South Of Someplace: August 2013

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Cynical Soliloquies - Volume 1

- You are unique! You are different than everyone else. That's why no one likes you.

- Bad breath will come back. Bad dreams can recur. But bad neighbors never go away.

- No matter what happens, maintain a positive attitude. The business world relies on a good supply of suckers.

- The Optimist believes that the glass is half full because the Pessimist figured out that he could serve the guy only half a glass, and he still wouldn't complain.

- If you don't work hard, you'll be thrown out. If you DO work hard, you'll get WORN out, and when you can't keep the pace up anymore, you'll be thrown out. Given the choice, save your energy.

- Always remember that you are not your past. You are not your parents, and you are not your mistakes. But your parents will always remember your past mistakes.

- His bark is worse than his bite. Unless he bites you.

- A penny saved is not going to make up for all of the dollars that you've squandered. But hey, it's a start!

- Some days it just doesn't pay to get up in the morning. Actually, it never pays to get up in the morning. No one ever got paid to roll out of bed.

- Mean is synonymous with Average. Think of what that signifies. The average person is mean. And mean people are average. Half of the population is meaner than average. No wonder life can be so unpleasant!

- Is it really an ad hominem attack when you let some inflexible, argumentative person know that they're a complete idiot? Right. I didn't think so.

- Two women walked past on their lunch break. One was informing the other that she had just received a two dollar refund from Lysol. I recognize that everyone has different priorities. But if that's all that I had to discuss on my lunch break, I'd look for ways to add some excitement to my life.

- Life is unusually kind to schmoozers, suck-ups and brown-nosers. There is nothing that you can do to change this. It is one of the unfair and unfortunate realities of human society. Don't waste time resenting these folks or hoping to witness their downfall. Just focus on your work, your family and your interests, and keep what's important in mind.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Breakthrough

I have been devoting considerable time and effort to a new creative project. A few days ago I realized that part of it was not working out as well as expected.

My first thought was that I could fix the problematic part if I devoted more time and energy to it. Soon, I realized that it would be better to scrap it and start over.

I spent a few hours coming up with something new. It was better than the the first version, but still not up to my standards. I trashed version 2, as well.

Last evening, I spent a few hours on version 3, and I am finally pleased with the results. I had my breakthrough.

The important thing to remember is that the breakthrough would not have been possible if I hadn't invested the time on those earlier versions. Strictly speaking, I wasted several hours on bad ideas, but in the end it wasn't a waste at all. My missteps directed me to where I needed to go. They clarified my vision, and they demonstrated gaps in my understanding that I would need to resolve before I could create the final product.

Don't fret over missteps, delays, or missed opportunities. The path to a goal rarely follows a straight line. We need to meander from idea to idea while we formulate a more complete vision, build critical skills, and forge the final expression of that vision into a polished form.

Welcome ambiguity. Work through frustration. Understand each roadblock and learn from each experience what you'll need to know in order to advance to the next level. Be willing to give up on a bad idea - or five-hundred of them - but never give up on your dreams.

Proper Attire

When I'm not wearing a tie I feel exposed, as though I were walking around in my underwear. From the observer's point of view, I would assume the two to be equally unappealing.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Keep Working

When a plan doesn't turn out the way that you wanted it to, keep working. When the job gets tough and tedious and frustrating, keep working. When you're bored, tired, hungry, or ready to give up, keep working. In fact, the best approach to just about every difficulty is, keep working.

On The Edge Of A New Idea

I have an idea, something that I would like to express with my photography over the next few months. It's not all that complicated, but I've never tried anything like this before. It will require an investment of time and effort.

At the moment, the idea exists only in my head. There's always a gap between concept and reality. Some ideas fly and others flop. It's exciting to stand on the edge of that realization not knowing which way it will go.

South Of Someplace