Strike the Match

Fool for a Client

It turns out I made a much bigger mistake than the one I highlighted in Legal Lesson.  I violated one of the rules that I highlighted in my Make A Choice post.  That rule is to stay focused.  Decide what you're going to be extraordinary at and then eliminate, outsource, or ignore the things not on that list.

Being an extraordinary lawyer is not on my list so I emailed my lawyer first thing this morning and got him on my case.  From now on I'm letting him handle all the legal stuff.

As a wise friend reminded me, only a fool has himself for a client.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Legal Lesson

I'm the plaintiff in a case with a previous tenant who owes me money.  In an effort to learn about our legal system (i.e. save money on legal expenses) I've been representing myself. 

Thanks to the great people down in Franklin County Clerk of Courts, things have gone pretty smoothly.  They are extremely helpful when it comes to procedural  issues and with their help I've successfully filed a civil petition, requested continuances, appeared in court, and filed a motion for default judgment.

The motion for default judgment is where I made my first big mistake.  It appears I added some additional information that didn't need included.  By providing the additional information I basically re-opened the case I had already won.  Now I have to go back to court.  At best that mistake has added a few weeks to the case, at worst I could lose. 

While I shared my story for your entertainment, it's not the point of the post.  The point is that to learn from your mistakes, you have to make mistakes.  And to make mistakes, you have to push your boundaries.

I've felt outside my boundaries more than a few times during this case but I kept pushing on and eventually figured it out.  While my ignorance is dragging the case out a bit, I'm learning a lot. 

The hard part is overcoming the frustration that accompanies a mistake.  Each time I feel that frustration I stop and I try to appreciate the lesson I should be learning.  Then I smile, knowing that if I'm making new mistakes, I'm growing.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Seek What They Sought

"Do not try to imitate the old masters.  Seek what they sought." - Basho

This is one of my favorite quotes.  It reminds me that the old masters didn't become masters by imitating others.  They studied under those who came before them but they strove to improve on what they'd been taught. They strove to live their own extraordinary life. 

While people can inspire you and they can help guide you, they can't live life for you.  And if you try to live their life, you'll miss living yours.

"Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary."

Don't Be Afraid of the Shadows

Forsythe is another company in the IT consulting industry and we've long viewed them as competitor to Techmate.  For years, whenever we've heard anything about this company we've avoided them like the plague.  We figured the less they knew about us the better.  We were closed to any opportunities with them.

A little over a month ago a close associate recommended I meet with Forsythe.  I respect his opinion so I decided to be open and agreed.  He arranged an introduction with a couple of their guys.

We hit it off quickly.  Our styles of doing business were very similar and we naturally started discussing ways we could work together.  In just a couple of weeks they've presented us with three great opportunities to work together! 

Of all the strategic partnerships I've worked on, this is the most promising start I've experienced.  Perhaps there's an opportunity lurking in the shadows for you as well?

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Open.

Harvard Air

It may just be me but I think the air is different at Harvard University.  I spent the afternoon walking the campus and the place felt electric.  I'm not sure what it was, but an energy was there.

It felt inspiring.  It felt like ideas and great things were busting at the seams, just waiting to jump out into the world.

It highlighted to me that advice of paying attention to your surroundings.  Who and what you choose to surround yourself with can greatly impact your life.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Spilt Milk

While I love to describe myself as logical,  I often do the most illogical things. 

For example, if someone accidentally spills my ice cream my first reaction is usually anger.  This response baffles me. 

First off, it was an accident. They didn't intend to knock my ice cream to the floor.  Secondly, no amount of anger or frustration or any other emotional response is going to get me back that ice cream.

Aren't there more important things in life than crying over a bit of spilt frozen milk?

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Use YOUR Brain

With the bombardment of information in today's world, I have to actually THINK about using my brain.  That sounds weird but it's true.

Check out this stat:

A single week of the New York Times contains more information than the average person absorbed in a lifetime in the 18th century.

That's wild.  (So are some of the other stats in this popular video.)

The scary thing is I rarely think about the validity of the information that's being delivered.  Whether it's something an author has written in a book, a TV show host has said on air, or a blogger has posted the internet; I usually fail to consider that the message is greatly impacted by the opinion of the author.

The web is making it easier than ever for individuals to share their messages with the masses.  That's great because it puts the power back in the hands of the people, but it also means the people must be more diligent about evaluating the message.

Here's to using our brain.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

Cheesy Gifts

During our post-fight celebration at the hotel pool our 3 fighters and our Kru (Muay Thai instructor) were presented with a gift as an acknowledgment to all our hard work.  We each received a super hero figurine.  Kru received Wonder Woman, Andy received Flash Gordon, Aaron received Superman, and I received Batman.

For the rest of the day that Batman was with me everywhere I went.  It made cameos in group pictures and we even used it as the baton for our relay races in the pool.

It was a great gift.  One of the gifts thats value is in the thoughts and memories instead of the actual dollars spent.  Perhaps a bit cheesy but aren't those the best kind?  It definitely reminded me that it really is the thought that counts.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

 

The Intelligent Investor

I'm currently reading The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham with commentary by Jason Zewig.  According to Warren Buffett, it's the best book on investing ever written.  A great lesson is found in the commentary on Chapter 4.  It reads as follows: 

There are only two ways to be an intelligent investor:

1.)  by continually researching, selecting, and monitoring a dynamic mix of stocks, bonds, or mutual funds;
2.)  or by creating a permanent portfolio that runs on autopilot and requires no further effort (but generates very little excitement)

That's it.  You're either an expert or you're not.  The first scenario takes up more time but gives you greater returns. The second yields slightly smaller returns but is simple.  Both are perfectly sound approaches to investing. 

The trick is sticking to the one you pick.  The investor who dabbles is the one who gets burnt.  He gets burnt for many reasons, but most importantly because he doesn't have the discipline to stay the course when times are tough.

It's a great life lesson.  Either commit to being extraordinary or put it on auto-pilot and forget about it.  There is no in-between. In-between is a road that leads nowhere, at least nowhere you want to go.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Extraordinary.

 

Be Genuine

Genuine people are the best.  I love genuine people for the same reasons why I can't stand politically correct organizations.  One is personal and the other is not. 

My fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, is an example of an organization that needs to work on being genuine.  They send requests to attend conventions, requests to donate money, requests to volunteer; all done through form letters.  Some are hand signed but why?  It doesn't make it any more personal.  It's still a form letter that hundreds or thousands of other people got.  That's not genuine and it's a big turn off.

A great example of someone being genuine is Patricia Ryan Madson.  She is the author of Improv Wisdom, the book I mentioned in my Be Open post.  I don't know Patricia from Adam but I received an email from her today, totally out of the blue.  Patricia somehow found my post (probably through some automatic filters she has set up) and took the time to send me a personal thank you for reading her book and telling others about it.  Wow.  That's genuine.

Your welcome Patricia and thank you for being genuine.  Your email was such an exciting surprise that I immediately got up and told everyone in the office about it.  Phi Tau and other politically correct organizations, take note.  The Patricia's of the world are kicking your butt.

Strike the Match.  Take Action, Be Genuine.