Purchases Versus Practices...

Andy Crouch wrote a great article about the difference between obtaining satisfaction through purchases versus practices.

The essence of the article is that we often seek satisfaction through repeated and necessarily escalating purchases.  Crouch uses the example of buying music.  When a song or album is first purchased, there is great enjoyment from listening to it repeatedly.  However, the satisfaction soon wanes and is quickly replaced by the need to purchase again.

The alternative is satisfaction through the long and boring process of practices.  This is an initially frustrating situation that only results in satisfaction over the long haul.  But, when the real satisfaction finds it's genesis it grows exponentially.  For this side of the coin, Crouch uses the example of learning to play the violin.

Purchases are the easy route, with very little long term value.

Practices are long and hard, but with incredible long term return.

I want to invest in the practices.

And...

I want to be surrounded by people who are obsessed with practices.

First Time...Now What?

A few days ago Seth Godin wrote a blog post entitled "On knowing it can be done".  Essentially, it's about how the world often thinks/assumes something is impossible...until it is accomplished...and then often the flood gates open to many more people/organizations doing/accomplishing the same thing and even more.

It is certainly true, however when applied at the individual level there actually seem to be two options as to what happens next.

One option is what Seth suggests.  The flood gates open.  It is a springboard for amazing progress.  Seth uses the example of running, and the ever improving mile time.

The second option is the exact opposite.  The accomplishment has been realized, therefore there is no need to continue to push, and stagnancy sets in.  The moment of the "first" becomes the pinnacle moment.  It's the individual who runs a marathon and then never runs again.

The first option is a milestone.  The second is a finish line.

The first option leaves footprints.  The second leaves a monument.

Frustration vs. Education...

When someone with whom we have significant relationship, and especially influence over, thinks and acts differently than we deem best and right, there are two options.

Frustration or education...

Frustration is the easy/convenient response...but will only result in stagnancy.  Things will almost assuredly get worse.  The risk is in souring the relationship, while the other individual and the situation will very likely remain unchanged.

The alternative response is education.  Educating the other paves the pathway to growth.  It will likely be hard work and take a significant amount of time.  But, it will result in a path that is going somewhere, as opposed to one that simply circles on itself.

Frustration is easy...education is best!

The Tortoise and the Hare...

My two young children have recently started listening to a great stories podcast, and this weekend they were listening to a version of the classic tortoise and the hare story.  While I was pushing them along in the stroller and they were listening, I couldn't help but listen in on the story.

It was a more modernized version, but still the same base story.

As I went along, I pondered on how we live in a fast-paced technology-driven world where the story of the tortoise and the hare may be more pertinent and important than ever.

Undoubtedly, technology enables some amazing and even essential things, but it also gives the false impression that we can always be running faster and doing more.  The reality is, though, that there are limits to both how fast we can run and how much we can do.

So, by all means, make appropriate and calculated usage of technology.  And, at times, run really fast.  But, don't lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day, slow and steady with a clear vision of where you are going will almost always win the race.

For The Love of Analogy...

Douglas Hofstradter once said...

Analogy is "the fuel and fire of thinking".

Indeed!

We live in a society that is losing it's ability to think.  Technology "does the thinking for us" and in turn people don't actually think when necessary.

Given this fact, analogy is quite possibly more important than ever before!

Analogy is an all-important catalyst, that essentially invites an entire half of a human brain into the thinking process.

Analogy is the fuel and fire for thinking.

And it is desperately needed!

The Teamwork of Orchestra(tion)...

A successful orchestra is a vibrant metaphor for a thriving team.

Here are  some aspects to muse on:

Unison is ALWAYS essential...without it there is dissonance and disaster...

Beginnings and endings matter...

The middle is the substance...and makes the terminal points matter...

An ultimate leader directs the others so they can successfully perform...

Individual leaders lead the separate sections...

Sometimes the pace is fast and furious...on the verge of spinning out of control...

Sometimes the pace is slow and steady...feeling like it might crawl to a stop...

Sometimes loud...

Sometimes soft...

Sometimes a section is loud...while another is soft...

Sometimes a certain section will rest...while the others play along (frantically)...

When an "ending" happens...it is really just the time for the next thing to begin...


Teamwork takes masterful orchestration, and great orchestras indeed get it right!

Mentors Influence Trajectory...

...in two ways...

The obvious trajectory impact of a mentor is that the life being mentored becomes capable of reaching new and never before imagined scope.  In this way, a mentor provides fuel to propel the journey.

The less obvious trajectory impact of a mentor is to propel the mentored life in the right direction.  Just a degree or two of misdirection at the point of origination turns out to be a substantial impact the further it gets from the point of divergence.  In this way, a mentor provides calibration.

Mentors are essential and play a much larger impact than seen in any given moment.  As I reflect on the past decade of my life, I can point to a handful of mentors who have generously and deeply poured into my life and I am eternally grateful for their investment.  I don't know where my life would be without them, but I do know there is no way I would be where I am today without those key mentors.

Simply put, mentors change lives and consequently, the world!