Category: This is all a test

…it contains the word dead.

Maybe we could be a bit easier on ourselves and call it a finish line instead, with all the sports, racing, and success connotations that go along with it.

In like manner, instead of ploughing through a pile of reports, we could maybe just breeze through them.

Language is one of the many ways we create our mental model of the world and, as noticed in the linguistic arena, language is pliable and we can reframe our experiences through different uses of language.

With this in mind, we could stop insisting on ‘working hard’ or ‘doing the hard work‘ to achieve something and just work.

This might make things a bit easier, getting us to the ‘finish line‘ with a little less stress, a little more motivation and maybe, a little more fun and enjoyment along the way as the ‘working hard’ versus ‘work’ images linked above illustrate.

Written in my studio/office while listening to Slavic Trap Music.

Best thing I read online last week.

…during a few weeks away.

When travelling, one will often find the top fast-food restaurants within a short distance. Sometimes on the corners of the same intersection.

On the surface, this would seem to be an ill-advised business logic of not being the only restaurant in the area for people to frequent, but it’s seen in town after town.

And it’s not just restaurants; bars, coffee shops, and theatre districts all have a similar penchant for locating close to each other.

I heard or read somewhere, “if you’re the only wedding photographer in town, you’ll most likely get all the gigs but probably not grow or get much better at your craft.”

Competition is great for customers as it shows whether a company is a smart choice compared with others. A secondary advantage, not considered as often, is that one gets to benchmark oneself in relation to the best and find ways to get better at what one does.

So, trying to be the one-and-only in the marketplace seems to have its own demise built-in, and a different strategy would be to look for and position yourself with the competition.

Written while listening to Django Reinhardt

Best thing I read online over the last week.

• Your proposal was not what we were looking for.
• We’ve chosen someone else for the position.
• Your price is too high.

And makes us think that:

• I’m not smart enough to create a good proposal.
• I haven’t got what it takes to get a better position.
• I’m not as good as I think I am.

When in fact it actually might have meant:

• I was too busy so I didn’t have time to fully read your proposal.
• We decided to save some money and divide the work up between other managers.
• I didn’t really understand what you just told me.

Or, maybe it just meant that the pitch didn’t work.

Written while listening to Ziggo Dome Eric Clapton concert. (2022)

Thanks to Seth Godin for the insight.