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The Fine Art of Being Bored

Whatever Happened to Doing Nothing?

We live in a YOLO and FOMO culture these days.  You only live once, and it results in a fear of missing out.  It makes one feel like they have to be in motion constantly.  Don’t want to miss any fabulous selfie or social media opportunities.  But sometimes it’s good to do nothing.  It’s healthy.  Boredom can inspire creativity and new ideas.  And we’re mortal creatures that have to conserve energy from time to time.  Conserved energy allows one to engage in life with more vigor.

And even when we stay home to relax, it’s easy to be constantly distracted by social media, Netflix shows, or video games.  Simply sitting out on the back step and listening to the sounds of the city or nature can seem pretty boring in comparison.  But it’s good to do so from time to time.  Just watch the clouds pass overhead.  Pay attention to the warmth of the sun.  It helps reset our dopamine systems that are overstimulated much of the time by constant entertainment and information.  It develops patience, allows for honest reflection, and builds a certain kind of mental fortitude.

For much of our evolution, we were busy with taking care of procuring food and water, building and maintaining shelter, and staying safe from the dangers of the world.  But it wasn’t on a 9-5 schedule.  So when we were done with these activities, we had down time.  And we didn’t have flat screen TV’s.  when it got dark at night, we didn’t turn on a bunch of lights and stay up late.  Being still and quiet, yet alert, was likely a large part of our development as a species.

Relishing Boredom

Whenever I’m having an unusually mellow Saturday afternoon, it’s common for me to feel a bit of anxious energy bubble up if I’m not being productive in some way.  I’m conditioned to feel like I’m wasting my precious moments if I’m not creating something, learning something, getting ahead.

But I’ve learned that there is power in turning off my phone, shutting down the laptop, and just sitting quietly.  Perhaps even meditating.  Being alone with our own thoughts can be a bit frightening at times.  We’re all probably a little bit nuts in some ways.  But it’s also the best way to see thoughts for what they are, learn to be at ease with them, and guide them in a more constructive way.  It’s a chance to visualize what we want in life as well.

And with regards to productivity, one of my most financially successful friends is a master at being bored.  As he says, “that’s where the magic happens”.  And he’s right.  To be able to let inspiration and ideas in, sometimes it’s necessary to shut off the noise and just be bored for a bit.  He’s proof that a person can make millions of dollars without staying unnecessarily busy 24/7.  He relishes the inevitable boredom instead of letting it make him fidgety.

Be Bored On Purpose

Take some time on a regular basis to be bored on purpose.  It doesn’t have to be for hours on end, just for a little while.  Or at least settle in for a bit when boredom pops up on its own.  Don’t fight it.  And trust that it isn’t wasting time.  It’s an art form, especially in this day in age.  Just sit still and smile and it will differentiate you in a small way.  Think about your life and let your imagination take you for a ride.  You’ll be healthier and happier for it.

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The Pursuit of Excellence Attracts Others Who Are Excellent

Lifestyle and Relationships

I’m a bit of an outlier.  A lot of people I know think I’m a little too hardcore.  A little too disciplined and serious.  Not fun enough sometimes.  Always meticulous about what I eat, what I drink, how I train, what I read, the media and entertainment I consume, always putting my phone on airplane mode when it’s in my pocket.

Dating is tricky because girls always try to break me down with a bite of their ice cream or their pizza.  At least the ones I’ve met.  Just a little test of their powers of persuasion.  And when I hold my ground, and explain that sugar is a net negative and wheat crust doesn’t sit well with me, it seems to be received as a personal insult.

Of course, I’d indulge in a ribeye slathered with butter in a heartbeat, so it doesn’t feel restrictive to me at all.  I actually feel like I indulge all of the time.  I also have no interest in insulting others, I just have my preferences and understand what works for me.  But I digress.

Of course, I have a few friends who completely understand my path, preferences, and discipline.  And this is why we run together.  I respect their efforts to be their best, whatever that may mean, and they respect mine.  On some level we’re all lone wolves doing our own thing and coming together on occasion to share ideas.  This is how real friendships are formed.

On the flip side, people who think I’m crazy and can’t see past it tend to self-select themselves out of my life..

And that’s only natural.  And welcomed.  Because excellence, or at least the pursuit of it, tends to attract excellence.  And mediocrity attracts more mediocrity.  People always feel better cutting corners if they can convince others to as well, and those are the people they want to be around.

Juxtapositions

I’ve been divorced for five years now, and have dated quite a few lovely young ladies.

But most of them don’t know how to deal with me.  They want me to come to their level.  “Come on, eat cookies and watch Netflix marathons with me.”  I have no idea why this is so important to them.  And I get some weird looks on first dates if these topics come up and I’m honest about my views.  It seems to result in less second dates and/or less long term connections when I’m not interested in wasting my Sundays on mimosa brunches with a bunch of random people on a regular basis.

Or maybe I just smell worse than I realize.  But I’m pretty sure mediocrity doesn’t like being exposed or challenged for what it is.  The juxtaposition can reveal a lot.  And people hate giving up their easy dopamine hits and excuses to be indulgent.  It’s much easier to eat the pint of ice cream and then blame genetics for being overweight, unhealthy, and prematurely aged.

*No, I’m not suggesting occasional ice cream automatically results in obesity.  But occasional is very subjective, and for some it’s really not all that occasional.  At least in my subjective opinion…

Would I Be Better Off Giving In?

I recently had the thought that perhaps I should compromise a bit and maybe I’d connect more easily with others.  Maybe eat more chocolate chip croissants and work on my dad bod.  Be more self destructive than self constructive.

I could date online instead of dealing with the multitudes of rejections that come with chatting up strangers on the street or at the store to get phone numbers and dates.

But taking the easy route, or any route that doesn’t move me towards my potential, is unacceptable.

Sure, letting go on occasion is healthy.  I’m happy to slug some whisky or wine sometimes.  Just not every night.  And not every week for that matter.   It’s about being mindful and not blindly feeding urges.  Balance.

Anyhow, I realized upon some reflecting that being a bit unusual and striving for my own personal excellence is more likely to bring more excellence into my life.  Even if I’m actually mediocre in reality, I’m pushing towards more and that’s the point.  It will take an unusual girl to jive with me for more than a few dates, but I’m willing to wait for that.  And I’ll be grateful that my approach to life weeded out all of the others in the long term so that there was room to let excellence in when it crossed my path.

 

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Mind Control

Mind control.  Control of the mind.  Not controlling someone else’s mind, but our own.  Which is arguably harder at times.

The ego wants control.  It wants pain, doubt, and self sabotage.  It feeds on these things.  But the ego must be overcome.  And the fight is waged round the clock most days of our lives.

Physicist David Bohm taught that underlying the physical reality we experience in daily life, there is a soup of energy containing all possible outcomes.  In his opinion, it is our consciousness that pulls one of the potential outcomes out of the soup and into physical matter.  If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is there to hear it, it doesn’t make a sound.  In fact, the tree doesn’t actually fall either if no consciousness is there to observe it.

Maybe that’s true, maybe it isn’t.  But let’s assume it might be.  Then the harmful thoughts of the ego will bring more of the pain and failure it thrives on into our experience.  However, if we learn to mold our thoughts and underlying beliefs, then we can pull outcomes from the soup that are positive and beneficial.

I’ve been watching John John Florence compete in professional surf competitions for a few years now.  He’s a two-time world champion and arguably the best surfer on the planet.  To win surf competitions requires good waves to surf on.  I’ve heard the commentators mention many times how John seems able to will big waves out of the ocean.  It’s said so often that I’m starting to believe it.  And despite his physical talents and experience in the water, his results seem to verify this.  He believes and things tend to go his way.  Sure, he might just read the ocean better than other surfers, but he has somehow created a pattern out of something that would otherwise seem completely random.

Even if the soup of possibilities isn’t real, and we can’t actually manifest our reality, the ability to control the mind brings good thoughts.  Good thoughts are good for health.  They’re good for forward motion in life in general.  They feel a hell of a lot better than bad thoughts and are a much more enjoyable use of mental energy.

Is it foolish to believe in something that might not happen?  To have a potentially false sense of confidence?  Will that just bring more pain in the end?  No.  Because worrying about negative outcomes and constantly preparing the mind for the worst brings more pain than anything else.  It raises stress hormones.  It keeps people awake at night.  it turns hair gray.  It’s a waste of mental powers.  And while it’s nice when doubt is proven wrong by a desirable outcome, it isn’t anywhere near as amazing as when the positive thoughts of the mind materialize into something beautiful right in front of our eyes.

In no way can it hurt us to think positively and not get the exact outcome we desired.  The thoughts will lead us down a path, and the path might take unexpected turns.  But it is better to be on an unwavering path towards something desirable than not being on a path, wallowing in doubt and uncertainty.  So why not adopt an attitude of “what if” and see what happens?

What if coincidences aren’t coincidences at all?  What if the things we can touch and see are nothing more than manifestations of our minds?  How can we prove otherwise?  We can’t.  Everything we experience is a perception.  It seems objective, but how do we know for sure that what objectively looks like the color red to me looks the same to you?  We’ll never know.  My mind registers a keyboard under my fingertips right now, but how can I be sure that isn’t simply an imagined perception?  I can’t.  I could be touching nothing and my brain could still tell me I’m touching a computer.  Because everything we experience is simply the senses feeding the brain, and the brain assuming the senses are accurate and correct so we can go about our daily lives with some sense of stability and continuity.

Can we simply sit back, think about something, and expect it to happen?  No.  Action still has to be taken, and fortune favors those who act boldly.  This isn’t just about magic tricks.  Nobody ever got in shape simply from sitting on the couch eating potato chips.  On some level it’s about changing the mind to change our actions.  The proper thoughts create the proper actions.  The wrong thoughts, the thoughts of the ego, result in self sabotage.

Patience.  Sometimes thoughts require patience to bloom.  The ego will try to make us question our thoughts and derail us.  “My thoughts and beliefs aren’t coming true and I’ve been waiting and waiting, so this must not really work”.  This is where the hard work comes in and effort is required to keep the mind on track.  A person must watch their thoughts constantly, like a boxer watching his opponent in the ring.  The ego will go for cheap shots, and we have to be ready to dodge its attempts all of the time.

So how does one control their mind?  See the ego driven doubts for what they are.  Simply observe them, realize they aren’t real, and laugh at them.  Let them pass.  Speaking affirmations out loud repeatedly might sound hokey, but over time it can slowly shift the underlying beliefs  in the subconscious mind as well.  Only do things that lift your energy and avoid everything that brings you down.  I advise staying away from social media, overly dramatic movies and music, and mainstream media news.  Don’t waste time stroking yourself.  Get up and take a step towards being better.  If you want to waste time, watch something educational or take a nap.  There are constructive ways to unwind.  Never see yourself as reacting to outside events and circumstances.  See yourself as creating the outside events and circumstances you interact with.  And finally, it’s necessary to watch the thoughts and ego constantly like a sniper waiting for the enemy.  Vigilance is required, and it gets easier with practice.  Snuff out any destructive thoughts the instant they surface and replace them with thoughts of strength.  It’s a choice, so choose wisely.

I’ve been putting this approach to the power of the mind into practice in my life and noticing some incredible results and synchronicity.  If you’ve also had success with this approach, it would be great to hear about so please share in the comments.

 

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Dealing With Perfectionist Tendencies

I Can Be a Perfectionist

I have perfectionist tendencies.  I expect a lot of myself.  And when I make mistakes or otherwise fail to live up to my own expectations it drives me crazy.

The other day my boss found some formula errors in a spreadsheet I had updated.  I know he understands these things happen and he didn’t address me negatively in any way.  He just asked if I could make some corrections because he was looking to use my file for some financial info he was compiling.  No big deal.

But my inner critic and ego went to work internally on my psyche which causes some stress and negative emotion.

To be honest, I don’t react in this scenario nearly as hard as I used to.  I’ve lived long enough to know that  these things happen and they pass.  As they say, no use crying over spilled milk.  What’s done is done.  Fix it and move on.

But I still have to watch my mind for a few hours to ensure it doesn’t spiral too far in the wrong direction.  After all, there are ramifications to negative thoughts.

Negative Reactions Can Lead to More Mistakes

From a practical standpoint, negative thoughts and being hard on oneself uses up precious energy in a foolish way and simply takes away from the mindset and energy necessary to do the best work possible.  That can result in more sloppiness and mistakes which creates a cycle.

From a more metaphysical standpoint, what you put out is what you get back.  Assuming thoughts manifest, why put self-defeating thoughts out into the ether?  Even if that’s nonsense, the more practical and logical reasons not to engage in negative self talk are compelling enough.  So just don’t go there.

Also, fear of mistakes holds us back from pushing and asserting ourselves.  It’s better to take some risks, put oneself on the line, and make mistakes along the way, than it is to stay in the zone of lukewarm cushiness just to avoid potential failures.

Mistakes are part of learning and evolving, and often teach us more than successes.  Embrace that part of the process.

How To Deal With a Mistake

If you screw something up and feel the onslaught of the ego coming, trying to tell you that you don’t measure up, there are ways to handle it consctuctively.

First, step back from your thoughts.  Watch them as if you are watching somebody else’s thoughts.  When you simply observe your thought processes in action from a detached standpoint, you’ll see that they are patterns of learned behavior and aren’t truly real.  If you can master this practice you’ll notice that thoughts have less impact on your mood and they fade away more quickly.

It’s also helpful to think about other times when something similar happened.  That reference point is a reminder that last time this happened, it passed and you eventually forgot about it.

And finally…

Remember That Everyone Makes Mistakes

In a turn of fortune, I discovered some mistakes in my boss’s spreadsheet a couple of days later.  It really put me at ease to be reminded that everyone makes mistakes.  We’re human.  It’s simply part of the human condition to inevitably make some mistakes.  Nothing can be done about that.  Through thoughtfulness, diligence, and putting checks in place, we can minimize the number of things that go awry.  And that’s something worth shooting for.  But getting stressed and ruining days over something that’s just going to happen from time to time makes no sense.

So stop beating yourself up, keep an objective eye on your thoughts, know it will all pass in time, and maybe even laugh at yourself.  It’s going to be okay.

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Complete and Total Responsibility

It Was Your Fault

You were approaching an intersection in your car and another car sped through a red light and almost blindsided you.  It was your fault.

Your spouse up and leaves one day for a different life.  It’s your fault.

Someone breaks into your house and steals thousands of dollars of electronics.  It’s your fault.

Somebody you encounter is downright rude for no reason.  It’s your fault

Does that sound a little harsh?  Are you thinking – but none of those things would have actually been my fault?

That’s a normal reaction to assertions such as these.  But there is power in learning to take complete and total responsibility for all things that happen in your life, whether good or bad, or whether or not they were under your direct control.

The Power of Total Responsibility

We’re all happy to accept responsibility for the things we appeared to accomplish or attain through direct effort, good ideas, and hard work.  But when bad things happen to us, including things that are completely haphazard, it’s much easier to point the finger at someone else.  And on the surface it might make complete sense to do so.

But then we miss the opportunity to take ownership of our reality.

Sure, when bad things happen and we didn’t plan them or foresee them they don’t seem like our fault in any way.  But by accepting the worst things that happen to us as our fault we build a deep sense of owning our lives.

We no longer devolve into victim mentality.  Ever.  Even when we legitimately could.  And when we stop playing the victim we also take greater ownership of our successes.  Nothing was luck, even if it was, and that changes the way we look at everything.

This fundamentally changes mindset and allows for a lot more positive action towards the things we want.

It also saves a lot of unnecessary frustration and stress.  In my own experience, amazing things happen when I take complete responsibility for everything.  I stopped yelling at people who cut me off on the highway or otherwise acted rude for no apparent reason.  That would be like yelling at myself if it’s my responsibility, and that makes no sense.  Yelling at that person wouldn’t have accomplished anything anyway besides raising my cortisol levels.  So it’s much better to avoid that altogether.  And it’s easy when I essentially see them as me. Now, if someone tries to physically attack me I’ll be fighting back.  Make no mistake.  But on a mental level I’ll still consider it my responsibility.

More than anything it’s a mind trick that has worked well for me.

On a more metaphysical level, I notice that the less I react to the negative things that cross my path, the less they happen to me in the first place.  Maybe that’s true, or maybe it’s purely that my perception has changed and I don’t notice the negative things as much.  Either way I sense that my day to day experiences have skewed towards the positive.  And that’s really all that matters.

Give complete ownership of your reality a try, give it some time, and please comment on how it works for you.

 

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Unnecessary to Prepare for The Worst Mentally

Why It’s Unnecessary to Prepare The Mind for The Worst

It has been said that we should hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  But is this advice really useful?  Anyone who has been alive on this planet for an appreciable amount of time knows that things don’t always turn out as planned.  And perhaps it’s prudent to have a backup plan in certain scenarios where not having one could result in a true catastrophe or injury of some sort.  But constantly considering all that might go wrong in a given situation just to prevent a let down or disappointment is counter-productive.  It’s unnecessary to prepare for the worst mentally.

Despite my own share of synchronicity in life, I don’t necessarily believe in manifestation as some sort of magical occurrence so much as a mindset that is more likely to result in positive action towards creating the results I want.  I’m not content to sit back, imagine what I want, and wait for things to happen for me.  Because it has also been said that fortune favors the bold, and on some level synchronicity happens more frequently from taking action more often.

And since I believe in taking action, I also believe in taking steps towards making the best happen, not just hoping for it to happen.  And I certainly don’t see any point in preparing for the worst.  Especially mentally.  Again, it’s always good to have a spare tire in the trunk, but why waste energy thinking about popping a flat while flying down the highway?  We’ll react accordingly if that happens whether we’ve thought about it or not.  The intelligence of the body and nervous system act more quickly than the mind in an emergency anyhow.  And not thinking about it saves pointless stress.  Negative thoughts also come across in our body language and the way we present ourselves.  That can potentially sabotage our outcomes and efforts, especially when dealing with other humans who pick up on these things.

Positive and productive action happens seamlessly when approached from a positive and confident mindset.  Imagining all that could go wrong is self-defeating and creates doubt.  Doubt drains energy.  Thoughts about great results build energy and excitement.  Worry destroys a productive mindset and the focus necessary to accomplish great things.  Excitement creates a mindset of accomplishment and success.  Choose thoughts of victory.  Crush thoughts of defeat.  Or even better, see them for what they are, acknowledge they aren’t real, and let them fade away.  Realize that mindset is a choice, and place emphasis on the right thoughts.  There is no excuse to wallow in anything negative.

And let’s just say thoughts really do manifest magically.  Having any thoughts about the worst…is the worst way for a person to spend their mental energy.  And what a ridiculous way to bring about poor results.

If the worst does ultimately happen, so be it.  That’s life.  Move on to the next thing and continue to only think about the best.  That’s all for now.

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The Barbell of Truth

The Barbell of Truth

When a person thinks of squats and deadlifts, it’s only natural to envision enormous maniacs covered in chalk, sniffing ammonia, slapping each other in the face, and yelling at inanimate pieces of iron before they attempt personal bests.  Lifting weights that could crush a man isn’t for the faint of heart and certainly isn’t the norm.  But I’d argue that it’s shortsighted to overlook the more cerebral side of lifting heavy barbells and write it off to the realm of the physical.  Let’s talk about the barbell of truth.

Yes, heavy lifting is an endeavor based around brute strength, but at the risk of getting touchy feely let’s not forget the mental and emotional side of brutal training cycles, and testing oneself against ever increasing weight.

I’ll explain what got me thinking about this.

I recently finished the book Spiritual Warfare by Jed McKenna.  It was definitely one of my all-time favorite spiritual reads.  Though in a sense I hesitate to even refer to it as spiritual due the many connotations and associations that come with that word.  The book contains several sections that explain exactly why most spiritual teachings and enlightenment gurus are focused on nothing more than ego-gratifying distractions for the sake of profit.  They don’t force a person to confront their demons or the specter of death, but instead allow a person to feel righteous and warm-and-fuzzy without having to do any real work on themselves.  Just sit cross legged and recite some mantras, and one can feign enlightenment without having to face the hard truths of this existence.  No radical or painful change is required when a person can simply read the right books from the right “experts” and say the right things as they continue down a path of self-deceit.

Instead, McKenna argues for pure, unadulterated, ego-smashing truth-realization over simple beliefs that sound nice.  That’s the most effective way of actually becoming enlightened.  Seeing things for what they really are and acknowledging the reality of death.

The Enlightened Meathead

This got me thinking honestly about many aspects of my life.  Are there any areas where I’m deluding myself and missing truths that should be obvious?  And I also started thinking about the time I dedicate to barbell lifting each week because it’s something I’ve always placed a lot of value and focus on.  Is it a distraction from the truth in any way?  Is my fierce dedication to training holding me back in any way?  It seemed worth asking the question since I put it before other things in my life.

In the spirit of McKenna’s approach to sorting these questions out, I decided to simply go out to the garage, put some weight on the bar, and think objectively about the process to decide for myself.  And something became apparent to me.  The barbell never lies.  400 lbs. is 400 lbs.  No amount of mental gymnastics or spiritual guru teachings can change that.

And in this way it’s a great endeavor for keeping a person grounded in truth.  Unlike the world of ego-soothing mantras and meditations, the barbell never fails to show a person exactly where they’re at.  There’s no subjectivity, and the weight doesn’t care about anybody’s feelings.  It’s 100% pure reality, and a lifter either got stronger since last week or they didn’t.  This is similar to the dynamic of learning how things work.  An electronic gizmo either functions or it doesn’t.  Truths that can’t be denied.

Furthermore, adding weight to the bar every week gets mentally stressful.  As a person starts approaching their natural limits, they might question their ability to continue progressing.  But there is something mentally fortifying about doing things that are very difficult and facing potential failure.  By doing that on a regular basis, one builds mental strength.  There are other avenues of accomplishing the same thing, but the barbell always works.

So consider that heavy lifting isn’t just an endeavor for mindless meatheads.  It has plenty to offer from a mental strength and spiritual perspective as well.  Not to mention the many health and physical performance benefits.

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I Hate The Corporate World, but…

Pros in Addition to Cons

I’ve worked the 9-5 grind for over a decade now.  And I generally dislike it.  I’m trying to find my path out.  But I think it’s unfair to knock it without acknowledging some of the really good lessons to be learned from the corporate world.

In no particular order, here are some of the benefits of spending some time in corporate America.

Being Around High Achievers Every Day

I work in the FP&A group at my office.  Basically corporate finance.  I straddle the fence between right brain and left brain, but my coworkers are all Type A, left brain ass kickers.  They all went to good schools and they are all ridiculously smart.  I struggle to fit in sometimes because I’m a bit more of a daydreamer at times.  And that mindset has certain advantages.

But these people force me to raise my game.  There are days where they humble me with their capabilities.  I’m truly amazed by the unusual knack for organizing and presenting information.  The attention to detail and concentration.  The ability to see patterns.  And the desire to succeed.  The only way to avoid feeling inadequate is to work my ass off.  And I’m glad to have been pushed to do so.  I’ll take that with me in everything I do the rest of my life.

I also have the good fortune of working in a company that is big enough and interesting enough to attract really exceptional people.  It’s also small enough that I get to interact with them all on a regular basis.  I’m constantly engaging with the C-level people in the company, and it’s great to be around those kinds of minds.  I get to see how they think and pick up on their wisdom, experience, and excitement every day.  It’s invaluable.

Exposure to Underhanded Human Nature and Political Posturing

Many of the people I work with are also a bit Machiavellian.  Some people are born to strive for Alpha status, and they strive with everything they’ve got.  They ruthlessly go after what they want every day.

Personally, I’d rather ride off into the sunset and chase freedom over power and status.  But in this world it never hurts to learn to spot the underhanded side of human nature.  And the corporate world is one place to watch it in action and develop a filter for it.

I once had a great idea for our business and told a co-worker.  I mentioned the idea to him because he was heavily involved in business development at the time.

A few minutes later he went into the COO’s office and closed the door behind him.  After he reemerged he told me he shared my idea with the COO and “had been sure to give me all of the credit”.

I’ll never know what was actually said behind closed doors.  But I have my doubts that he didn’t just take credit for the idea himself.  After all, the COO never struck up any conversations with me about.  Yet it became an initiative he decided to pursue.  I didn’t feel strongly enough to go ask the COO directly about what he was told.  But in some larger group meetings I was sure to casually mention how I’d told my idea to the co-worker.  Eventually it became known that this was something I’d come up with.

Regardless of what happened it was a reminder that people can be sneaky and dishonest.

Now when I have an idea I go straight to the CEO or COO.  That way I ensure that they see I have good, creative ideas, and that I get the credit.

It’s beneficial to have experiences that make me wiser, even if some of what goes on feels a bit slimy.

Much of What I’m Learning Will Be Beneficial as an Entrepreneur

Ultimately I want to work for myself.  And I will be positioned to manage myself effectively because of all I’ve learned and witnessed in the corporate world.

In the corporate world, business owners are highly intelligent people who are heavily invested.  They demand accurate reporting and information to allow them to make good decisions about the direction of the company.  And they are looking to maximize the return on their investment.

Nothing is haphazard.  Budgets are set as a plan to make the company grow and return a profit.  Without profit, there is no point to running a business.  And managing a large enterprise towards profitability requires rigor and discipline.

And even if one is disciplined, without the proper skill set it’s easy to mismanage or misrepresent the profitability and liquidity of a business.  With the good foundation I now have in proper accounting, reporting, analysis, modeling, and cash forecasting, I’m set up to manage my own affairs far more effectively.

I’ve seen many small business owners with a good idea fail or simply tread water due to the lack of rigor around the back end of their affairs.  They’re terrible at managing their cash.  And they really have no idea how well they’re performing at any given time.  The real world examples I’ve seen were often artists who didn’t want to bothered with the “boring” side of business.  And on some level that’s because they didn’t even know where to start and were intimidated by it.

Being able to apply these skills to any enterprise is a huge advantage for an entrepreneur in any field.

Managing Through Hard Times and Taking Advantage of Good Times

The company I work for has weathered a number of ups and downs during my tenure.  And that has required some hard pragmatism and difficult decisions.  It has also required the knowledge and intuition to know how strike when times are good and the business is thriving.

One CEO I worked under was a long time industry veteran, and also a very smart businessman in general.  When he took the helm, the company was pursuing several different lines of business.  That included real estate development in 2008 when the real estate market crashed.  And the company was suffocating under a massive debt obligation that accrued interest at a staggering rate.

He first identified which line of business he thought we were positioned to thrive in and that would provide the most value.  All other lines of business were discontinued to allow for singular focus on one core area.  And that required some very tough decisions.  But better to cause some temporary pain than see the whole enterprise fail.

He also looked at the portfolio and identified under-performing assets within the core line of business that could be sold to pay down debt and avoid a takeover by our lenders.

With these two actions the company avoided the cliff it was headed towards.

And now the company can easily cover it’s debt payments with plenty of cash from operations left over.  We have a new CEO, and he has identified opportunities to drive incremental business.  He is investing more capital in the company’s assets, and more money in high achieving employees with great ideas.  In doing so he can increase revenue and value while conditions are favorable and establish a larger base of loyal customers with a more intriguing product.

The real moral of the story here is that a company has to be actively managed.  If a person sits back and assumes their company will automatically perform well, they may be setting themselves up to fail when times get hard.  And conversely they’ll miss the opportunity to increase their profits when times are good.

I’m grateful that I’ve seen competent leaders at work through both ends of that spectrum.  The lessons were very beneficial and educational.

Conclusion

So while it’s popular to bash the wage slavery of the corporate world, I like to at least acknowledge that I’ve been paid to learn many valuable lessons while working in it.  I can move on to the world of self employment with confidence that I’ll be able to objectively assess and define my success.  And that is very powerful.

If you’re feeling stuck in the corporate world, and are trying to make moves to leave it, I applaud you.  In the meantime, it can feel a lot more palatable if a focus is placed on the many benefits that can be derived from the time spent there.

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Frustration – A Self Fulfilling Emotion

The Problem

Every now and then I catch myself observing my own life objectively, as if from the outside, and gaining a useful insight into my state of being.  I had one of those moments the other day related to feelings of frustration.  It occurred to me that frustration has been a consistent companion of mine for many years now.

Life is a combination of circumstances we control directly, and circumstances beyond our control.  Together they determine our current lot in life.  And even though everyone is subject to circumstances beyond their own control at times, we still have the ability to be in control of our reactions to all circumstances.  Whether we cause them ourselves or not.

That said, sometimes certain reactions become so common in our day to day existence that we start failing to notice them because their steady presence means there isn’t a lot of juxtaposition to help highlight them.  Frustration has been one such reaction in my life.

I’ve felt frustrated about a number of things in recent years.  In particular, I feel stuck in my job and career, and I get frustrated that the perfect idea to escape it hasn’t come easily.  And then I get frustrated that feeling stuck in my career seems to creep into other areas of my life, giving me additional feelings of stagnation.  It starts to trigger a cycle of feeling unable to make life happen as I want it to, which only makes me more and more frustrated.

But frustration does absolutely nothing to move me forward.  Not a damn thing.  Sometimes anger or other negative emotions can provoke action to finally tackle a problem.  And I suppose frustration can have that type of effect sometimes.  But for me I’ve seen how it can result in self sabotage and robs me of the energy I could otherwise use to move forward.  It often results in clouded judgement and hasty decisions on my part.  The action it inspires is often not that well thought through which can have a tendency to backfire and cause outcomes that were the opposite of those intended.  For instance, wasted time pursuing a career idea or alternate path that I later realize isn’t the correct path.  It’s an extremely low vibration state of being.

Low vibration may sound a bit woo woo, but all I really mean is a state where negative thoughts snowball, energy wanes, the outside world is perceived through a lens of irritability, and clear, constructive motivation becomes harder to find and tap into.  It’s the opposite of flow state.  And it’s a worthless way to spend time because it causes more frustration which makes it more difficult to find the motivation to take the steps to move into a more productive state of mind and being.

Hence, frustration can be a self fulfilling emotion.  Especially when it becomes routine and unnoticed, allowing it to run rampant.  It creates it’s own existence by the mental cycle it perpetuates.

The Solution

But I noticed the frustration at work the other day, and I’m now going to discontinue it’s influence in my life.  Here is my plan to disrupt it and regain the energy it consumes so I can make bolder and more intelligent moves towards a path that will be far less frustrating to begin with, and to rebuild my reserves of creative energy to inspire more ideas:

-I’ve left myself a daily recurring reminder on my phone to be conscious of frustration and watch for it.

-When I notice it I will let it go.  It won’t be hard to let it go because I will remind myself that by letting it go I will conserve my energy.

-I’ve found that if I imagine energy flowing downward through my body and carrying the frustration out through my feet, it helps me shed the feeling more quickly and easily.

-And even if the act of letting frustration go requires me to just relax and do something mindless and distracting in lieu of trying to forge ahead, that will still be a better use of my time than wallowing in frustration and potentially self sabotaging behavior.

My thesis is that by stopping frustration in its tracks and not indulging it, my energy levels will rise, my creativity will increase, and I will make greater strides towards self sufficiency and flexibility in my day to day life.  I plan to report back on this experiment.  If anyone out there has tried similar experiments, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.