Deliberate Living

I was going to write another nostalgic post about the meaning of a new year ahead, but I decided against it. How is this different? Well, I honestly have been pushing these ideas for most of 2008, so I've got a little more momentum behind me than if I broke out new years resolutions starting on January 1st.

Instead, I want to ask you, what is on your plate right now? The family gatherings and obligatory traveling is done with, so what are you getting busy with at the moment?

As of now, I'm focusing on:

• building my brand
• learning some new things at my day job
• writing book reviews
• building relationships
• continuing my fitness goals
  
• sharpening and focusing my skills
• pitching & writing freelance articles
• buying my first home

Please feel free to gloat in the comment section, or share how nervous you are about this coming year. I think we've all got some mixed feelings. But as long as we're doing instead of hoping, I think good stuff will happen.

Career Advice From My Career Mishap

Just so happens I wound up in a pretty good job, at a pretty good company doing very unique work in an industry I was interested in but knew little about. The position wasn't something I was accustomed to, that being operations and technical support related.

I found this gig through a varied, harrowing and often frustrating search. I've been on dozens of interviews and learned a bit about myself and what I want each time. When I landed in my current role, I felt less than satisfied with where I stood in the company. I wasn't doing a ton of work with what I was interested in, but the longer I stayed, the more I was able to feel my way around the subject matter my company deals in. Despite not working with the deliverable, being on the back end made me more curious and forced me to try to learn on my own what the hell we were doing.

Sorry to speak in vague terms, but my point is that this past year has proved that taking a less than ideal job is a calculated risk. Winding up in a "rut" is a bad thing, but if you're able to stay in a less-than-perfect job for a while and get your footing in your real interests while still getting your work done, then you're truly making the best your situation.

Never settle. If you need to make ends meet doing something you don't love, always keep planning. Always keep your Plan B fresh and ready for deployment. If the economy is going to be as bad as many believe, keeping your day job may be necessary, but knowing what you're going to do next is also necessary as well.

Book Review of Seth Godin's "The Dip"

My "Secret Santa" gave me Seth Godin's book "The Dip." Talk about a well timed and thoughtful gift! Knowing who my secret Santa is, I realize that I once spoke with her about entrepreneurial aspirations that we both shared. She is a photographer and I am a creative marketer. We're both in different stages of realizing our dreams.

Seth Godin's book, "The Dip" is an 80 page business novel pleading and begging the reader to quit. Funny how at no point did I ever wish to quit this book.

The premise of "The Dip" is that anyone who wants success in any facet in their life should do some serious soul searching get their priorities straight. Godin asserts that if you can't realistically be the best at something, or dominate a market, then you are wasting your time in doing that thing. "Average is for losers" according to Godin.

"The Dip" wants the reader to be confident that they can overcome the initial curve of difficulty and tribulation that is associated with becoming the best. The book also differentiates between tough learning curves and arduous roads to nowhere.

Many individuals have aspirations but settle for less because of conflicting ideas about what the costs of their dreams will be in relation to their current comfort. Seth Godin rattles you with short, concise ideas that hit the core of what confuses us about true risk versus reward.

I read "The Dip" in less than an hour. I'm forcing it upon all my friends who I think are open minded to quitting something and getting beyond their own personal dips and curves.

I fully intend on reading Seth Godin's other books. I recommend you start with "The Dip."

Now, to get down to my 10,000 hours of hard work. I've got a few hundred so far!
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/12/10000-hours.html#trackback

I Need A Small Plot of Land for Green Building

There are a lot of inspiring stories in circulation about innovative green building and land developments all over the country. Pick up a Dwell magazine and you'll see mind blowing contemporary designs in arid desert, lush Pacific forests and secluded Northeast cabin country. But, the whole idea of green building and sustainable design is to have it accessible to the most people possible so that the concepts actually reduce carbon use.

In Lawrence, MA, Powerhouse Enterprises erected an extremely green and energy efficient home. The health and beauty of the house is astonishing. It is being sold for $300,000, which considering the innovation involved, isn't a bad price.

But, I live in Worcester. Why can't these ideas and practices be proliferated to all regions? Shipping a green home long distances (my Lawrence example isn't far, but I'm talking more about somewhere like Arizona) defeats the purpose of building an energy efficient dwelling. All regions can get into something like this, I'm convinced.

What I want to do is get funding from who-knows-where and buy and develop a piece of land in Worcester with a green and cleanly built home. I don't care if I live in it, sell it, or whatever, but this is something I want to do for Worcester. Sustainable living in Worcester with green buildings being marketed and built could bring a new sense of vitality to the region. I love all the three deckers, but retro-fits and condo-conversions get old after a while.

The real estate bubble left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. This idea sounds simply delicious. This is sort of just a stream of conciousness business proposition. But, what do you think of this idea? I've seen something like this happen in Philly. Any suggestions, criticisms or comments?

Happy Holidays

I've got lots of things to write about and discuss, but today I'm just going to continue hanging with my family and relaxing before the year ends.

I hope everyone has had a magical Christmas, Hanukkah and any other holiday you may celebrate.

Being generous is better than getting a lot of gifts. I re-learn this every year.

This Isn't A Poetry Open Mic - This Is Our Economy

It is time for economists and Obama enthusiasts (myself included) to stop waxing poetic about the "new economy." Renewable energy has always been available to a capacity. We grasped about for it desperately when gas was $4.00 a gallon and now we're starting to get into the "move slow" mindset that was so prevalent in the civil rights movement. We're giving this movement a sense of novelty and aura that it doesn't deserve yet.

As I scroll through my RSS feeds I read one article after another about how we are either entering into the dawning of a new, clean, green renewable, sustainable, whatever-able era, or how solar, wind, geothermal, biofuel will fall into an unrecoverable abyss while the "clean coal" cheerleaders continue to pump false propaganda at the public which is only meant to keep us on track towards a total carbon economy.

Let's not wait for the morons in congress and the senate to hold hands and offer us a "new deal" with Obama. Obama will create a lot of excitement and executive level motivation, but don't think he's the founder of these principals. All he can do is unleash restrictions on the market that keep renewable energy and sustainable development un-competitive. Who are they to offer us anything? They hold none of the answers. The answers lie within our universities and businesses that are creating these technologies and implementing them in the market.

I am a small business owner now. I want to work in renewables. I don't want to market consumer goods sold by international sweatshop distributors (Wal-Mart, Target, etc). This is a time of doing, not talking. We don't have 8 years to plan. We have 8 years for government to enable and then step the hell out of the way and let people become educated and empowered about how they can turn out economy and the environment around.

When the hardest work is finished and the ship has altered course, only then can we can this the "new economy."

If you were asked to do your part (and I am officially asking you), how would you act? How could your lifestyle be morphed into an ecologically industrious one?

The 2008 Toyota Yaris Hatchback - Great Snow Machine!

This past February I bought a brand new 2008 Toyota Yaris. It was my first new car and I bought it after quite a few months of searching and bellyaching over pricing. But, my Yaris has served me exceedingly well so far. Incredible gas mileage is now matched with great snow handling ability. The Toyota Yaris is basically a snow machine, but a lot more practical and safe than the kind Todd Palin uses.

I am convinced the Yaris, with some tweaking and modification would make an excellent rally styled car. I went barreling around in my house to the super market to pick up a few things and even when forcing the car into a controlled slide in poorly paved roads (empty roads too, I'm not completely stupid!) I was able to correct and power out of the slide quite easily. Plus, with the transmission being a 5-speed manual rather than automatic, I never felt in danger of an un-intended skid because I was able to effectively downshift while coming to a stop.

I've driven rally cars before, usually extremely powerful and stiff riding beasts of the automobile type, but my Toyota Yaris would hold it's own as far as handling goes. Not that I'm in the financial shape to be able to mod a car to the teeth, but if I could, my Yaris would make a great starting point.