Books, Sports, Rhymes & Life
The idea behind all this work is not only that it makes you valuable, but that it makes you irreplaceable. Only, that’s not true. No amount of work, no number of hours will make you indispensable. No one is indispensable. If the founder of a company can be fired, then anyone can. CEOs get removed. Dictators get overthrown. Workaholics lose their jobs just like everyone else.
Everything is temporary, particularly in the gig economy.
Continue reading “Workaholism Is Overrated”
As Ryan Holiday writes in Ego Is the Enemy, John Boyd is “one of the most influential strategists and practitioners in modern warfare,” yet he’s “someone most people have never heard of.”
The fact that Boyd is unknown is fitting, because his lasting legacy is a speech he gave to scores of young officers that has come to be known as the “To Do or To Be” speech:
I find it astounding just how important Twitter has become to life, particularly in the United States. It’s fun for jokes and music releases and live-tweeting sporting events or award shows, but it affects the country in profound ways, from the economy to national security to pop culture and sports. The latter two may seem minor in comparison, but they are billion dollar industries that are a real part of the national conversation.
I think about him often.
When I’m having a great day — after nailing a presentation or receiving a compliment from an executive — I’ll think of him and silently gloat, secure in my knowledge that he was wrong about me.
When I’m having a bad day — after a terrible presentation or making a careless mistake — I’ll think of him and wonder if he was right, that I was an overpaid disappointment.
It’s been over six months since I escaped his grasp, but he crosses my mind nearly every day.
I lead a sedentary lifestyle. I work in an office and I read and write in my spare time. The most non-sitting that occurs in my day is my nightly routine of doing the dishes, where my six-foot-three frame has to stoop just to reach the bottom of the sink.
This general lack of movement and exertion is the only thing I miss about working manual labor.
Continue reading “Life Lessons I Learned While Working Manual Labor”
Recently, I learned that someone close to me had received a promotion. A big promotion. They would now be doing a job that is reserved for very few people in the world. It meant plenty of perks and tons of responsibilities. It was one of those jobs that comes with a press release.
One of the perks of my job is that I am fortunate to sit in meetings with the leadership of the organization – President/CEO, COO, CFO, VP’s, directors, whomever.
Continue reading “A Surefire Path to Success? Ask Smart Questions”
This is the second entry in a three-part series on modern life in work and business – you can read part one here.
I recently accepted a new job and the first question everyone asks isn’t “What’s the position?” or “What is the organization?” or even “Is it a promotion?” The question is, “Is it a shorter commute?”
Continue reading “The Hellishness of a Ridiculously Long Daily Commute”
I’m fortunate to be in the midst of a relatively successful career. And my college major has nothing to do with it.
Continue reading “Dropping Out of Grad School [The First Time] Is the Best Decision I’ve Ever Made”
Last night, I was reading a story online that mentioned the woman that was the CEO of the first organization in which I worked after college. As I fell down a rabbit hole of reading associated articles, it mentioned her successor, the woman that had been the VP of Finance when I was there – in other words, my boss’s boss.
The more I read, the more I found myself thinking about that job and that organization.
