The book starts off with a great line:
DECIDE WHATS NEXT IN YOUR LIFE AND STRATEGIZE HOW TO GET IT.
I’m not even sure if strategize is a word but the idea is both powerful and subtle. We always tell each other our greatest wants, if only. Most of my if only’s don’t require huge amounts of money. More than money they require time and flexibility. Ask a meterologist to predict the next snow storm he can’t do it, not with high accuracy. He can run the models, know the climate and the different types of weather patterns; but they are wrong more often that they are right because weather is random, truly unpredictable. The storms never hit exactly when they are supposed to, they never have as much or as little as they are supposed to. As in Life. So if i can’t predict whats next and life is random, how do I get my ‘If only’s when it’s convenient for me?’ How do I know that whats next is something I want if I don’t have a plan that goes past ‘If Only?’ The element of randomness that makes life fun is only fun if I am able to be flexible and opportunistic. I can’t plan a snowstorm or a sick day with Hannah. If I am flexible, I can take advantage of them when they happen. If only I had the flexibility to take advantage of the circumstances; I could turn the Hannah sick day into some quality papa/daughter time or the next snowstorm into a mid-week powder session. Let’s re-arrange the pieces and see what happens … Identify my top values:
- The things I am I like most are: my creativity, intuition, and persistence
- The things I am I like least are: distraction (ohh, that thing is shiney. What was I saying?), lack of mental discipline and my reliance on a stable routine
- The happiest person I know is Hannah. She is a very happy three year old and I almost get a second childhood just by watching her grow
- Two people I like and respect are my wife because she is very smart, rolls with the punches easier than most and likes similar things. My dad gets props because he showed me how to figure things out in methodical ways that went far beyond fixing rusty old cars in a Northeastern Ohio winter. He also has an appreciation for music and rhythm - I still remember listening to ‘That Peaceful Easy Feelin’ by CCR in the Blue Blazer with him (And not one of the wimpy new blazers … one of the old full sized early eighties models)
So who am i? I am a happily married father who loves to spend time with his family. I spend time in the outdoors with Julie, Hannah and our two Boxers and I don’t care if we are riding, sliding or walking - we are outside! I enjoy consuming various forms of new media and appreciate the old forms too. I still like to feel the pages turning between my fingers as I re-read one of the Gunslinger novels and I like re-runs of Firefly on Netflix because I don’t have to get off the couch and get the dvd’s out of thier cases. I have learned that horses are like big dogs and that boxers in pairs are a lot of fun. The Doberman breed and cats are pretty cool, but they might not always mix well (for that matter boxers and cats have their moments as well). When it comes to computers, I like the mathematical problem solving aspect of programming. I also like the symmetry and the fractal beauty in Biology that is quantified through mathematics. The persistent factor in solving problems programetically (sp?) reminds me of my calculus and discrete maths classes; it’s weird I know, but I really liked the problems in those classes - even though I don’t remember the problems, I remember the grizzly professor who could smoke an unfiltered cigarette in three breaths and then come inside and teach understanding of higher order derivatives to our eager young minds. I think this type of understanding is what the Gunslinger refers to when he writes about “Khef.” My college calculus professor taught us that the problem at hand is just a puzzle, waiting for all of the right pieces to come together. It’s my job to use patterns to move the pieces around and check my output against the ideal answer. When I talked with him in his office hour’s it became apparent that he meant this for mathematics and Life. The lesson is lost if I do not apply the advice to programming as well. In unordered fasion, here are my top FIVE VALUES (aka things I aspire to):
- Be Happy
- Be Ethical
- Be Creative
- Be Curious
- Be Dependable
