Teenage boys can never go fast enough. I still lie in bed at night and wonder what it would be like to create a rocket with a small (pressurized) capsule and a seat in it with which to ride up to the fringes up the atmosphere. It'd be fast. Too fast. And scary as heck. I'd never want to climb in it. But I still think about it.
Life moves too fast. I was standing over my son's crib tonight. He was tired. Too tired for his own good. I had been in the kitchen and could hear him whimpering. He'd whimper and then doze. Grump a little, and doze again. I walked in and he had gotten flipped over on his back. Uncomfortable, he couldn't convince himself to go to sleep.
I stood there looking at my son as he snuggled to sleep (on his tummy). So much like me. I have to have my position just perfect. Left side. Blanket on the shoulder. I can't sleep any other way. I've tried.
I pulled out my Pre-Calculus book tonight. My recent dabbling in family poker games had me ready to dust off the statistics book, but a quick review of my shelf reminded me I had sold it shortly after the end of the semester. 8 years ago.
It's hard to imagine 8 years passing. Eight years ago I was a suspender-clad college freshman that was only 12 years away from becoming a doctor. That was before Organic Chemistry. Or Physics...
I'm still torn between being glad I'm not confined to 80-hour workweeks as medical student, and frustrated because I would have only been 48 months from a 6-figure income and payments on a quarter-million dollar student loan debt.
I think I'll stick to being glad.
So, if anyone has a college-level statistics book I could borrow, I'd be obliged. As my brother stated, 8 years is a long time to hang onto something and still know where it is.
Speaking of 8 years ago, I discovered tonight that blogger has only retained the last 4 years of my blog posts. I guess I need to start printing them off. Another book to hang onto, I guess.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
10,000 Hours
There is a universal life rule out there that too few people know about.
One can start by finding it in the first verses of Galatians 6. It starts off with "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". A little further down there is an additional exhortation "...let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not"
Personally, I love those verses. In my life, I have undertaken so many goals that seemed so far away. And when I'm sitting there doubting myself, I take a moment and remember that I've gotta' keep sowing, and that I will most definitely reap what I've sown.
But it's the due season part that gets me. How long is a "due season"?
Turns out, its about 10,000 hours long. I happen to re-stumble across this concept when doing research about computer programming.
As the article on the link above points out, most musicians, programmers, researchers, inventors, sports stars - you name it - had around 10,000 hours invested before the hit their break-out, world- reknown status. As someone who keeps an eye on the current job market, I've noticed that most ads for mid-level jobs require at least 5 years of employment in the field. You do the math.
Now as Early to Rise points out, you can likely achieve your first level of competence at 1000 hours.
But to achieve mastery, one must spend - at a minimum - about 5,000 more hours to master the subject.
But, knowing the rule can be greatly empowering. Learning a new skill can be overwhelming. Especially once you are several hundred hours in . And, while long road trips (or boat trips, or airline trips or self-improvement) can be a bear, its encouraging to know exactly how much further you have to go.
And to wrap things up, I would be remiss not mention the article on new Year's Resolution by Paul Tripp, brought to my attention by my mother-in-law. 10,000 moments is a great (short) look at this subject from a different angle
One can start by finding it in the first verses of Galatians 6. It starts off with "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap". A little further down there is an additional exhortation "...let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not"
Personally, I love those verses. In my life, I have undertaken so many goals that seemed so far away. And when I'm sitting there doubting myself, I take a moment and remember that I've gotta' keep sowing, and that I will most definitely reap what I've sown.
But it's the due season part that gets me. How long is a "due season"?
Turns out, its about 10,000 hours long. I happen to re-stumble across this concept when doing research about computer programming.
As the article on the link above points out, most musicians, programmers, researchers, inventors, sports stars - you name it - had around 10,000 hours invested before the hit their break-out, world- reknown status. As someone who keeps an eye on the current job market, I've noticed that most ads for mid-level jobs require at least 5 years of employment in the field. You do the math.
Now as Early to Rise points out, you can likely achieve your first level of competence at 1000 hours.
But to achieve mastery, one must spend - at a minimum - about 5,000 more hours to master the subject.
But, knowing the rule can be greatly empowering. Learning a new skill can be overwhelming. Especially once you are several hundred hours in . And, while long road trips (or boat trips, or airline trips or self-improvement) can be a bear, its encouraging to know exactly how much further you have to go.
And to wrap things up, I would be remiss not mention the article on new Year's Resolution by Paul Tripp, brought to my attention by my mother-in-law. 10,000 moments is a great (short) look at this subject from a different angle
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Reflections from Leadership
Colin Powell has collected thoughts on leadership throughout his life. Here is a list of thirteen aphorisms he kept under the glass top of his desk, as published in Parade magazine in 1989.
1. I ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. Check small things.
8. Share Credit.
9. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding
12. Don't take counsel of you fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
I am currently reading Soldier, a biography of Colin Powell written by Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post. She presents the story exceptionally well.
As I am reading about Colin Powell's life I am finding myself challenged greatly in the area of decision-making. So often, I make decisions with little thought and only short-term ramifications. As a leader of this nation, his decisions affected the world on a global scale, and each one required thoroughness and persuasiveness to see it collaboratively accomplished. Realizing that he, too started off with small decisions, it raises the bar for me, encouraging me to take a longer look at the why and how of my decision making, and ensuring that I truly will achieve the results I desire for my family and the world around me.
1. I ain't as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad, then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done!
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. Check small things.
8. Share Credit.
9. You can't make someone else's choices. You shouldn't let someone else make yours.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding
12. Don't take counsel of you fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
I am currently reading Soldier, a biography of Colin Powell written by Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post. She presents the story exceptionally well.
As I am reading about Colin Powell's life I am finding myself challenged greatly in the area of decision-making. So often, I make decisions with little thought and only short-term ramifications. As a leader of this nation, his decisions affected the world on a global scale, and each one required thoroughness and persuasiveness to see it collaboratively accomplished. Realizing that he, too started off with small decisions, it raises the bar for me, encouraging me to take a longer look at the why and how of my decision making, and ensuring that I truly will achieve the results I desire for my family and the world around me.
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