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Enlightenment… again.

Feb 8, 2009
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Doing more than clean

Doing more than clean

One can have great conversations with oneself while cleaning the shower. This might be due to the fumes inhaled in a close proximity or just the time spent scrubbing the scum off the shower walls leaves space for one to contemplate other things in life. This week has been a week of enlightenment, of sorts.

Big hair, bright colours

Big hair, bright colours

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in a conference room with about 16 other people discussing our proclivity to act in times of perfect harmony and in chaos. This Project Leadership, Management and Communications class covered more details than this, but this is what stood out to me the most. When there is harmony in the world, I’m inclined to be a directing and assertive person. This doesn’t necessary mean bossy and arrogant but the typical characteristics of self-confident, ambitious, quick to act and risk taker seemed to resonate with my true personality. Well the true personality I’ve grown and molded over the years. I haven’t always been like this. I remember being a follower more and wanting more acceptance than I do now. Maybe my true personalty of a risk taker was always there but I didn’t have the right environment to allow it to flourish. When I graduated from high school, I did leave my town of 200 to a city of 800,000 and never came back. Not that I don’t love where I came from, but it’s my past not future.

On Friday, I watched a video where Loic le Meur talks with Seth Godin while attending the TED conference going on this week. I am currently reading Seth’s book, Tribe, which is proving to be inspiring for an entrepreneur like me. Many things Seth writes about gives me plenty of thinking material however in this interview, something he says really drives home to me. “Being best in the world in something, is extremely valuable.  Being fifth best is not very valuable.” He doesn’t mean you have to be the best in the whole entire world with all things included or don’t even try at all. He means you have to be the best in your world right now. Now that’s something to aim for, something with possibilities. If I want to be a travel writer, I should aim to be the best in my world right now. I don’t have to try to write better than Rolf Potts, we’re not part of the same world. Maybe some day but not now. Right now I need to focus on being the best travel writer for those who read my blog, my stories, those who I expose this to world. That’s doable. Now I can’t be the best if I’m spending my time on things that don’t really matter, or spreading myself thin.

Which leads me back to my shower cleaning self conversation. I have this tendency in my life to do things half-assed. Did I study hard in college and university, no. Why not? Well if I studied hard and didn’t get the great grade I had nothing to excuse it for. If I didn’t start hard and didn’t get the great grade, I could always tell myself if I studied harder I could have done better. There was always an opening for going up. Same thing will all these other ventures I have going on.

  • This website
  • beVicarious.com (nothing is there yet but I have ideas)
  • crazytravelstories.com (send me your crazy travel stories with pics if you like and I’ll post them)
  • ecofriendlyhints.com (a website where you will eventually finding things eco-friendly for home and life)
  • working on a patent (can’t talk about it right now)
  • playing guitar (I’ve had it for years now I’m learning how to play it)
  • selling my photos
  • changing careers (I’m thinking Director of Product Development some day. I know I can learn languages but Product Development I’ve never done in a formal sense)

You see, all these things are important to me (well guitar playing is not really of the same caliber as the other items) and they are all things I want to accomplish. But if I’m working towards all of them right now will I actually achieve any of them? Probably not. I could probably work on one or two but all of them, I’m setting myself up for failure. But if I fail, I can always say I had too many things going on. If I only narrowed it down, it would have been done.

So you see my Enlightenment here right? I know my skills. I know I’m able. I just need to focus to achieve.

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1 Comment

  1. Les Brown  •  Mar 1, 2009 @6:18 pm

    Hey Corinne, It’s been a long time since we last talked. I was just reading your blog post and just wanted to say that it struck a cord.

    I’m stuck in a job that I don’t particularly like and don’t find very challenging. So as a result I’ve taken on a these personal side projects. I often wonder if I’ve taken on more that I can chew as I don’t seem to finish any of them or seem to dedicate the time necessary to them.

    I think part of the problem in all of this is the notion of not being true to who we are. I feel as though I’ve often moved away from who I really am to try and become something I’m not. The last couple of months have come to be an eye opener for me. I can’t change who I am nor do I want to.

    What struck a chord for me in your post is the notion of all your projects and your desire to be the best. It’s nice to see that there are other people out their with their own crazy dreams and desires to achieve them. I can honestly say that after reading your post here my own desire to achieve my dreams has only increased.
    Take care and keep writing ;)
    Les