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- 2008 in ReviewJanuary 6
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I won’t lie to you — I’ve been dreading this post. I’ve been dreading it because I know that I failed to reach many of the goals I set for myself at the start of 2008. Regardless of this, I’ve previously written about how it’s important to Review Your Goals, and in order to be consistent with my lifelong plan for personal development, I will take this time to look back at what I wanted to accomplish this past year.
What’s difficult is that right now, I’m not sure if I still have my 2008 goals on record anywhere. See, my computer crashed this past year, causing Cassie and I to lose some data — so I’m crossing my fingers as I search for a backup on my thumb drive.
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Humorously, I have a backup of my 2007 Goals and Resolutions, but there’s no trace of my 2008 Goals and Resolutions. In hindsight, it would have been wise to print a hard copy, because now I must recall the goals from memory, which sucks.
It’s easy to forget exactly what you were thinking about over a year ago. Although a year isn’t a long time, it’s still enough time to make some significant progress towards a goal, and it’s definitely enough time to regret having wasted. Without a definite record of what I set out to accomplish this year, I’m forced to fudge it.
- How to Worry Yourself into Blog SilenceDecember 30 2008
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Even though I already covered the topic of Writer’s Block in Nothing I Write Will Ever Be Perfect, I want to write a new article that explains a similar effect from a different cause.
My boss reads my blog. I’ve written, deleted, and rewritten what seems like a hundred other ways to dance around the issue, but that’s what I’m trying to say:
My boss reads my blog, and knowing this has caused me to become frightened. I’m afraid that I may write something that could cause me to lose my job. I mean, being fired because of your blog content is not quite unheard of.
Still, I suppose it’s silly to get so worked up over it that I stop writing completely. After all, I mentioned LifeReboot in our first meeting, and watched him write its URL along the top of my resume during th
- What You Like to Do and What You Have to DoOctober 19 2008
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“Nice to meet you,” I said — politely shaking her hand as I smiled.
“Likewise,” she said in the same, quick, ‘how-do-you-do’ manner.
I had already been introduced to a few dozen strangers that night, and like all the others before her I had already forgotten her name. What was different was that this tiny exchange of hellos happened just seconds before those who introduced us disappeared to talk amongst themselves. I turned to her, expecting some typical ’strangers meeting for the first time’ idle chit-chat.
“So…” she began.
I immediately knew what she was going to ask, and dreaded the question. “What do you do?” she’ll say. I’ll tell her that I’m a computer guy, which will open the flood-gates for a ton of other questions I don’t want to answer. It’s a lousy existence, working for a living doing work you hate — because whenever you meet someone new you end up talking about shit you don’t care about.
“What do you like to do when you’re not doing what you have to do?” she finished.
The question surprised me. Not only because it wasn’t what I expected her to ask, but also because the question was quite profound. It was almost as though this unnamed girl was sharing the perfect ice breaker with me — a question that cuts through all the bullshit “let me impress you with what I do” nonsense by casually asking “Who are you really?”
Depending on when the ques
- Why Multiplication is Cooler than AdditionSeptember 18 2008
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A few months ago I invited Dereck Coatney to write a guest post here on LifeReboot. The reason for doing so was because Dereck had this interesting idea where he wanted to leave his office cubicle and ride his bike across the country. In short, Dereck wanted to reinvent himself, and I wanted to support him in doing so.
Dereck created an inspiring video about his “Cubicle Unhappy to Biking Expedition” project (C.U.B.E.), got excited about the support he received around the blogosphere, and started training for his upcoming physical feat.
Unfortunately, as “the best made plans” sometimes go, it didn’t happen — or it fell through — or it failed to materialize. However you want to say it, Dereck chooses to say it bluntly: He says that he “failed.”
I respect him for admitting it so openly. He wanted to do something, but when it came time to execute his plan, he fell short financially. It’s a reasonable “excuse” for failing at something — and yet he’s refusing to let it stop him. Instead, he recognized that he simply failed the first time, and needs to move on to the next step with a new strategy.
Dereck is asking people to help him achieve what he set out to do by donating to his cause.
Now, as someone who has experience with asking strangers for money over the Internet, I know that the process kind of sucks. You can get rude comments on your blog from people who think you don’t deserve their charity. You can go months without a single donation. You can let these things affect you and discourage you.
The thing is, there will occasionally be one person who donates a couple hundred dollars out of nowhere, to which you can only respond “Thank you thank you THANK YOU!”
I wanted to help, so I visited Dereck’s site and donated $20. Consequently, $20 was added to his running total towards his goal of $10,000.
What kills me is how ineffective adding can be. I mean, whenever someone donates to LifeReboot, they tend to donate in the ten-to-twenty dollar range. I think that’s the typical range because people are embarassed to donate any less. Fact of the matter is, it would be so much more effective if lots of people donated smaller amounts.
Put another way, a donation link on a website is not intended to cause one incredibly rich and incredibly generous person to donate $10,000. It’s intended to cause 10,000 normal people to donate $1.
If every LifeReboot subscriber donated $1 to Dereck’s cause, he’d be $1,500 closer to his goal. If every LifeReboot subscriber donated $2 to Dereck’s cause, he’d be $3,000 closer to his goal, and so on. That’s why multiplication is cooler than addition.
I would love to see Dereck achieve his goal and do what he set out to do. That’s why I’ve donated $20, and that’s why I’m encouraging you to donate something too — even if it’s only a dollar. There’s no need to feel embarassed, and trust me when I say that he will appreciate every contribution regardless of the amount.
Obligatory Link to More Information
Dereck’s Latest Video:
- Be Progressive: Why You Should Always Want MoreSeptember 1 2008
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I recently received the following email from Jeff S., a LifeReboot reader:
Hi Shaun, I hope all is well today. I would like to start by saying I really enjoy reading your site, and I know some friends I have linked it to over the past year have found it as beneficial as I. The first article I read was about The Working Dead. I must say at first I saw it as nothing but a really funny article. It was funny as hell. I began to laugh out loud at certain points while sitting at my desk at work. After reading a few other posts, I began to really see the lessons and points of view you are trying to convey, and realized how important some of them are. After reading yesterday’s post I decided I would write you a quick thanks for helping me: Your writing has inspired me to drop any trends that are not progressive. I liked my job of 3 years but did not see it going anywhere, and I did not want to be the working dead. I spoke with my employer about what the next step could be, and now 8 weeks later I have completed certification courses and passed the CA life/health insurance agent licensing exam. I don’t want to write out my whole personal story as I’m sure you have heard a million more or less the same, I just wanted to let you know that your writing motivated me to move forward with my career and my life. Thanks, keep up the good work as I am sure there are countless others who have found meaning in your work. Good luck.
What I liked most about Jeff’s message