Author Archives: ljgale

My sister is getting married tomorrow

I can’t imagine:

  • How she’s feeling now.
  • How her twin sister is feeling now.
  • How her father is feeling now. And her mother. And her grandparents. And, of course, her fiancé.

But why try to imagine what’s going inside of everybody’s head?

The goings on in mine are crystal clear.

So ‘effing proud, Lana.

All my love.

P.S. Your wedding gift is en route.

How to be, naturally

How do you act? When you know everyone’s watching.

How do you write? When you know everybody’s listening.

What do you say? When you know everybody’s listening.

The answer is the same for all.

The same.

 

Give it some thought

Over the past few years, I’ve made several investments. Not traditional investments, but investments in stuff. Here are some of the best ones:

  • Macbook Pro.
  • Vitamix Pro 750.
  • Dyson Vacuum.
  • Briggs & Riley luggage.
  • Logitech mouse.

These investments took a while to finalize. After all, they were not cheap. But research and nights sleeping on the decision paid off.

So?

Give it some thought.

Because the stuff not requiring thought probably isn’t worth getting anyway.

An assistant, a 5k, and a couple grand

Managing a team is scary. Hiring an assistant is not.

Running a marathon is scary. A 5k today is not.

Leaving a salaried job is scary. Earning some money on the side is not.

Identifying the end-goal is important. It makes the baby-step seem easier. And if you start to worry about how you’re going to get to the end-goal, just identify the next baby step.

Why?

Because a few assistants, a few 5ks, and a couple grand on the side add up quickly.

Just come back to it later

That article you need to write. That formula you need to create. The puzzle you’re trying to finish.

Staring at the blank paper or formula bar or scattered puzzle pieces forever won’t get you there.

Putting it down, however, will.

SSDD

What are you working on these days?

It could be a:

  • A project at work.
  • A project at home.
  • A vacation you’re planning.
  • A trick you’re teaching your dog.
  • A workout program you’re using.
  • A book you’re reading.
  • A show you’re watching.

Life is better when you can answer that question immediately.

There are so many things to work on. “Same shit different day” is not one of them.

Liars, head-cases and degenerates

I’ve noticed:

  • Dishonest men will be dishonest. Smart ones become attorneys.
  • Neurotic men will be neurotic. Smart ones write every day.
  • Compulsive men will be compulsive. Smart ones are clean freaks.

The river has to flow somewhere. Might as well channel it in the right direction.

 

Following tough acts

Tough acts to follow don’t need to be so tough.

  • Godfather II didn’t try to outdo the epic wedding, baptism and mass murders. They went to Italy and Tahoe.
  • Kenichi Ebina didn’t try to outdo his video game performance. He performed solo (sort of).
  • Robert Plant didn’t try to outdo Led Zeppelin. He sang duets with Allison Krauss.

How many movies, TV shows, bands, books and performers, should have heeded this advice?

Godfather III, Hangover II and III, Dexter seasons 5 through the end. Ugh.

Following tough acts is okay. But something small is the only way to follow.

NOTE: The Kenichi Ebina video is a case in point (and awesome). Performance 1 is at 2:28. This principal is explained at 4:13. Performance 2 follows.

Noise and Seth’s Blog

I love Seth Godin’s blog. If you don’t subscribe to it, you should. You’ll learn about business, life and other good things. Kinda like this blog (cough).

If you subscribe to Seth’s blog long enough, you’ll see the one mistake Seth makes every week. Every morning, you’ll get an email with the day’s blog post. And after a while, no matter how much you appreciate the content, you’ll begin to ignore the email. It happened to me, and it will happen to you. Its consistent delivery, every morning at 5AM becomes noise.

That noise:

  • Yields diminishing returns.
  • Dilutes the purpose.
  • Exhausts all parties involved.

Seth could benefit from a break. His readers could, too. One day per week would be enough.

Look in the mirror. Even if you aren’t writing a daily blog, you are doing a daily something. Facebook looking / posting. Clean eating. Working.

So how do you avoid producing, becoming, and delivering noise?

Keep doing what you’re doing. Write a thought-provoking blog. Eat clean. Do good work.

Just take a break.