Seeking Coastal Utopia

We should all aim to think like Voltaire . Dans ses écrits, un sage Italien Dit que le mieux est l’ennemi du bien. (In his writings, a wise Italian says that the best is the enemy of the good) not flawless by Joshua Fuller on  Unsplash The more modern interpretation of that quotation is “the perfect is the enemy of the good.” Do you know when it is time to stop trying to perfect the work that you’re doing? We all have varying levels of what we interpret is quality or, more specifically, perfect quality.  Flawless. Is that realistic? Does it add value ? In my particular instance, there are certain things that I try to have as perfect as I possibly can. However when someone that has a more trained eye, is a subject matter expert of that specific topic, my perfect may be garbage to their eyes. The one thing that we recognize in this pursuit of perfection, it may be best just to produce something , deliver something, now. Let it run in the wild, a...

A proxy is a representative value or measure (figure) that can be used as part of a calculation. You see the use of proxy calculations in economics and social science studies. The S&P 500 Index, DOW and NASDAQ are all giant forms of proxy calculation. You need to use it in your efforts to change behavior. stock market chart from Chris Liverani on  Unsplash You use a proxy when you are unable to directly measure a particular action or activity. We normally see the use of a proxy when calculating the quality of life or defining a measurement for the standard of living. For instance, you wish to measure a feeling, such as happiness or anger, of a group of people and the possible cause of that emotion. You can indirectly associate whether or not they had coffee on the day they reported their specific emotions via the use of a simple binary response counted, 1 for yes, 0 for no, and tally the results. Depending on the number of people that reported getting coffee you could rel...

Measure twice cut once. How much money do you have in your bank account? How much gas is in your car? How fast are you going? How many miles before the next stop? “assorted tape measures” by patricia serna on  Unsplash Measures. Metrics. Score. These are needed to succeed. This is the biggest failure of many businesses. Start-ups and mature businesses alike. It affects teams, groups, and individuals. It is a path to failure if you choose to not measure anything that will change behavior. Successful businesses have Key Performance Indicators — KPI’s that are used to identify important metrics or measurements that are necessary for their business success — or survival if they only just started actively measuring. You need to measure your efforts. “baseball field” by Chris Chow on  Unsplash I played a lot of baseball while growing up. That is a statistician’s sport. Everything is measured. Runs, hits, errors, balls, strikes, on-base percentages, assists, puto...

We are an angry country right now — these are angry times. “fried egg in bowl” by KS KYUNG on  Unsplash There has to be something in the water, maybe it is all the pharmaceuticals we are peeing into our drinking water? Are there mind altering brain waves coming through social media to make us angry ? Somebody, please get me the aluminum foil! You wake up every day, you breathe one more breath, your heart continues to beat. You are able to move on through the rest of the day. Some days there are more bonus points than others, but guess what? You are still here, in this moment, and you have the choice to make — be a jerk or be nice. Hopefully, you choose “be nice” since that is how you wish to be treated. When you meet people every morning on your way to wherever it is you go every day, how do you greet those that you know? What sort of look do you have on your face? Is it a slack, deeply drawn face? Is your face pinched in pain or thought? Is it a scowl because the li...

Why are we always at each other’s throats? Why have we all become evil? Is it really that hard to say “Please” and “Thank You” in today’s world? Heck, even saying “hi” or “Hello” to someone you do not know is becoming frowned upon. I do not think that we have become so self-absorbed that we cannot even extend a simple courtesy to our fellow humans. Take the time and effort to learn these simple phrases. Please and Thank You can go a long way when you are trying to build relationships . “please dont try to sleep here signage” by Maria Freyenbacher on  Unsplash “May we please have guidance on how to be more polite?” Most certainly! Thank you for asking! Remember that you are always learning how to listen and understand. When you hear someone speaking, you should listen to what their words mean . The intent. If you do not understand what they are trying to say, please be sure to ask them to help you better understand. It may be necessary for you to explain what y...

Constraints are everywhere. What?! You don’t know what constraints are? “person showing handcuff” by niu niu on  Unsplash You live in, with and around constraints, you just do not know that we typically call a constraint. The most appropriate definition for a constraint is a restriction or limitation. One that you are compelled to either avoid or to complete an action. Constraints can be analogized to a bottleneck where you are unable to perform an action because the available tools, equipment, resources, time, money, etc. are unavailable for you to complete the necessary actions. Instead, we need to view constraints as a catalyst to be more creative, to be more imaginative, to figure out a solution to your problem. Not as a barrier or a reason to quit. Constraints are our friends. The term constraint has been around the manufacturing world for several years. It is used to identify and label bottlenecks in manufacturing or production systems that cause delays or backl...

What is time? Can you stop time? We only have a limited amount of time available to us. If we waste it, we no longer can make the best of it. Time is not an unlimited resource. Why are you delaying? Why have you failed to take that first step forward? Are you waiting for more time? Have you made the conscious choice of not stepping forward, of doing something more with yourself, more with your life, more with your work? Each *tick* of the clock, 3600 times every hour, steps us closer to the death knell. “stopwatch at 15” by Linda Perez Johannessen on  Unsplash Fear. It paralyzes us it — freezes in our tracks . Why do we let fear rule us? Why don’t we learn how to use fear to our advantage? What happens when fear takes over? Time slows down, and it feels like time stretches into eternity. How do you use that time stretching tool to be able to produce more to do more? What are you afraid of? Time? If we fear time, then what do we do to help alleviate tha...