Archive for March, 2012

March-Ex VI: let it go on day twenty

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

“To be successful in the new world of work, we need to create a structure for capturing, clarifying and organizing all the forces that assail us; and to ensure time and space for thinking, reflecting and decision making.”
—David Allen

The illustrious Exercise collapsed halfway through the month. That’s about all that can be said about it. Everything that needs to get done will have to get done without an ambitious time structure that had itself become a distraction. Had the matrix finally outlived its pertinence? Perhaps the time will come when something more innovative will emerge and replace it. The lessons will always remain in the daily consciousness. Bert Cooper demanded, “What happened?”

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Evident Casualty

March-Ex VI: fell short on day twelve

Monday, March 12th, 2012

“If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. When I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I did not have the ability in the beginning.”
— Mahatma Gandhi

Spent much of the day on self-promotion and never quite managed to get the grand exercise in gear. Glen Bishop replied, “I wish you wouldn’t have said that.”

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Mere Habitation

March-Ex VI: sought art on day eleven

Sunday, March 11th, 2012

“I could see no reason why used tram tickets, bits of driftwood, buttons, and old junk from attics and rubbish heaps should not serve well as materials for paintings; they suited the purpose just as well as factory-made paints.”
—Kurt Schwitters

The matrix is abandoned. Is it March or not? Dana and I traveled to Louisville to see a group collage exhibition at Hard Scuffle Gallery. One of the most satisfying opening receptions I have ever attended. Caitlan and Kyle walked over to join us, and we presented our congratulations gift to him—the unusual ceramic cast by Igor. Bob and Meg attended and wanted to have dinner with us. My intention was to make it back to the farm for Mission: Madness, but the schedule went to pieces. I really hated to stand up my Pal-zee. It was a joy to re-connect with these friends. We are all at the age when it becomes a challenge to maintain the continuity of our self-employment and stability, but each of us does our part to navigate the waters with purpose and a semblance of dignity. Schwitters was the great example of always moving on to the next thing in the face of adversity, yet preserving a dedication to his unifying artistic vision. Would he disdain my current fixation on his “style?” Most likely. But an artist must absorb all one can from influences, modify one’s own creative code in the process, and venture on toward greater individuality. Bert Cooper said, “Get on with it!”

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To Pay Paul

March-Ex VI: fueled my imagination on day ten

Saturday, March 10th, 2012

A Princess of Mars may not have exerted the same colossal pull that Tarzan had on the global imagination, but its influence on generations of readers cannot be underestimated. The novel became a seminal text in the early science fiction canon, inspiring a slew of imitators.”
—Junot Diaz

As hard as I’ve pushed the past week and as much as I’ve accomplished, I still feel as though the March regimen has gone out of focus. Deadline drives have their own kind of relentless logic not in keeping with the drill. So, instead of taking the scruff of one’s own neck and redirecting it to the month’s structure, I went soft on myself and reset the sights for Monday. I hit a much-anticipated John Carter matinee. Most critics are hating this movie, and it may only make a profit offshore, but I was not at all disappointed. Taylor’s ability to command the screen and carry the story, plus a realized Frazetta vision, more than held my interest. Later in the afternoon, I took a long walk with my mate, and then we made pizza together to celebrate the thirty-fourth anniversary of our first date. John Carter said, “Good God…I’m on Mars.”

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Disney Sauce

March-Ex VI: faced anxiety on day nine

Friday, March 9th, 2012

“I think I grew in different ways—just that it didn’t break me, I didn’t really just quit. There were moments when I was definitely close.”
—Taylor Kitsch

Dana told me, “Just remember, these are your friends, and they want you to do well.” With that helpful suggestion, I finalized my PowerPoint presentation and headed out to address the club that I’d quit nearly three years ago. It’s funny how nagging insecurities and self-doubt can get in the way of achieving a straightforward goal. I decided to do this. I knew I was fully knowledgeable and capable of pulling it off. And yet, somehow, the lead-up was all about overcoming the fear of failure. The ability to perform is in my bones, I guess, but speaking in public has never come easy for me. I thought to myself, whatever you’re dealing with, there is nobody more on pins and needles today than young Taylor Kitsch. So I picked up the microphone, smiled, said, “Thank you, Danville Rotary!” and shared my passion for bicycling. John Carter ordered, “Get on!”

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A Cult of One

March-Ex VI: breathed bicycles on day eight

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

• Walking and bicycling gradually build strength and muscle tone with little risk of over-exercise or strain. An average bicyclist burns about 300 calories during a 20-minute ride, while improving coordination and reducing stress.

• Non-motorized travel or commuting can easily provide enough exercise to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that adults engage in moderate-intensity physical activities for 30 minutes or more at least five days a week.

• As an effective type of aerobic exercise, bicycling can result in noticeably improved health, lowering risk factors for many medical conditions, including cardio-vascular disease, obesity, type II diabetes, depression, and memory loss.

• A major study of 10,000 British civil servants suggested that those who bicycled 20 miles a week were half as likely to suffer heart disease as their non-cycling colleagues.

Totally devoted to preparing remarks and visuals for a presentation to the Rotary Club tomorrow. The benefits of non-motorized travel and recreation is something I’ve thought about intensively for at least five years now. Beyond advocacy, my concepts are turning toward the dynamics of a more “livable” community. Not that the greater accommodation of walkers and bicyclists is some sort of panacea, but when you line up all the benefits — Economic Development, Neighborhood Preservation , Tourism Promotion, Environmental Stewardship , Health and Well-being, and Overall Quality of Life — it sure does look like a hell of a solution to a lot of perplexing issues. Donald Draper said, “Make it simple, but significant.”

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Desirable Habitats

March-Ex VI: hacked through on day seven

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

If the front side of the coin of success is the ability to set clear goals for yourself, then the flip side of the same coin is the ability to get yourself organized and work on your most valuable tasks, every minute of every day. Your choices and decisions have combined to create your entire life to this moment. To change or improve your life in any way, you have to make new choices and new decisions that are more in alignment with who you really are and what you really want.
—from Goals! by Brian Tracy

Struggled through the old quicksand of dragging a project up to its production deadline, while discovering more and more unsolved problems. But, as usual, with two minds brought to bear, everything was resolved in the end. Then I hurried over to the bank to test the digital projector made available to me for Friday’s presentation. Just giving the guys a quick preview of my talk made me realize I know my subject thoroughly. The topic is not the issue; it’s all about the delivery. Linda’s workshop was an unexpected clinic on public presentation. With that in mind, I have plenty of time tomorrow to prepare. Bert Cooper exclaimed, “Turning creative success into business is your work, and you have failed!”

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Grounds for Confusion

March-Ex VI: studied probabilities on day six

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

“Success is the sum of small efforts,
repeated day in and day out.”
—Robert Collier

Dana and I completed our second day of training in the routine techniques of high-probability trade design and management. The more I learn, the greater my burning desire to do this every day. Our instructor was a bit on the shrill side, but her command of the subject was astonishing. I’ve been in the presence of very few people who could match her intensity, sincerity, and focused energy. The Investools/AMTD/ThinkOrSwim configuration is a powerful platform for gaining knowledge and deploying skill. It has my full confidence. Donald Draper yelled, “I want to build something of my own! How do you not understand that?”

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Liberation Day

March-Ex VI: thought about the future on day five

Monday, March 5th, 2012

Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us.
—A.J. Cronin

It was a shock to confirm that March had indeed come in like a Lion, with Lexington getting even more snow than Danville. Crossing the Kentucky River on the Bluegrass Parkway offered a striking scene in the early morning light. Dana and I spent our day in the city, learning new skills in preparation for long life. When somebody moves our “cheese,” we have to shift outside the zone of comfort and make choices about what to change. Donald Draper asked, “Where do you want me to start?”

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Agenda Items

March-Ex VI: fretted about deadlines on day four

Sunday, March 4th, 2012

We must work and affirm, but we have no
guess of the value of what we say or do.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson

I keep catching myself giving more awareness to the overall work load and target dates than the most important thing—that which is in front of me at a particular moment. With a two-day workshop in Lexington beginning tomorrow, I worry about what is due on Wednesday and Friday instead of attending to the present. Time to walk away for a spell, and, in the late afternoon sun, dig and build a new pit for making tomato-patch compost. Nothing like a tree-top cardinal proclaiming his purpose to put things into perspective. Roger Sterling shouted, “I’m going to put you on notice. You’re in over your head.”

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Blog Jam

March-Ex VI: mulled over my fortune on day three

Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

The cornucopia was a symbol of her power to bestow favors, the rudder a symbol of her more sinister power to change destinies. She could scatter gifts, then with terrifying speed shift the rudder’s course, as she watched us choke to death on a fish bone or disappear in a landslide.
—from The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton

When a client offers deep thanks and writes, “It’s all so professional and mood-appropriate that I’m just in awe,” it’s time to pause and be grateful for my blessings. Broke out the mountain bike, fed the knobby tires some air, and took my first bicycle ride of the season. I saw a barn on Gentry Lane with only half a roof and wondered if that happened yesterday. All the news coming in about the human toll and devastation has me contemplating that thin edge between ruin and relief. Connie Hilton said, “By golly, you are an indecently lucky man.”

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Morning After

March-Ex VI: pondered ruin on day two

Friday, March 2nd, 2012

“Then the gates of hell opened up.”
—an unidentified Indiana dispatcher

“It was beautiful. And now it’s just gone. I mean, gone.”
—Andy Bell, Henryville

A huge battery of storm cells on a forced march across the Midwest left decimation and loss of life behind it in Kentucky. I felt uneasy leaving home to play cards with friends, especially after an exhausting push to complete another presentation for the music CD graphics. Archibald Whitman scoffed, “Look at your hands.”

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Maelstrom

March-Ex VI: thought about death on day one

Thursday, March 1st, 2012

But whether you liked it or not, Death was something you had to go through life with. Plenty times you would meet up with it if you lived long enough, and you might as well get used to it as you could.
—from The Trees by Conrad Richter

Saw the curled-up squirrel on the sidewalk, lifeless as a piece of fast-food litter. New structure for the regimen proved to be a reasonably good framework. Pushed ahead toward the album cover deadline. James stopped by to discuss trust matters. Bert Cooper urged, “Reconcile!”

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Incidentals