“I could end the deficit in 5 minutes,” he told CNBC. “You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election.

“The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971 – before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.

“Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took one (1) year or less to become the law of the land – all because of public pressure.”

Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.

In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.

*Congressional Reform Act of 2011*

1. No Tenure / No Pension. A Congressman/woman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they’re out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen/women are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen/women.

Congressmen/women made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Don’t you think it’s time?

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!

EDIT: Well, I’ve been informed that this is a fake, and not truly Mr. Buffett’s words. To which I say, “Oh well!” Because it’s the thoughts that count – no matter who said it, wouldn’t it be great if these kinds of changes would take place? So, despite the inaccuracy, I’m going to leave the post up in the spirit of positive change, even if the source quoted isn’t accurate. Besides, the New York Times, I ain’t.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2011. | Permalink | One comment

And on a completely personal note, this was the most ambitious rhyme-scheme I’ve ever attempted outside of college writing assignments (AABCCB). I’m happy with how it turned out.

A Eulogy Poem

I’ve come to stand before you today
And do my very best to convey
While wearing, of all things, a Hawai’ian shirt -
Some words and feelings about my Dad.
A teacher, an artist – the only father I’ve had,
A man happiest with his hands in the dirt.

A man not much shorter than a giraffe
Was capable of making us all laugh.
His heart was very much an open book.
Anyone that knew him well
Knew the stories he loved to tell
And man — could that ol’ beanpole cook!

So, this is just about the time
You’ve realized that I’m about to rhyme
This entire eulogy…
Don’t worry, sit tight, if you please,
I’ll do my best to minimize the cheese,
And keep it short, in case you have to pee.

George — he was the kind of guy
Who always smiled, laughed, said, “Hi”
He’d make a friend of anyone he’d meet.
His helping hands he’d gladly lend
To anyone — stranger, foe, or friend
And even now, his giving’s far from complete…

It was his kindness that always “drove the bus”
And his heart is now a part of us.
His presence in our lives was certainly a treat.
And I doubt that anyone here at all
Young or old, short or tall
Wouldn’t describe his life’s aftertaste as sweet.

So what I really came to say
About the man we’ve gathered for here today
George was the ultimate people-pleaser.
Everything he did was with love and a smile
Didn’t have to try — it was just his style
And boy… we sure are gonna miss the ol’ geezer.

I love you, Dad.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2011. | Permalink | 3 comments

And since I was just considering some DIY projects, it’s particularly timely. If you’ve ever tried building/repairing/maintaining anything requiring tools, you’ll appreciate this with wincing commiseration. And if you haven’t, well, now you’re prepared for the day when you do.

Tools, Explained

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, ‘Oh sh–!’

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle… It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling ‘Son of a BITCH!’ at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2011. | Permalink | One comment

Is there a CrossFit-esque slant to these? Sure there is. After all, functional fitness as a life pursuit is the water cooler I spend my time around these days. Is there more to it than just CrossFit? Damn straight – otherwise, I wouldn’t be mentioning them. As if you couldn’t tell, “one-noters” aren’t my slice of bacon, really; I draw the most inspiration from folks who pay attention to more of life than just a thin stream of thought.

Barbells and Bacon

The blog of Jon Matzner, a CrossFit trainer in the Wash-D.C. area, B&B is a blog I’ve come to follow over the past few months quite avidly. It’s easy to tell by the way Jon writes that as much as he geeks out on CrossFit, his interests span much wider than his snatch grip.

I like reading Jon’s stuff because sometimes he writes a “stand beside me and see what I’m seeing” kinda post, and other times, he shares ideas from places that have sparked his interest, and they never fail to spark mine.

Good stuff – check him out.

Drive Time With Alec

Now, the video podcast that Alec does is a recent thing compared with his blog, but jeez-louise, it’s funny. Not that it’s a comedy-based videocast/vlog – he’s just a funny guy, and that’s often times so much better than someone who’s trying to be funny.

He’s also got a good message with the whole thing, and since it’s free, what have you got to lose? Right? This’ll be a fun one to see how it evolves, too.

And because posts like this always have at least three features, I’ll share one more with you…

Whole9

Okay, this one’s a bit of a cheat, since Whole9 is actually two people and not just one, but who’s house is this? Run’s house.

The brainchild of Melissa Urban and Dallas Hartwig, the Whole9 blog is an amazing resource of nutritional know-how, but until you’ve experienced the voice and style of M & D, you really haven’t lived right. Or eaten right. Or laughed like you know is good for you to laugh.

Don’t get me wrong – even if Melissa and Dallas were as boring as an empty can, I’d still suggest you read their stuff, because the information on how to live healthy is so darn good it should be front-page news. But given the fact that they’re entertaining as heck, awesome people, and smokin’ hot (yes, both of ‘em), you owe it to yourself to read more, learn more, and listen to what they say.

And if you want to meet Melissa, Dallas, and me in one fell swoop (and who wouldn’t?), then come to Whole9′s Foundations of Nutrition workshop in Lewisville, TX (just north of Dallas) on October 16th. I’ll be there, soakin’ up the juicy wisdom.

Are You Beating Your Own Drum?

Let us know about it – post a comment, share a story, and get your groove on.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments

I would like to start a web page for my new box, but have no clue where to start or what you would recommend. I don’t have a ton of cash on hand to drop on this, but would like to make it easy for someone like you when I get up a going and I can drop some $$ on a updated site. Anyway, Thanks!!

Chuck

I asked Chuck if I could make a blog post out of this, since I knew it was a question that a lot of affiliates have (or did, or will). He said yes, and so here we go…

I’m going to suggest, first things first, that you go grab my free “Six Things” PDF from this page over at Bright Coconut. Knowing what’s in there is going to save you a lot of time, headaches, and frustration, and your readers will appreciate your savvy design sense, praise your clarity of presentation, and be amazed at how much you’ve got it together.

I’m not just saying this because I want people to read what I write, either – I’m saying it because if you know what it says, then the rest of this post will make so much more sense, and you’ll be well on your way to rockin’ the free world. Go get it. I’ll wait.

Ready? Cool.

First, go with WordPress

I’m not going to elaborate on this too much, since there are oodles of blog posts written about the genius of WordPress, and why it’s such a good choice for creating and maintaining a small business website. But because I know how much people like lists…

• WordPress itself is free.
• It’s very user-friendly, easy enough to learn, and works a lot like a word processor.
• The WordPress community is huge, so there are plugins, code fixes, and ideas for how to make your site do what you want it to, no matter what kind of situation you’re in.

Simply put, WordPress rocks, and even though I’m a professional, I won’t ever bother learning another system. And that’s not because I’m lazy; it’s because I haven’t seen a compelling enough reason to deal with anything other than WordPress.

Assuming you’ve got a halfway decent web host, it’ll probably have a way of installing WordPress for you with a few clicks… and if you don’t have hosting yet, allow me to recommend HostGator. I’ve used more hosts than most, given my insider view from having built more websites than the number of times you’ve squat snatched, so trust me on this one. Save yourself the pain. Embrace the awesomeness.

Second, get yourself a Premium theme

I know that one of the big constraints in this conversation is money, and I get that. So if there are literally thousands of free themes out there, why am I so adamant about getting a premium theme?

Think of it like this: Sure, you can go down to Sears and get a cheapo weightlifting set to start working out in your garage… but chances are, sooner or later, something like this is going to happen:

You wish you could be this much of a beast (and look this good doing it).

Instead, go over to Rogue or Again Faster and drop a bit more on a real Oly bar, and you’re set for life. Besides, the difference in how these bars feel and perform is like night and day… and so is the difference between working with a free theme and a premium theme.

Premium WordPress themes—assuming they’re done right—are coded well, designed beautifully, and are rife with options that just don’t exist in free themes. It not only makes creating your website easier, it makes some things possible that just aren’t with a freebie theme.

So, where to get a premium theme?

Without bogging you down with too many details, here are my top choices:
(full disclosure: these are affiliate links, if you don’t mind… no biggie either way, though.)

• WooThemes : My favorites, hands-down… WooThemes are full of awesomesauce. I’d definitely go here first.
• Elegant Themes : If you just want something to install, and you aren’t going to customize it at all, then Elegant is a solid choice.
• ThemeForest : A marketplace for a multitude of theme developers, there are some real winners here… and some dogs. Could be tricky to navigate through them… but some that I like are here.

Now, fill it with good content

The “Six Things” PDF will help you here, so much so that instead of putting in a few pointers, I’m just going to leave it to the PDF to do the talking.

Also, take a look at some awesome CrossFit/fitness sites out there, and see how they’re doing it. Don’t copy, but let yourself be inspired.

A quick list of sites that are rockin’ it:

• Ultimate CrossFit
• BTB Fitness
• Bootcamp Fitness Kansas City (Coach Rut’s site)
• CrossFit Toronto

The Final Point

In Chuck’s initial question, he asked about upgrading in the future, and potentially dropping some coin to a designer. Two things about that:

1. You may find that by following my 1-2-3, you never need a pro. If so, congrats – welcome to the empowering world of self-administered web awesomeness.
2. If you do end up engaging the services of a professional at some point, you’ll be at a very good jumping off point already.

See, once your content is into WordPress, it’s not going anywhere, because WordPress stores all your content in a database. You can change themes at some point, and probably have less than an hour’s worth of fiddling around to get your new theme configured.

A solid WordPress designer will know this and account for it, and even if you end up doing a complete overhaul on the way your site presents your information, chances are good that you’ll save a bundle of time having set things up correctly in the first place.

Thoughts? Questions? Comments?

Drop a comment, and let’s get to it.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2010. | Permalink | No comment

For those of you who may not know it, I’m currently a web designer. My intention is to provide my clients with top-level design and an easy-to-use, highly functional site, while not breaking the bank. And most of the time, it works out fine. My clients are happy, I’m happy I’m providing a good product, and I still get to spend time with my kids. I’m not rich by any means, but we’re paying our bills.

And then I come across something that just totally busts my balls, like I did this morning. I saw a web designer’s site who offers “a one-page website for as little as $895!”, and I almost choked on my tongue.

For reference’s sake (and to save you a click over to my site), my packages start at $795, and there’s no limit to how many pages you can have, how big of a blog you want to create, or any of that. And I’m not even going to get into how ugly this person’s portfolio was, how few features or variations the sites had, or how difficult it must be for their clients to update their sites, because that’s ultimately beside the point.

The point is, am I knuckin’ futs?

I need help here, because this isn’t an isolated incident. I see designers all the time who charge through the teeth for what I’d judge as relatively crappy work, and they obviously have people who take them up on their services. Meanwhile, I work my ass off for my clients, and the sites I give them far outstrip the weak sauce I see way too often. (I also see plenty of incredibly talented designers out there who charge five times what I charge, and they put out consistently fabulous work. I salute these designers, and wish I had their kinds of jedi-graphics-skills.)

So, am I being stupid? Be honest.

Oh, and it wasn’t my intention to rant away like a crazy old cat lady at a kid who rode his bike over her hydrangeas, but I realize I’m just feeling a bit lost here. Is the lesson that I should raise my rates (again), and trust that appropriate clients will show up? Do I need a different pricing structure altogether?

Any and all constructive feedback is most welcomed, believe me.

Image by chizoo.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2010. | Permalink | 9 comments

I went ahead and redesigned the site, mainly to give me more impetus to write, to reflect my inner thought process more, and to add some cool features I’ve been wanting.

For anyone familiar with Tumblr, or the amazingly kick-ass WooThemes, their WordPress micro-blogging fascination, or their Tumblr themes themselves, this site is now sporting a customization of their Retreat theme.*

Why?

Because micro-blogging is totally cool – why else? Honestly, though, micro-blogging appeals to me because it takes the pressure off me to craft huge posts, and allows me the freedom to share awesome stuff I’m finding, thinking about, overhearing, or bumping into.

So, drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

* I don’t know how much people are interested in this kinda thing, but if anyone’s interested in knowing what kind of modifications I’ve made to the theme, leave a comment to that effect and I’ll spill the beans.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments

Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. It’s not that I lack clarity on the direction for this site; it’s Adam-freakin’-Kayce-dot-com, after all — if it’s ain’t unabashedly me, what the heck is it gonna be? What I’m trying to wrap my head around is how to do this whole “social media” thing in a way that doesn’t take over my life.

Because there was a time when I was blogging, tweeting, facebooking, and linked-ing in a lot more than I have been (no new blog posts since 2009, I’ve let twitter pretty much flutter and die, I hardly ever post on FB, and I can’t imagine why I need my Linked In account at all). But that was also the time when my business was suffering. Now that I’m 99% focused on work, business is better than it ever has been, and I don’t really see that as a coincidence.

So why then, am I bothering to write again? Honestly, because I kinda miss it. Writing has always been a tool of self-expression for me, and without it, I don’t feel as if I’m being all I can be. The other big reason is that I want to be one of those people who share, connect, and put themselves out there. I was once upon a time, and I miss that, too.

So, here’s a bit of an update, in regards to my ideas about what to do with this site:

Let it flow.

As many of you (assuming anyone is still reading this!) most likely know, I used to be a personal development blogger. I closed that door long ago, but I suppose all that introspection has taken its toll, because no matter how much the idea of a micro-blogging style appeals to me, I have a history of talking too damn much (I graduated with a degree in Literature/Writing, if that sheds any light on the subject). Historical precedence aside, however, I do intend to transform this site into more of a micro-tumbl-thingy, but I’m guessing it’s going to take a fair amount of practice and editing to get more concise.

For those who don’t know what I’m talking about:

A tumblelog is a quick and dirty stream of consciousness, a bit like a remaindered links style linklog but with more than just links. They remind me of an older style of blogging, back when people did sites by hand… [before] blog entries turned into short magazine articles, and posts belonged to a conversation distributed throughout the entire blogosphere… really just a way to quickly publish the “stuff” that you run across every day on the web. — Jason Kottke

Less talk, more springboards. Less ramble, more sharing. And honestly, I’d much rather interact in snippets than in long, drawn-out monologues, anyhow. More fun for all of us, especially given the fact that we are getting any less busy these days, are we?

Redesign

I can’t help it – being a web designer, it’s hard to look at a site for long without wanting to update/upgrade/change things up. As much as I like what I’ve done with the place, I’ll probably redesign it soon.

Clean it up.

I’ve got posts back here from my Monk at Work days, a foray into Viverati (remember that, anyone?), some webdesign ramblings, etc. It feels like one of those closets in the movies where everything but the dog gets shoved into the thing and the door slammed before it explodes… my categories list looks like Wikipedia barfed. Time to archive, delete, and/or trim the fat just about everywhere.

I do realize this will all be a process, and I have no presumptions about a time frame. I’m not going to promise anything at this point, because I don’t even know myself what’s coming down the pipe. I just know my interest has been piqued.

You have been warned.

Image by Chris Halderman

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2010. | Permalink | 8 comments

Want to know the reason? The way most people do it, it’s boring as hell.

Let me ask you this: are you strapping yourself onto the same machine as the day before, hitting the same buttons you did the day before, and doing the same workout you did the day before? And where did this workout come from?

I’ll bet you it came from one of these three sources:

• an article in a magazine,
• it’s what the person behind the desk showed you on your tour when you signed up, or
• it’s what everyone else is doing.

Most people copy others because they have no idea what to do, and figure that if it’s good for the gander, it’ll be good enough to get their goose in gear, too.

We progress when we learn...

The problem with this is obvious.

How many of the people on the elliptical machines at your gym look and perform the way you wish you could? Not many, at my gym.

At the gym I work out at, between two and ten people inhabit the ellipticals, treadmills, and step-bike-contraptions every morning… and then there’s me, over in the free weight area. Alone.

And you know how much better those two to ten people look today, compared to when I joined, a year and a half ago? None. Some even look worse.

But, I’ve lost 15 20 pounds, and I’m strong as two of my former selves put together. I barely recognize my own muscles in the mirror. Oh, I’m not going to win any contests, and I rarely even turn a head these days (blame it on being “follicularly challenged”, 38 years old, and not particularly broad-shouldered), but I’ll be damned if I don’t have muscles in places I never knew I could.

Now, am I particularly gifted? Special? Is my uncle Jack LaLanne or something? Heck no… I’m a reformed fat kid from a sedentary family who’s had to work at it all my life. But, I’ve got one thing that many people don’t display much of, at least when it comes to the gym: a willingness to learn.

You Gotta Keep On Stepping

I got fascinated by the human body, and what it’s capable of, when I was fifteen years old. Maybe it was because I resembled a human jello mold, and athletes are just so… athletic… but I was hooked. I read everything I could get a hold of in the pre-information age, which meant I read Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding from cover to cover three times a week.

I knew when I was 16 that I wanted to open a gym someday. I went to college, not really knowing what I was doing there, but lucky for me, UC San Diego had a small Physical Education department in those days, and I was able to squeak out a minor in PhysEd before the department got budget-cut. Somewhere along the line I talked myself out of the gym-ownership idea, but stayed active (after losing 35 pounds my senior year of high school, I bounced around a few collegiate sports, like water polo and rowing, and then played a few sports recreationally and exercised solo after that), and kept studying.

I took some amazing classes, read some amazing books, and tried some amazing (and not so amazing) workout routines, until finally landing on CrossFit.com in October of 2007. I’ve been glued to the CF community ever since, and I still feel like a rank beginner at times. (And yes, my goal of opening my own gym is back on. Look out, baby.)

To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping. — Chinese proverb 

Sheeple no more!

Bottom line: You’ve got to take responsibility for your progress, or lack thereof.

In any aspect of your life, be it fitness, business, relationships, or whatever, if you aren’t learning, you’re standing still. Now, if you’re happy with the level you’ve reached, that’s fine… but if you recognize that your journey isn’t over yet, then it’s time to get busy.

Whenever you think you’ve stopped learning, it’s all over; remember that! — James Fitzgerald, aka OPT

If there’s anything I want you to take away from this post, it’s this: You are capable of much more than you think you are. What does that mean, practically speaking? It means that if you aren’t happy with your bodyfat percentage, or your current vocation, or the way you speak to your kids, then do something about it!

Start reading. Subscribe to feeds, newsletters, and podcasts. Take a class. Interview someone who knows what you want to know (it has been my experience that most people are glad to share what they know, if you only ask). Volunteer.

And if you come up to me at the gym and ask me how to squat, I’ll grin wider than a giraffe and be happy to teach you. I guarantee it’ll be fun, as well as hard… although I’ll probably talk your ear off, too, about why the elliptical machine sucks, so be ready.

Image (of my friend Amie!) by greg westfall

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2009. | Permalink | 8 comments

Wouldn’t you rather do amazing things with your life? You can. And one of the ways to make sure you do is to preserve your sanity by not acting like a rat, and doing the things that will set you free. How? Genius Time.

Genius Time, in a nutshell, is about building time that’s for you and your most important things into your schedule.

Want to make stuff this cool? Genius time, baby. Genius time.

Sounds simple, huh? Hardly.

I’ve seen this idea talked about most often by “Creatives” — folks who do creative work for other people, like designers, artists, etc. If Creatives aren’t careful, they can spend all their time and energy working on client projects, and not have any juice left over for their own business.

But it’s not just for Creatives. Everyone needs genius time.

What is Genius Time?

Genius time, as I’m defining it, is time for you to focus on what you personally need to focus on more than anything. When talking about your work, it’s often when you work ON your business instead of just IN your business. When talking about your health, it’s when you focus on the thing you need most, whether it’s stress-reducing meditation, or getting to the gym consistently. When talking about relationships, it’s when you carve out the time to do that which matters most, whether that’s working out issues that have come up between you, or spending “quality time” in whatever way you do.

The idea behind Genius Time is also concordant with Pareto’s Principle, aka the 80/20 rule. Genius time is often when you focus on that 20% of whatever it is, because if you don’t, the whole thing falls apart.

How much Genius Time do you need?

Start with a half-hour a day, if you have to. Heavens, you should be able to set aside at least that much, but if an hour is too scary to contemplate in the beginning, start with half. Eventually, you’ll want to work your way up to two hours, at least.

Most people these days, when confronted with the idea of finding more time in their days, tend to either shrug and dismiss the possibility, or get vehement about why that’s impossible. “My days are crammed as they are!”, or, “I get up at 4am and go to bed at 11pm as it is!” To you, I say:

Get a grip, or be gripped.

Because if you can’t find a half an hour, you’re seriously gripped. Life’s got you by the short-n-curlies… but do you want to know how you got there?

It’s your own darn fault.

Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but you haven’t taken responsibility for your actions if you’re playing the victim about your schedule. You, and you alone, have chosen to live the way you’re living. And that means that you can change it.

I hope that no one reading this is in that situation, because I hope you’ve moved beyond that phase of your life where you perceive life as happening to you rather than through you… but if you are, get some help. Now. Start here.

Got your life back? Good; let’s continue.

How to get your Genius Time

First, you’ve got to carve in a block of time. By “carve in”, I mean that you’ve got to build it into your schedule as if it’s completely indispensible (which it is), and make it inviolable. (The corollary, as in, “carve out”, is how most people think about it. As if life is full, and you need to squeeze something else in. Basic rule: Don’t be “most people.”) Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of pushing it aside when the seemingly urgent matters of life want to intrude.

It’s just how financial experts talk about the “Pay yourself first” rule: if you don’t, the money disappears into a crack somewhere. It’s inevitable.

So, Genius Time has to be a top priority.

Next rule: no distractions. Turn off the phone, close TweetDeck (under no circumstances should Genius Time and twitter time ever—EVER—coincide), and lock the door if you have to. For the next half-hour/hour/two hours, the rest of the world can wait.

Now, on to the meat.

What do you do in Genius Time?

Short answer: whatever you have to.

It could be:

• meditating
• writing blog posts
• researching your next career move
• studying
• walking through the park (sometimes it’s easier to get your head clear when in motion)
• practicing your intuition skills
• kicking your feet up on your desk and daydreaming of how you want to spend the next half of your life
• anything else that’s critical to your well-being, or the well-being of your career

Obviously, that last one is a pretty broad definition, but that’s the idea; do what you have to do to be the person you need to be.

And if you don’t take Genius Time?

In the words of my high school English teacher, Mr. Engfeldt…

Don't be a mental weiner dog.

… you’ll become a mental weiner dog. Seriously. Don’t tempt fate like that.

Images by phill.d and hellvet2000.

© Adam for Adam Kayce, 2009. | Permalink | 14 comments