Hiatus

Hello everyone,
I'm back from a long hiatus.  I won't go into details about what happened (everyone's fine, don't worry) for a little while.  Let's just say Roni and I moved into town, spent Christmas in Montana, and are a third through Spring Semester.

I thought about posting this on Facebook since it was inspired by a friend's post but Facebook seemed so cluttered already that I thought I'd just write something here.

So today is Valentine's Day but this post is not about Romantic love, it's more about loving what you do.  Two days ago, Lance Armstrong placed second in the Panama Half-Ironman. He was expected to blow away everyone but instead got passed in the last 1.5 miles of the end and came in second by almost a minute.  While this is still VERY respectable, it led me to the question of what his life must be like and how he can go from full time cycling back to his roots (he started as a triathlete, after all).  I came to the hypothesis that success is the product of systems.  This is where the Facebook post comes returns.  A group to which I subscribe and greatly admire (Iron Prodigy) posted something about Phillip "The Gift" Heath.  For those who don't know, and don't want to Google it, Heath is a very successful body builder.  What I learned was that Heath has a system whereby he (or his coach) creates a plan and sticks to it.  I suspect his plan is a little more rigid and all-encompassing than most successful people's as he practically schedules every minute of his life... tedious as it sounds, it obviously works because he seems very successful.  After reading "168 Hours, You Have More Time Than You Think" by Laura Vanderkam, I suggested at a recent staff meeting that scheduling one's week to that extent is very freeing in that you no longer have to make decisions about what to do at a given moment.  One participant responded with "Just so you know, that would be my definition of Hell."  I was a little put off at the time but the more one thinks about it, the more one realizes that success is not an accident.  Scheduling every minute might be a little neurotic but having long range plans is not.  Frankly dividing a big goal into smaller ones is really comforting in that you only have to get from point A to B today, not from point A to Z.  Baby steps.

So the lesson here is:  figure out where you want to be and allocate time and resources to it. Come up with a system whereby improvement is not just possible, it's inevitable. Lance has  a system, Phil has a system, Mr. Tabuteau had a system.  Leaving success to chance has horrible odds.

Here's a thought to leave with you:  Glaciers carved a large portion of the Rocky Mountains so we can say they were highly successful.  A glacier is not fast.  A glacier is incredibly strong and powerful.  A glacier is incredibly constant.  A glacier makes a huge impact but nonetheless, it is not fast.  Thus should we, who desire success, be.  A glacier might move an inch a day for 10,000 years or more!  Talk about slow and patient!  The end result, however is magnificent.  Next time you're driving in the mountains and notice those horizontal stripes on the side, think about how long it took the ice, boulders, and debris to move from one side to the other.  Now let's consider the power!  How much do you think that glacier weighed that it could move massive boulders and literally carve mountains?  I have no idea but I'm guessing a lot!  Now ask this: was there anything that could have or did stop this progress?  Very seldom is the answer yes and it's usually by something way more massive like the Earth warming substantially and melting the glacier.

So, my friends, keep at what you love doing so much that you could make a plan for its success.  See if you can literally map out your own progress or at least your next step.  I bet you can and I bet adhering to a plan will be more pleasant than you initially presumed.  Happy Valentine's Day!