Sunday Musings - On Opportunity and Priority
November 6th 2022
Happy Sunday Friends!
Here is your Sunday Musings, a quick dose of what I’m exploring and thinking about. Please feel free to forward this along to friends.
As some may know, every couple of years officers in the Army go through a marketplace for our careers. It’s a bit like taking your applying for a new job. Actually, it’s not a bit like that… it IS that. It means we have a rollercoaster of a ride occasionally. We are rejected many times, and we also reject many times. I have rarely had these periods pan out exactly as I plan, in fact, I definitely receive more rejections than acceptances; and that’s actually pretty great.
What Got You Here Might Keep You Here…And Keep You From Growing
Steve Jobs was fired from Apple, the company he founded. As a college dropout, he successfully built a company from two people in his parents’ garage to a $2 billion dollar organization. He had a falling out with someone he hired to co-lead the company and the board of directors sided against him. That’s a lifechanging event. Imagine the feeling of rejection and failure that likely went through his mind, the internal fortitude to carry on.
Once he was fired, he got to start over. He didn’t have to be the successful Apple CEO. He founded two major companies: NeXT, and PIXAR (you might know that one). Apple actually ended up buying NeXT and using NEXTSTEP to reinvent Apple’s ailing MAC OS. Bringing Steve Jobs’ Apple back to him for another bite.
I’m reminded of two quotes; one of Epictetus’ most famous quotes “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” and more so, I returning to Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations on the same topic,
“It’s unfortunate that this has happened. No. It’s fortunate that this has happened and I’ve remained unharmed by it — not shattered by the present or frightened of the future. It could have happened to anyone. But not everyone could have remained unharmed by it.”
Why? Every time, every single time I’ve felt a door was slammed in my face or that I was unfairly treated at the time, an opportunity was present for me to find. I have been incredibly fortunate to have had mentors, friends, and a wife to remind me of Why I’m traveling down the path I’ve chosen, it’s passion and love of what I’m doing.
Mr. Jobs likely wouldn’t have built two organizations (and a family) without that rejection, and we may not have benefited from the most successful animation company in the world or have had OS X and Mr. Jobs come to bring Apple back from the brink to become the company it is today.
Similarly, I have had the luck of leading some of the most amazing communities of interest, dedicated to their missions, and being able to put together talented teams to create platforms that I’m continually in awe of without the love of what I do.
Find the opportunities in your crisis, remember that you can only be harmed if you choose to be harmed and only your own mind can keep you from following your passion.
-e
P.S. If you’re in a similar situation, or you overcame one, shoot me a line! I’ll listen, and I’d love to hear your methods on overcoming the situation.
This Week’s Recommendation
Deep Work, by Cal Newport
Cal defines deep work as “focused, uninterrupted, undistracted work on a task that pushed your cognitive abilities to their limit”. Imagine trying to do all of this with open workspaces, social media, and the myriad other time thieves in our lives today. He gives practices to plan for how to create the environment, train to focus, and make the most of your focus time. I found value in time blocking and letting “boredom” in (turns out it’s mostly not being engaged by technology at all moments for me).
Take a read, or a listen; I liked Audible for this one (not sponsored by Audible, but if you’re reading this Amazon… Hey, 'let’s talk).
Technology I’m Looking at
2-3x Speed
Firstly, it means I consume more content. This means I expose myself to more things I am specifically interested in, OR I can try out new things. Why? Well audio books are so cheap that listening at 3x means a 12-hour book is done in 4 hours. This reduces my time cost for things. I feel more open to a new book recommendation, or a reference in something I’ve just read. Lastly, if I find the content requires some deep thought, or work (reference above), I buy the book and refine my notes. For fiction, I definitely listen to 2x speed for most of the book as it’s primarily build up for the key moments (sorry Brent), then I slow it down for the big events.
Think about it, what if someone told you to not drive at the speed limit, just drive half the speed limit so you can comprehend the sights and streets around you? Or if you read at 200 words per minute… slow down your reading. As long as you’re accomplishing your goals (legally), spend your time where you see value. If you try this out or you already do this, shoot me a message on your experiences! I want to know.
Quote I’m Musing
“You are scared of dying - And, tell me, is the kind of life you lead really any different than being dead?”
-Seneca
I used to roll my eyes at the idea of this quote. But as I study the repository of all knowledge (History), I like this more and more. I don’t think we should use it as an excuse to just do what we feel like. Rather to think on what we are rushing through, blowing off, or deferring until later so that we can watch another episode, play a game, create that one more email or PowerPoint?
It’s the idea that it should give you a concept of priority and meaning. When you’re successful, understand that success is the result of the work you’ve put in and help you focus more on what else you have to do. When we find ourselves idle, it should drive us to kindle our passions and seek out that which we love.
I would love your feedback!
I would love your feedback! Which musing is your favorite? What else do you want to see or what should I eliminate? Any other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @erichaupt on Twitter and put #SundayMusings at the end so I can find it. Or, eric@erichaupt.com for long form email.
Have a wonderful week, I’ll see you Sunday.
-e
