The headline of this post is "I Am Going to Sleep." The only reason that is the headline of this post is because it is filler, for now. I have no idea where this post is going to go. It is a stream of consciousness. Sometimes you just need to unleash the fury and go, no matter what your particular passion. My passion right now happens to be writing, because I want to put a book out on Kindle by the end of the year. That's my goal, and it is very achievable. I only need to eliminate obstacles. There can be no excuses. The book has to be done by the end of the year, and it will. There are, however, obstacles. These are not the same as excuses. Excuses result from obstacles, but they are not the same.
"Oh, that obstacle got in my path, so I could not achieve my goal."
Weak sauce.
This is what people at work say when they have a job to do, but instead goof off and don't do their job.
And that is fine for your job, because who cares?
But when it is your personal goal, you passion, excuses don't cut it. Excuses are equivalent to failure.
You need to "launch." You need to get that idea out the door. At work, you are just working for someone else's idea. Who cares? The more obstacles the better, right? That's job security.
But when you have a goal, you own it. Any failure is your failure, not someone else's. So if there are obstacles, crush them. Remove all obstacles to achieving your goal and seek all the resources to get you there.
Writing a book is easy. I have a computer. I know how to write. I even have a journal. It's an actual pen to paper hard copy journal, into which I write all my book ideas. I will transcribe and edit them later. In fact, I will transcribe a short passage tonight, just for practice. Because, you know, it is getting down to the time when I need to actually "launch" this book.
Even publishing a book is easier than ever. I think anyone with the slightest ability to write in their native language should be writing a book. You don't have to be a great writer. That's what keeps editors in a job. Just network and collaborate with people who can make your writing better by providing input and feedback. It really is that simple. Amazon makes Kindle publishing a snap. That is stage 2, after you actually get done writing.
The third stage of writing a book is actually the hardest. I am surprised no one has focused more effort into removing the obstacles to MARKETING a book. That' hard. How do you get people to know about your book and then get them interested enough to check it out.
I, personally, have that covered. My strategy has been to use social media the way it was intended, to network with like minded "friends." I only have Facebook friends that I actually know and consider friends. When I launch my book, these people will care, and they will spread the word. I could have a million friends on Facebook, who are not actually friends, and not a one of them would give a shit about my book. But the ~100 or so actual real friends I have on my current Facebook will care about my book, maybe buy it, but definitely tell two friends.
That's karma.
My book is not going to cost an arm and a leg. It's a gift. I am not out to make money, even though the book will have value. It is like when I play live music. I like getting paid for performing music, but even when I get less than minimum wage for playing music, I still get a lot of non-monetary VALUE from music that is priceless and cannot equate to dollars. My audience is richer for it, and if they want to throw some back at me in appreciation via tips, or beer sales, OK, I accept.
I might actually put my first book out for FREE. I feel that strongly about it's VALUE that I think people will snatch it up, read it, gain value, and then await my next release, fully willing to pay a premium price because of the showcase they got from my free work of art. I am this way with music too. I am fully willing to come in and play a FREE SHOWCASE for any music venue, on the grounds that if we rock ass and bring in a good crowd of thirsty alcoholics, they will hire us back at a fair price to rock there again.
The transcription follows my sign off.
Joe
RE:
Most corporate work environments resemble a primate social hierarchy, such as you might see in the remote mountains of the Congo (Note: I have never been to the Congo, but if the nature programs are to be believed...). There are alpha and beta members of the corporate social order. The selection force at work is the corporate work environment, and every ecosystem selects for particular traits. The corporate work environment, much like the natural biological environment, determines who will become alphas and who will remain betas. To secure their alpha status, the alphas surround themselves with the most submissive betas, and reward these betas with perks to keep them submissive. This is the corporate work environment equivalent of primate "mounting" to secure submissive behavior. Alphas "mount" betas by making demands of the betas in the form of requests for work output. Any demand is fair game. The betas that submit and do the "busy work" are rewarded, while the betas that resist or refuse are punished. 80% of corporate work is simply alpha dominance behavior to secure loyalty and only 20%, approximately, is actual meaningful work.
As in primate societies, there are interlopers. These are the betas who appear to be submissive, but who have found ways to circumvent the alphas, unbeknownst to the alphas. Your goal as a corporate employee is to be an interloper, doing the 20% of actual meaningful work, while finding ways to completely (and I do mean COMPLETELY) avoid the 80% meaningless nonsense wasteful work. It is not as hard as it sounds.
The key here is OWNERSHIP. The alphas OWN the meaningless work of getting betas to SUBMIT. That means if the meaningless busy work does not get done, only the alpha OWNER has skin in the game. Betas submit to alphas out of sympathy, but they have no skin in the game. If the meaningless busy work does not get done, there is no harm done. In fact, the alpha just looks bad and gets knocked down the totem pole a little bit. The beta actually moves up the totem pole by standing up to an alpha. Alphas back down surprisingly often when stood up to by a beta. The problem is, as in nature, that betas often back down and do the busy work, degrading themselves and empowering the alphas to make more meaningless busy work. Don't do it. Resist all but the 20% of actual meaningful work. You know intuitively what this is, and you can use it as a weapon against busy work. "Well, boss, I would have done that meaningless busy work, but unfortunately, this actual meaningful work took all my time and resources. Too bad you own the meaningless busy work and now look like a total tool."