Because some things never change

Seth Godin, in a guest post at Zen Habits, talks about why little companies get so much more out the door than big ones:

Because big companies have committees, groups of people designed to protect the status quo, to prevent failure, to avoid catastrophe. The committee is made up of humans, each of whom is battling her own version of the resistance. “If this ships, my boss will see it, and I might get fired.” “If this ships, a kid might use it, cut of his finger and I might get in trouble.” “If this ships, people are going to think it was my idea, and there’s a chance, just a chance, they might hate it.” Most of all, “if this ships, people might laugh at me.” And so the committee shoots for the lowest common denominator of safety, a product or service or idea that arouses no one’s lizard brain. Which means mediocre. Or late. Or both.

What does the resistance stop you from achieving?

My thoughts on getting older.

I’m getting close to thirty years old. Some people start to panic and want to turn back time or at the very least stop it. I just realized the other day, a much better way to look at it. I’ve lived less than 30 years so far, and I’ve really learned quite a lot! I expect to live at least for 30 more years, perhaps even twice that. Imagine how much I will know in 30 or 60 years! It’s mind-blowing!

My only problem, when I am 90 years old, there will be so many things I still don’t know, and so little time to learn them.

Seth Godin on how to not get stuck, via Zen Habits. He discusses the “resistance” – the part of your brain trying to keep things as they are in order to stay safe.

The resistance is powerful, so powerful that all the shortcuts, time savers and focusing tools are powerless in its path. Now you know its name. Now you know how it sneaks in under the radar and sounds quite sensible as it undermines your work and compromises your vision. When the resistance appears, you must call it out. Call it by name. Recognize it for what it is and then defeat it. You will defeat it not by rationalization or even a calm discussion. You will defeat it with single-minded effort, effort so deep and dedicated that it might exhaust you.

Most likely you are supposed to do something else right now, but the resistance makes read this instead. (It’s okay, I forgive you )

Seth Godin provides some provocative words.

Take a look at the language you use to describe what happened at work yesterday, that’s your first clue. If you’re not the one creating the change, perhaps it’s time to start.

What happened at work yesterday?

David Farragut was an officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War, who was facing a gulf full of naval mines (called torpedoes at the time). When one ship hit a mine and started sinking, he ordered:

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!

Every ship, except for the first that hit a mine, got through the gulf and reached their destination.

Even really smart and creative people fail a lot, as noted by Seth Godin.

When I was at MOMA last week, I saw a list of director and artist Tim Burton’s projects. Here’s the guy who’s responsible for some of the most breathtaking movies of his generation, and the real surprise is this: almost every year over the last thirty, he worked on one or more exciting projects that were never green lighted and produced. Every year, he spent an enormous amount of time on failed projects.

Do you fail big-time every year? Do you win big-time every year?

Birgitta Granström, speaker and coach on personal development, provides some tips for how to get through darker times. (FTBM)

Find your identity: The more you let your life depend on external elements, the more vulnerable you become. Become a master of living in happiness by accepting reality.

Speaker and coach Birgitta Granström provides some tips for how to get through darker times. (FTBM)

Always have invigorating thoughts. Often tough events bring positive effects. So play with the idea that the hard, in fact, is good.

Here’s Seth Godin’s take on what laziness means in today’s world — somewhat counter-intuitive.

Laziness in a white collar job has nothing to do with avoiding hard physical labor. “Who wants to help me move this box!” Instead, it has to do with avoiding difficult (and apparently risky) intellectual labor.

“Honey, how was your day?”

“Oh, I was busy, incredibly busy.”

“I get that you were busy. But did you do anything important?”

Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn’t mean mattered.

Are you lazy-busy?

A quote on controlling your life from the Personal Leadership course by LMI. (FTBM)

You can not reach beyond your self-image, but you can choose to change it if you want to.

What does your self-image stop you from achieving?