Around Here: Notes from Thursday Afternoon
1.
Whenever things are going well, it’s always good to ask yourself “How could I improve? What could I do better?”
Never rest on your laurels! Always be thinking: OK, great. What’s next?
Yesterday I woke up early and went for a quick run around the park. Then I went for a morning biscuit at Pine State, where I visit a couple of times a week whenever I’m home in Portland.
Then I came back and got ready, and then we sold 1,000 WDS 2013 tickets to fun people all over the world. I looked back at the screen and thought, wow, that was exciting. Then I went for sushi.
2.
I’ve been thinking about something that Chris Brogan said at last year’s WDS:
“Treat praise like criticism: refuse to accept either.”
I shared this around a few places last week, and some people understood it more than others. I think what Chris meant is that this kind of feedback, whether positive or negative, is largely irrelevant to what you should be working toward.
I feel the same way about experiencing success or failure. The best response to either is to shrug your shoulders and move on. The work itself, the process itself, the journey itself—that’s your focus. Nothing more.
3.
I also think you should be impatient with yourself.
You can always improve, right? So improve. Step it up.
You have a calling, right? So embrace the calling. Stop messing around with anyone less.
4.
That’s what’s happening around here on an unseasonably warm Thursday afternoon. On Saturday morning I’ll get up and fly to Chicago. Sunday morning I’ll attempt to run 26.2 miles before they shut down the course at the six-hour limit.
Monday afternoon I’ll fly to Australia to hang out at Darren’s Problogger event (note: tickets are sold out, but he’s offering a virtual ticket option for those who want to participate from afar).
Next Saturday night, we’re hosting a $100 Startup event in Melbourne that will be open to the public.
The following week I’ll be visiting Kiribati, my 189th country.
Focus on the work, the process, the journey itself.
See you next from the open road!
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*WDS 2013 tickets sold out as expected yesterday. We’ll have one final batch in January. Until then, check out the brand-new highlights video from 2012.
