When life is slowing down

Thanksgiving I burnt myself: When I took the turkey out of the stove, the aluminum pan folded under the weight of the turkey and the juices splattered all over me. My left knee and foot and, more importantly, my right foot were burnt. The right foot was badly burnt, so bad that 11 days later I'm still limping and the pain is always present. I can't stand for a long time, need my right foot elevated or at least level all day. These minor inconveniences change your life: Suddenly a 5 mile run is an unattainable goal. Getting up in the morning takes 10 minutes more because of the impending pain, you stay longer in the bed, frightfully expecting the pain when you start moving. Little things like walking to coffee shop or entering a mall become major adventures. Everything just becomes a little bit harder, a little bit more arduous.

And, then you slow down. And you make choices: Do I really need to stop at the grocery store? Do I need the second coffee from Starbucks? Do I really need to run to this meeting or can I skip it? And, suddenly, you start to focus better. You take the time to read a book. You watch that movie you always wanted to see. You lay in bed just thinking. 

It's basically the body taking control of your existence. Just like when you have a cold or any injuries: the body has needs and it will take whatever it needs to ensure healing. Makes you think about the body-mind connection and how we are normally controlled by the mind. Just in emergency situations do we allow the body to take charge. 

Ironically, it's good for your mind as well. Too often do we forget to be grateful for what we have. To be able to run 5 miles, to be able to walk around without effort and enjoy the surroundings, to be able to wake up in the morning and jump right into to life - that's an incredible gift. I guess living through these experiences gets us ready for old age: Life will still be grand but things take a bit more time and effort. 

I can't wait. 

RIP Resume

Seth writes that resumes are obsolete. I agree.
Sure, most jobs require a resume to be even considered by HR.

But, that's because we tend to think resumes are the only way to communicate between prospective employers and employees. In reality, resumes are fairly useless, they have become a ticket stub: The real action is happening afterwards.

Seth mentions blogs and references. Instead, why not create one blog with one post just dedicated for your job search? Make it entertaining, engaging, put your heart into it. One such blog post will get prospective employers to call you very quickly. And very often.

It's the little things in life...

When you stay at a hotel, you expect a nice bed, decent bathroom, all the amenities. But, it's the little things that tell the real brand story. The little things that a hotel pays attention to that guests will spread. Well, here's mine.

I've never seen a good stopper for bathroom sinks. They didn't do it aesthetically to me. Until yesterday.


This little plastic ball functions as the stopper at the hotel I'm staying at.


It withstood the hot water for a morning shave test. Now I'm looking to purchase this little miracle for my house. Where do I get it?

Trust is everything

While working with an amazing design agency, I was again reminded how important trust is:

- Trust in your gust
- Trust in trust
- Trust in empowerment

Think about it: Somebody outside of your area of expertise shows your their work. Your only job when looking at their work is to trust your gut. Does it feel good? Does it get you excited? Don't argue about details because, frankly, you don't know what you're talking about. Exceptional artists require that trust: If you didn't trust David Lynch, more than likely you will Mulholland Falls. Trust doesn't mean you follow them blindly, you can question anything. But you should only question because of your gut feeling.

Rely on your gut. And trust. You might change your opinion at one point but for now, stick with it. You can question everything. All day long. rely on your trust to avoid this human desire. Questioning everything gets you nowhere.

Last but not least, trust in empowerment. If you hired somebody to do a good job, trust them. Sure, ask good questions, initiate a dialogue but never, ever question the power you gave them. It will result in the Russian doll syndrome: You will hire smaller people than yourself, and these small peopel will hire even smaller people until you end up with intellectual dwarfs.

Collaboration and innovative ideas need a giant amongst giants, not a giant amongst dwarfs.

Thought of the day

When was the last time you did something people say you cannot do?

It's the time of the year to challenge yourself. And hope to experience this pleasure by end of 2008. I'm working on it.

Are you?

How to achieve your dreams

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I came across the incredible story of Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie-Mellon and pioneer in the field of virtual reality who is dying of cancer.
Even though he appears incredibly healthy, he has numerous liver tumors, was given no more than 3-6 months to live but still manages to do one-armed pushups.
He called his lecture 'The Last Lecture' and discusses his childhood dreams, how he achieved some of them, and some not.

Most importantly, he discusses the lessons he learned throughout his life and how rewarding it is to help others to achieve their dreams.

In short, the lessons are:

1. Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us prove how badly we want things.
2. Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.
3. Never lose the child-like wonder.
4. If we do something which is pioneering, we will get arrows in the back. But at the end of the day, a whole lot of people will have a whole lot of fun.
5. Be good at something; it makes you valuable.
6. If you live your life the right way, the karma will take care of itself, and the dreams will come to you.

It's a long lecture but a lecture that will inspire and move you. And that should be worth your time. If you just want to see a short version, watch below



Via Businessweek

Quote of the day

"Think P.I.G. -- that's my motto. P stands for persistence, I stands for integrity, and G stands for guts. These are the ingredients for a successful business and a successful life."

Linda Chandler

Corporate motivational speaker