A Few Things Learned This Year

While we like to talk about looking forward and not dwelling on the past, it is helpful at times to look back over the past year and see what happened that we learned from. Ok, so this is mostly my (David's) list.

1. Write it down to give it a chance.

Being writers, Larry and I write a lot of stuff about stuff. We've even written back and forth about what we were thinking about stuff prior to writing it down so it would become stuff prior to our actually writing about the stuff we had written about. (It makes sense to me, really).

Fact is, if you don't write it down somewhere, put it someplace where you will see it rather often, it just won't happen. Get it outta your head. (maybe that would have been a better #1 title. You have enough to think about, why not make the list of what you want to accomplish and get to feeling it, being it, doing it.


2. Don't wait for perfect.

Ouch! (#1) Doctors are not perfect, computers are not perfect, car companies and banks are not perfect (told myself I wouldn't go there), secretaries are not.... ummmmmm, yeah! they are.

Everything can be improved upon. Even that paper you got an A+ on back in high school can be made better with what you know now. Thing is, if you have this idea, this feeling, this urge to do something that will make things better, then go ahead and get started on it. Don't wait for the "perfect" moment, the "perfect" date, the "perfect" place or the "perfect" whatever. There is no such thing. So, just do (Oh! wait, that's then next one).

3. Do it, you'll feel better.

You ever have those moments when you just get on a roll? You know, you start something at say 10:00 in the morning and the next time you look up, it's already 2:00 and you've missed lunch? That's what happens when you just go ahead and get started on something.

Now Larry has probably known this longer than I have (See, I'm still learning), since he's been writing at a high consistent level for years. You write even when you don't necessarily feel like it. I've heard it said before a different way... It's the writing that will bring on more writing. Try in in your own field.

4. Let folks know where you are.

Just like when you knew you were going to be late, and you needed to phone home to let mom know where you were, what you were doing and why you were gonna get your butt beat because you were already late for dinner and didn't tell her ahead of time, it's a good thing to let folks know where you are.

We did that last week with a quick post. It could be thought more of as a warning that we will be doing more, being more, giving more, presenting more, but that's part of things as well. Don't necessarily tell everything in your playbook or your plans ahead, but let them know you are there and will be back with a bang.

5. Go through the damn door

Finally, when you have made up your mind in some fashion, push forward and go through the damn door. If you don't there could be someone on the other side rushing through and hitting you with it breaking your collar bone, sending you to the emergency room where they hook you up to an EKG machine (left arm for guys, right arm for women, testing for heart attacks), and then to the doctorss office for the first time in many years, taking 4-6 weeks to mend itself into some fashion that you can then use it to pull up your pants. (See David's posting about Be Naked for the new year).

But I digress. Push forward and don't let the simple things stop you.

---David