May 08, 2006
Whatever you think, think the opposite, he said
I've been struggling, gentle reader. Wrestling within my own turgid strain. Afflicted with my own concerns. All the while, you wait patiently, perhaps even fervently, for some new missive. I know and I apologize. Cast that baited breath free, dear one. I've finally pulled my head out of my own selfish pursuits to see you standing there patiently.Hi, hi, hello. Yes, I see you there. Have you been waiting long?
It's not that I didn't want to write. I did. But see, here's the problem: I've got a number of really good pieces that are half-cooked. Nothing's quite ready. It's just kind of sitting there like some tasty little half-baked bites that would just as soon give you salmonella as nourishment. And I really couldn't do that to you. Not after what we've been through. Give you salmonella, I mean. I realize I don't give you much nourishment either. Look, you're not making this any easier. I said I screwed up. Cut me some slack.
I've got this whole new thing starting. Or didn't you bother to read that? I mean, it's a big deal and you're just complaining that I haven't been writing and... Whoa whoa whoa. Deep breath. Deep breath.
Where were we?
So, I've been grasping at straws. What to write? What to write? The new hypocritical design is going absolutely nowhere. Well, it's going places. Just not any place that I or you want to see. Trust me. And if I don't get some new content up here to show that I write regularly, those 9rules guys are never going to take pity on me. And it's getting to the point where listening to Gnarls Barkley "Crazy" on repeat is going to send me off the deep end.
I'm sweating it. But you know what? Under dire circumstances, under the pressure of the moment, that's when I shine. So here it is. Are you ready? Here it comes.
Book report time.
Aw c'mon. Don't look at me like that. It's been a long time since I gave you a book report. It's not a cop out. Remember when we talked about Martin Lindstrom's BRAND sense? That was a good time, wasn't it? And what about Why Business People Speak like Idiots? Aw, there we go. I see that little glimmer.
So, let's get started.
As I was beginning to think about the potential of me actually being able to go out on my own, I was struggling with a little of the old self-confidence. And that's when, in the Logan Airport waiting for a plane, I stumbled upon this telltale little quip:
I wish means: Wouldn't it be nice if...
If you always make the right decision, the safe decision, the one most people make, you will be the same as everyone else.
Always wishing life was different.
And that one got me thinking. And that kept me reading. See? It's so intriguing, you're continuing to read this entry, even though you know that it's more likely that I'm going to continue dragging you down a wandering diatribe than providing any valuable information. But you're hoping. Wishing and hoping, that this time it you'll hit paydirt.
And with this book, I think you will.
I absolutely encourage you to get it. You could read it during a lunch hour. Or a coffee break. And if you're in the right mood. The mood in which I was wallowing, it will likely hit you, the way it hit me.
And so I was tooling along through the book. Nodding affirmatively and eagerly to the "Think different" speak that was girding my strength, if not my ego. And then I hit this passage, and well, POW:
Resign. It's the best way to show people you mean business.And that didn't even accurately describe my situation, but it struck a chord, nonetheless. And it made me think. I mean, it's not like I was in some dire situation.
If people constantly reject your ideas or what you have to offer, resign.
You can't keep fighting and losing, that makes you the problem.
If you are good and right for the job, your resignation will not be accepted.
You'll be re-signed, on your terms.
If they accept your resignation, you were in the wrong job and it is better for you to move on.
It takes courage, but it is the right move.
It's not like I was that famous philosopher, John McClane, as he was stuck in Nakatomi Plaza, trying to rescue his wife from the clutches of Hans Gruber, when he said, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem. Quit being part of the problem and put the other guy back on the line." To which the jovial, Twinkie-toting, Watson-to-McClane's-Holmes Al Powell asked. "Hey, how you feeling, John?" And, wait for it, McClane's response? "Pretty (expletive) unappreciated, Al." And, well, that didn't really strike a chord, either. I just find myself quoting Die Hard at random instances in my life. I reviewed it for the Twin Falls High School Bruin News back in the day, you know. Oh boy oh boy. Could I write a piece with a natty turn of phrase back then. Boy, I could tell you some...
Oh, I'm sorry, where was I?
Ah, yes. The worm had begun to turn. The idea that I had to do something risky and different. That I shouldn't take the safe option. That I should take the road less traveled or whatever.
And that's why I think you should go buy Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite by Paul Arden. And not just because it's the book that got me to thinking. But because I don't want to be out here alone.
Oh, I mean. Yes, it got me thinking. Thinking so much that I also bought his It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be.
And I think you should buy them too. Because he convinced me to jump. And if I falter and fail, I'm likely to succumb to the litigious American culture and sue him. So buy his books.
Whatever you think, think the opposite, he said
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