This year could be busier than any other year of my life so far (do I say this every year?). The current projects I am involved in are highly demanding, filled with deadlines and are completely engrossing. They are full of serious stuff that impacts a lot of people. It requires a lot of focus, calendars, spreadsheets, space on the cloud, and collaboration. The time I have to devote here to this blog suffers somewhat, but something has to give and this is it.
I knew when I said 'yes' what I was getting into, how I would spend the year, and that if I had any personal demands in my life beyond those of my four-legged roomies I would never be able to take it all on. The projects are all very interesting to me but maybe not so much to you so I won't go into details here - though I do plan to document one of them extensively over the next two years.
I like to experiment with myself, test my limits,temperamentand talent - and so to take on this mentaldecathlon, I accepted there would beinevitablechaos, bumps and conflicts, and promised myself I would not take them so critically that I would get upset and let them derail my work. I like it, it's exciting, keeps me on my toes, wears me out at the end of every day, makes me look at 'rest' as a planned activity and reminds me that the more I do the more I am capable of. It's a strong reminder that whenI am not challenged and become too comfortable I get complacent, lackluster and distracted - and start dreaming of flights to small villages in third world countries that need to be developed. I'm reminded that the challenge and opportunity to conceptualize, design and execute a solution are my strongest motivators.
There is no one single thing that has been more important to any of my projects than my working relationships with individuals I can call on to partner with, share expertise and networks, brainstorm and celebrate with. There is very little one can do exclusively alone in business and community... I really can't stress how important an engaged diverse professional network is. If there is anything I am more convinced of than ever it has to be that most everything can be accomplished when you have the right resources and willing collaborators.
The 4th Quarter of every year is famous for being the fastest to wrap up, and it's right around the corner. What have you been up to the first 3/4 of the year and what have you learned about yourself or been reminded of?
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