Archive for 'Musings' Category
Finding your open door
13 September 2006“Every time one door closes, another opens”
If I have been told this once, I’ve been told it a thousand times. It was always one of those sayings that I never even gave a second thought, until recently. Lately I’ve started to consider the meaning of the cliché, and tried to apply it to my everyday life. My results surprised me.
It really is true, in more than one sense. An example of my seeing this in action comes from my recent loss of a client. I had a contract with a non-compete agreement with this client, and they recently let me know that my services would no longer be needed. I immediately found several other companies in the same industry and contacted them asking them if they would be interested in my services. Three of them responded that they would, I just finished signing (much better) contracts with two of them, and will be signing with the third tomorrow. So my loss of one client opened the door to three.
It all comes back to your state of mind. If you have a positive outlook, you spot these things. If you’re glum, constantly looking at the downside of things, you’ll never see the second door opening as the first door closes.
When your first door shuts, be sure to ask yourself:
Does this change free me up in any way? If you got laid off from your job hanging drywall, or writing code, does this now open the door for you to go in to business for yourself?
Did my post help you? Buy me a coffee?Resolve to never ‘fail’ again
6 September 2006This is more of a rant than an article. I was thinking today about various projects that I’ve started, or attempted, and never finished. I hated giving in and calling them ‘failed’ ideas, so I was contemplating what the difference between a failed project and an unfinished project was. The answer, of course, is a failed project is one that you have not only not completed but decided you will never complete and have given up trying. An unfinished project is one that you have not yet completed, but plan on completing at some point in the future. Little differences like that can make or break your new-found positive thinking.
All projects should be of the latter, be it a new business idea, a new relationship, or just a resolution for self improvement. If you realize your idea or project does not currently work or is not currently profitable, but resolve to return to it another time when you think it may be, you are not conceding failure. You’re just changing your timetable.
Did my post help you? Buy me a coffee?In all things, diversify
31 August 2006This has been my personal mantra for the past few months. I have found it exceedingly helpful, and if you think about it, it’s actually pretty logical. In almost every investment, be it time, money, or energy, diversifying or “not putting all your eggs in one basket” is a key to success.
Time
Time is the easiest example to use for the pro’s of diversifying. Lets use blogs as a specific example. If you have one blog, on one subject that interests you, it only takes a writer’s block in one area to completely destroy your creative production. If you have monetized that blog, again, it only takes being devoid of ideas in one area to bring your revenue down to nothing.
Even if you haven’t run out of ideas, there is only so much time you can spend on one subject in a day, before the content begins to suffer. However, if you have several different blogs on several different topics, you can spread your time out over them all. It only takes one new idea in each one of the subjects per day to have several more pieces of your work in the blogosphere. The content quantity might be a bit less, but in the long run the quality will make up for it.
Diversifying is one thing, but also be careful not to take it to the other extreme and spread yourself too thin. Know your limitations. If you type 50 WPM, it’s probably not a good idea to start 35 different blogs. It will take you far too long to update each one, and blog readers are a fickle bunch. They may remain subscribed to you without output for a few days, but the next article better be fantastic or you’ll see your readership drop considerably.
These examples can be applied to virtually anything. If you have several technical manuals you need to read, consider reading an hour on each per day, rather than 3 hours on one.
Money
This is probably the most common thing associated with diversifying. “Diversify your portfolio” is probably the first thing most new investors hear. There is a reason for this. It’s sound advice.
This isn’t a financially-focused weblog (I’m working on launching one of those 
), so I’ll spare you the specifics on the stock angle. The basic idea is, as I stated in the first paragraph, not to keep all your eggs in one basket. That includes your checking account. I learned the hard way that if I can easily access my money, I’m much more likely to spend it. So don’t use your checking account like a savings account. I know it’s a lot easier, but thats just the problem.
Consider opening a savings account at your local bank, or through INGDirect (they provide excellent interest), and keeping money you don’t intend to spend in there. It will take you 2-3 days to get it out, and I’ve found 9 out of 10 times thats all the time I need to reconsider whether or not I really need whatever I was going to buy.
Beyond accounts, I also recommend not carrying all of your cash with you. This is not a new theory, and there are many reasons to not carry massive amounts of money in your wallet, but I’m specifically talking about your likelihood of spending it. If you only have $100 in cash on you, and you have to go all the way home to get more, you’re much more likely to reconsider your purchase.
Relationships
This one is the least-mentioned, but probably the most important. Don’t limit yourself to only your friends from work, or only people from the gym you go to. Even if you think you’re content with your current group of friends, if you can identify one thread that ties you all together, consider going out and meeting new people through some other avenue. For instance, if you have a ball every Friday night with all people you’ve met through one friend, or significant other, realize that a falling out with that one person may cost you your entire social life. Have friends of your own.
This goes for work, too. If you lose your job, or transfer, or move up the ladder, are these people still going to want to be involved with you? Diversify.
In conclusion, and to reiterate the title, a good mantra; “In all things, diversify.”
Did my post help you? Buy me a coffee?