The more you do, the more you can do.
The more you say no, the more time you have for more important things.
The more you delegate well, the more free time you have for the things only you can do.
The more you develop others, the more they can do.
The more you help, the less you have to do.
What are you doing that you should stop doing today?
Who are the people you should be enabling instead of trying to do everything yourself?
We’re inundated with too many articles that start with, ‘how to get…’
The list is endless.
What are we looking for? Why do we read but don’t action? Do we really need to be told the answers? Don’t we already know?
I hope my writing sparks bias towards action, even if it’s for a fleeting second. But my writing won’t give out a list of ‘secret’ answers that won’t help anyone.
You go back to school after falling in love with dirt under your fingernails. You love to break and build things. You quit your high-paying job… You surround yourself with kids fresh out of high school. You study hard. You move to nowhere. You make big sacrifices. You’ll soon become a nuclear engineer.
You and your partner are looking for fresh opportunity elsewhere. So you leap to action to move to another continent. It takes 15 days to get a working visa, and another few months before you pack up your life into four suit cases. Your partner gets a job within two weeks. A month later, you join a high-ranking official’s legal team.
You’d rather use your talents to save children instead of selling fizzy beverages. You quit your job despite being promoted. You pack up your things and move overseas without a promise of a job. Within one month, you are offered two positions. You’re lucky to share a swanky pad with a lovely human being inside the big apple.
Change in top leadership leaves your school in disarray. Children have learned to disrespect the inconsistent authority. You decide to take command of your classroom. You set clear boundaries. You become a leader of your domain. You take charge. You become the beacon of decentralized authority.
You’re not happy where you are, who you are with, and what you do. You quit the place, the person, and the job. You move to the city that never sleeps. You find yourself happier with people of your tribe, end up doing the thing you’ve been putting off for far too long. You learn to savor the fruits of your labor. You embrace discomfort. You make difficult decisions.
You’re full of creative energy. Your parents tell you to pursue a professional degree. You do to make them happy out of respect and love. Bills need to be paid, and so you continue. But you pursue your passion outside ‘normal operating hours’. One bead at a time, you create beautiful statement pieces to celebrate your customers’ special day. You launch your brand. Your passion is ignited and the work you do sustains your creative outlet. Can you believe it? It’s already been since months.
They said you were crazy to leave the comforts of a steady income. You were told to stay put. Instead of listening to naysayers; instead of just wishing and hoping, you made a decision to act. And act, you did.
Whose approval do you seek before you decide to act? When will you embark on the journey towards yourself?
Some time ago, I found myself on a long stretch of deserted highway with no sight of state troopers. My foot pushed down on the small pedal to command power, and the cylinders complied joyfully to reach maximum velocity. I laughed out loud from the exhilarating acceleration. To go fast without consequences is a rare privilege that a few of us get to experience.
Mercedes is making SUVs with V12 engine for a cool $500,000. On average, that’s 3x the size of a typical engine. Imagine how fast it could go. The beast purrs as it revs. The marvels of modern engineering is rather cool. If I could afford a car like this, I must have worked hard to earn it. This is a toy that I get to show off.
But…
Half a million dollars for a moving liability when someone else is living hand to mouth, working multiple jobs, with no sight of stable income? Most don’t even have jobs. Homeless. Mentally ill. Addicted… $500,000 could buy 5 homes for five families in need. Or, it could feed 40 families of 5 (mom, dad, 3 children) for 7 years. That’s 200 people fed over 2500 days, based on an average living expense of $2 a day.
Whoever wants this particular Mercedes must have net worth of at least $10million, if not more.
We can choose to uphold the status quo, while muttering in disbelief: Life isn’t fair. Or berate ourselves by thinking, I’m just not driven enough. But I am not convinced that the majority of the population living below the poverty line are plain lazy and/or stupid. I’m not convinced. Are you?
Until recently, I hated moving. To be honest, I have yet to fully embrace it. I don’t always succeed. Often, I fail. It still knocks the breath out of me. I don’t hate it anymore. Change has become the status quo, a way of life.
I am acutely aware of my limited time in this wonderful world filled with infinite possibilities. Yesterday is already a distant memory.
If tomorrow comes, I will do my best to do the I’mPossible.
Today, I choose to fill my precious time with people and experiences of my choice.
Today, I choose me.
coach
noun, often attributive \ˈkōch\
(According to an online dictionary)
Coaches must understand the rules of the game. Better ones have played the game first hand. The best ones defy the rules.
I once had a landlord who claimed to be a professional life coach. She outsourced the letting of her only physical asset to an incompetent real estate agent. Further, the landlord didn’t even have the $1200 security deposit to return to us. Her finances were in disarray. We ended up not paying the last month’s rent.
Another time, a potential roommate asked if she could live rent-free. She’ll provide coaching in return. I couldn’t delete that email fast enough.
There are great coaches, of course! But I’ve seen too many bad ones. In the crowded digital marketplace, we are not sure who we should reach out to. There’s no database of coaches.
Even if you find a good coach… what is it that you want the coach to help you with? Tell you what you could do better? But don’t you already know that?
Or, are you just procrastinating?
Are you looking for yet another excuse to delay?
Coaches can only help you enhance the game if you choose to leave the safety of your comfort zone.
Keep your eyes on the ball.
Pick up the bat and give it a good swing.
Play.
Don’t forget to have fun.
They’re having a girl, so we must buy pink onesies!
It’s a boy, so let’s decorate with blue balloons!
Pink for your sister;
blue for your brother;
it’s just how it is, you see!
Barbie for her;
truck for him;
Oh no, my little general. Only girls play with dolls! You’re a boy, so let’s get rowdy!
Oh no, my porcelain doll. You’ll get dirty! Girls are supposed to be prim and proper!
Kitchen set for her;
Legos for him;
Oh no, darling. Go and play with your blocks! Be a man and build something great!
Oh no, darling. Be a good girl and fry me an egg with your super stove and take care of me!
Now, run along children!
Bo’s favorite color is pink.
Bo wants to become a fashion designer and homemaker.
Bo plays with his sister’s Barbie when no one is around.
Gail wants to break things down. Build new things.
Gail’s finger nails are already full of dirt.
Gail creates tracks with her trucks and bulldozers.
No, no, no, no, NoOoOoO! Put that down! That’s for girls.
No, no, no, no, NoOoOoO! Put that down! That’s for boys!
I write to get happy. This is about me. We spend all our time packaging and refining to sell. An idea. Action. Decision. Status quo… I’m tired of selling someone else’s product! I just want to get happy! What do you do to get happy? My thoughts dance out of my mind as the never ending troupe of words, sentences and paragraphs groove to the sweet melody of my fingers hitting the small spring-loaded keys.
I write to own my weird.
I once reviewed an evaluation sheet in which someone took an average of an average. For those mathematically savvy, average of an average is a non-number with no value-add. You may as well call it imaginary.
To the average, you cannot add, subtract, divide, multiply or expand it exponentially.
When we say someone is average, do we mean the same thing? The person is just the sum of everyone’s characteristics divided by the population…? With no distinguishing characteristic of his own? Nothing can be done to make the person better or worse?
How tragic? How insulting! Have you ever been called average?
Average is the norm. Average is rather dull. I’m not a fan.
It used to offend me.
Now, I’m ecstatic to be called weird.
Getting older has its benefits.
It’s raining outside. I welcome the chance to walk with an umbrella. A light drizzle that changes its intensity throughout the morning.
I get a lot done today. The holding cost is too high… duplicate purchases of things I don’t need. Couldn’t find it or forgot about it. About a hundred little bottles of skin products I won’t use. Little knickknacks of clutter. I spent all day throwing stuff away. I need to sell a bunch of good stuff (clothes, electronics, and Wii?).
This year, I won’t be buying anything except vegetables and delicious food.
A brief explanation of my pseudonym below.