Finish Your Plate

We all have a lot going on in our lives.  Whether it's school, work, babysitting, family, cheesemaking, etc.  The more activities we take on, the less attention we give to each of them.  If you have a guest over and serve them dessert, you will probably go out of your way to serve them something special.  When more people are over, the dessert becomes less fancy.  If you're hosting a company seminar, the most you'll serve is coffee and doughnuts.  The amount or quality of dessert we serve is greatly influenced by shared responsibility.  Shared responsibility says that the more people there are in an environment, the less accountable each person will feel.  This explains why people are not afraid to boo at sporting events.

What is my point?

When you have multiple activities in your life, it becomes more difficult to give each one its own special attention.  When you give yourself too many job descriptions, each job will seem less important in your mind.  This makes you feel less obligated to serve each one individually.  Think about the complexity of building relationships with everyone at the ballpark.  You should limit your key objectives to about four.  Any more than six is just asking to put things off for never.  If there's too much food on your plate, you can either save some for later or force yourself to try and eat everything and risk leaving something behind. 

"The price of greatness is responsibility."

Winston Churchill


Posted by Waseem Hammoud

A Bite of Life

One of these days, you will stop living. You might think it to be obvious, but seriously, let's explore that thought. You, everyone you know, and all the people you've ever met will one day cease to exist. Just like that. And you didn't even make it through a century.

Tyler Durden, the harsh, yet caring antagonist of Fight Club points out, "This is your life, and it's ending one minute at a time." You were one of the lucky ones- you were chosen to experience the phenomenon we call "life." You were picked from millions of other potential human beings to be born- and what do you do with your astounding gift? You waste it. You throw it away on pointless crap like internet memes.

The problem with today's society is that all these spoiled, ungrateful brats could care less that they're alive. This apathy leads to a thrown away life- it's a shame to waste such a valuable thing. Why take it for granted?  Take as much as you can from the world- you don't have much time left. Go learn a new hobby. Get in shape. Make a million bucks. Take a bite out of life. After all, you only get one.

"Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Ferris Bueller

Posted by Shigal Hammoud

Just do it

In an interview with Google, I recall Conan O'Brien talking about how one can get places by simply "going with it."  Sometimes when you just go with things, you end up in places you would never have been had you not taken any action.  This is true in so many ways.  Rivers are a great way of illustrating this idea.  What may look like a stream in one area may take you to paradise (whatever your idea of paradise is).  Also, when we get up and do something, it's always better than not doing anything at all.  Saying I tried and failed is better than not trying at all.  There's always room for more experience.


So how can I measure my aptitude for trying?  By comparing the number of times I say I want to do something to the number of times I actually do something.  Everyone wants to do something, but how many people actually turn ideas into actions?  The next time you're thinking of doing something, stop thinking too hard and just do it.  Sorry Nike :P


"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
Walt Disney


Posted by Waseem Hammoud

How much friction do you have?

Friction can be defined as the resistance that one surface or object encounters when moving over another (Apple Dictionary).  I'm not teaching physics here, but the notion of resistance can teach us a lesson about setting and meeting goals.  I love learning by analogy as much I love teaching it.  I end up learning more when I have something to compare.


Most people don't always get to where they want to go on just smooth roads.  Imagine yourself as a wheel moving across a road filled with snow.  Obviously, snow can be a factor in one's ability to move.  Sometimes we get stuck in places that we don't want to be.  Someone with a lot of resistance is less likely to get stuck than a person with very little resistance.  Because we can't always see the place we are heading, making a few stops doesn't seem all that bad.  However, each stop can be thought of as progress that could have been made but wasn't.  Would Facebook have been made if Mark Zuckerberg waited for others to help him?


Whatever your goal is, whether it be losing weight, quitting smoking, or saving money, keep the big picture in mind.  I know how easy it is to say "just one more won't hurt."  That type of thinking will get you nowhere.  Tomorrow's success will only come from today's hard work.  So next time your brain tricks you into making a "quick" stop, ask yourself, am I a square or round wheel?


"You may delay, but time will not."
Benjamin Franklin


Posted by Waseem Hammoud

Welcome!

I only made this blog a few minutes and I already have a good feeling about the directions this blog will turn.  Hopefully you can learn a thing or two from my writing as I certainly will along the journey of life.  I will try my best to keep this updated as often as possible while still maintaining high quality content.  You will never read a post from me that was written just to be written.  I hope you have a great day.

"If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed."

Chinese Proverb 


Posted by Waseem Hammoud