anyway, I’ll be attending — and presenting at — a conference and hope to share some and learn a whole lot more.
Since finishing my J.D., I’ve had an incredible ride working at TBG. It’s been a lot of fun working in and on our business. And this is another step in that direction. We’re making this trip because, as part of our Strategic Plan, we’ve decided to focus on our global reach.
I’m excited about travel because it does have the potential to lead to great transformation. However, that can only happen if you allow it to. These days, it’s easy to travel someplace and avoid the new and transformative experiences. There are, for example, 235 McDonald’s Restaurants in Russia. I’ll try to avoid them and experience new things, instead.
So, here’s to an 11 hour flight, new experiences, new friends, (and a bit of vodka)!
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And, to that point, I’m visiting my former roommate and current best friend and his fiancé up in Washington, DC this weekend. We’ll catch up, have a bit of fun, and get into a little trouble.
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I disagree. Every tough call is a close one, but not every important one is necessarily close. I’ve made important decisions that weren’t difficult (whether to help a friend, for example). But when a decisions is difficult, that’s when it’s close.
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Hard work is a given. You can’t get around it. Think about those “Get Rich Quick Schemes” on television. It would be great if they worked. But they don’t.
Success in any endeavor requires a “stew” of factors. If you’re predisposed to some kind of success-producing activity, what others perceive as hard work might seem easy (even pleasurable) to you, but it’s work nonetheless.
The recipe for the “stew” goes like this:
Desire + Plan + Commitment + Accountability + Intelligence + Action = Success!
Here are my definitions…
- Desire: If you don’t first want to succeed, you’ll fail every time (but maybe that’s what you’re after?)
- Plan: You can’t wander blindly and hope to get somewhere.
- Commitment: Focus on your plan.
- Accountability: Following through on what you promise.
- Intelligence: Working “smart;” Effectiveness.
- Action: You’ve got to make it happen!
My recipe isn’t in alphabetical order, but it still holds true that “the dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.”
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Recently I began taking new pictures again – you’ll see a flood of photos on the site in coming weeks. That activity has helped me see the beauty that’s been around me. In fact, most of the shots will be from around my downtown Greensboro neighborhood. Some of them will be things I’ve been staring at for years without a second thought. No more! I’m looking at everything with a new view. Keep an eye on the site to see what I see.
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Isn’t it always wise to break things into steps? It’s easier to accomplish any complex task by breaking it into components. I like to do that by setting SMART Goals. I believe that setting and achieving goals is the best way to grow.
I’m a fan of the old adage that a goal should be “SMART.”
Strategic: A strategic goal is a long-term aim.
Measurable: A measurable goal contains benchmarks.
Achievable: An achievable goal is reachable.
Realistic: A realistic goals is both sensible and practical.
Timely: A timely goal has a timeline assigned to it.
SMART Goals allow you to take things just one step at a time.
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I like to travel. My problem is that I’m only good at getting back from a place. For some reason, I get lost when I’m going there.
Here’s what I mean: I’ve been living in Greensboro, NC for virtually my entire life. Even so, I have the hardest time figuring out how to get from my house to any place across town in an efficient way. I wind up driving all over the place. However, getting back from that same place quickly is no problem for me at all. It’s even more a problem when I’m in a new place.
My point? I might have the opportunity to journey to pleasant places, but I’ll be much better at coming home than going there. It’s just another of my quirks (like obsessively collecting fortune cookie messages).
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I think the grammar might be off. It’d probably be better as, “You have the potential urge – and the ability — for accomplishment.” In any event…as long as the urge is positive and whatever is being accomplished is worthy, I suppose this is a good thing.
The remaining problem is the potential, though. Permanent potential has held a lot of people back. Potential with no action is probably worse than failure. As an old boss of mine always said,
“Doing something is better than doing nothing.”
At the end of the day, success requires action. It’s impossible to accomplish anything by doing nothing.
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