Every now and then, I come to some type of revelation about how things operate. This is my latest. It may sound like a hacky sitcom cliché. But I really do some good thinking on the bathroom throne. (Most of the time I am just catching up on my reading there.) I realize there is the nature of the job at hand versus the tools that are available to handle that job. Here is the dilemma. We are being strongly advised to consume a high fiber diet. At the same time, water conservation has lead to the low flow toilet. Am I the only one here seeing the future environmental mess on the horizon? I live in the area known for “Buffalo Wings” that are washed down with high volumes of beer. Heads Up! The “Tidy Bowl Man” is going to need a bigger boat!
The preceding was the metaphor to start this post.
I was in the library about a week or so ago. I always keep a book or two at the ready. I always try to keep one as fiction and the other being non-fiction. I will say it again. I hate when people only read books in a specific niche genre. This time I was having problems trying to find the non-fiction title. So I took a few minutes scanning the shelves to see if any title would capture my attention. And I found The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss. I found the book very interesting. I am usually a bit skeptical of such books. I also found a lot of interesting postings on his blog. I am going to make sure I get a copy of this book for my own collection. I may not be able to cover all the points of this book for myself. But I am going to try a few minor things to experiment with for now. Besides with the upcoming next couple of months I need projects to keep myself moving. I need to fight off the aftermath that the “Holiday Season” seems to always bring me.
Remember the childhood game of Chutes and Ladders? It seem like a fun game when your kid. However, when you are an adult in the workplace it can be very stressful. You rise and fall arbitrarily. It is all random. And you hold on to an illusion that you can control the game based on your own abilities. The game is frustrating because the “rules” are used at random. I also really do not want to figure out where I truly exist on a corporate organizational chart. I do work for a major corporation currently. (I am not going to argue about the “Evils” of corporations. Can anything be truly “evil” if it can be dissected by daily by Dilbert comics? Plus they have their place.) I have to say there is some sense of security to regular paychecks, health insurance and a 401k plan. There is nothing wrong with self preservation. Life would end really quickly without it. Recently, my company was involved in merger talks. They could not comment publicly on the details so the local press filled out the story with the usual “anonymous sources”. It was not looking good for the long term future. However, the deal fell through and the President sent a letter apologizing for the stress it caused throughout the company. I also realized that is the nature of the game to the corporate world and especially when the corporation has publicly traded stocks on Wall Street. So if it is not today it can easily be tomorrow. It is just the Nature of the Beast. It is nothing personal.
I know for myself I am just not wired to “punch in and out” on the clock. The clock seems like a way to keep things in a holding pattern. Waiting for that moment to shine with my abilities. It is time to start making adjustments to this life’s course. I am also aware of the amount of people in this country that cannot find a job. It is not the easiest of times. But I have yet to experience when times were easy. But I am going to try helping someone. I am going to start the process of moving on so someone else can take over my position. Punching a clock only makes me desire to figuratively punch someone else. I want to spend my days engaging my own abilities. I am either doing it or not. Fuck the clock. My retirement is going to be marked by EKG flat lining.
I am not going to at this point state my ultimate goals or the process involved towards them. It is all still in the design phase. I also realize that by making such a statement I will be perceived as a fish. A fish in the barrel. Looking up at the shotgun. It is the “New Frontier”. And I am not sure about what it will all mean. Also being this ambivalent makes people extremely hypercritical. So why should I provide them all the ammunition? But I need to get back to the book and a few other ones too.
It is about adjusting nature to the tools. And vice versa.
Maybe the future is all about “ball bearings and WD-40”. I am not sure what that means. But right now. It sounds a bit dirty.
We’ll see. Or least I will try to.
“Admit that your own private Mount Everest exists. That is half the battle.”
Hugh Macleod (www.gapingvoid.com)
I also wish I could have been able to make a statement of wisdom like this much earlier in life.
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