{"id":202,"date":"2010-01-06T01:18:58","date_gmt":"2010-01-06T05:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/flatlandrescue.com\/?p=202"},"modified":"2010-01-06T01:18:58","modified_gmt":"2010-01-06T05:18:58","slug":"short-end-of-the-stick-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flatlandrescue.com\/?p=202","title":{"rendered":"Short End of the Stick Syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"

My friend, Cal,\u00a0 spent the whole holiday season selling Christmas trees on a windy corner in Queens, NY.\u00a0\u00a0 The weeks dragged by as he dickered with stern, Eastern Europeans over the price of Fraser Firs and Blue Spruces.\u00a0 The days were brutal and long with no prospects of Thanksgiving or Christmas roadtrips to see siblings and nephews.\u00a0 At the low spot of the season – five days before Christmas, he complained, “The problem with the short end of the stick is there’s so damned much of it to go around.”\u00a0 He was ready to quit and walk away from the whole mess – but he managed to see it through till the end.<\/p>\n

Here’s a solution for short end of the stick syndrome:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Done is the Engine of More.<\/strong><\/strong><\/h1>\n

After the crappy year we’ve all had, this seems like a great anthem for the new decade.\u00a0\u00a0 It comes from a fascinating blog post by Bre Pettis in collaboration with Kio Stark.\u00a0 The post, entitled “the Cult of Done Manifesto<\/a>“, is filled with 13 arguments for action.\u00a0\u00a0 Here are three of my favorites:<\/p>\n

#4 – Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Every project I do has things in it that baffle me.\u00a0 Sometimes I pay so much attention to the things I don’t know that it keeps me from doing the things I know how to do!\u00a0 Steady daily progress is the best strategy for getting through the sticking points of a project.<\/p>\n

#9 – People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

My cubicle mate at work has an interesting observation about meetings. “People come with empty yellow pads and leave with empty yellow pads.\u00a0 In the middle, they fill the air with reasons why the project can’t be done.”\u00a0 Dirty hands means you believe.\u00a0 Dirty hands shows which side you’re on.<\/p>\n

\"Downstairs<\/a>

Downstairs Duplex: 2 - Dave: 0<\/p><\/div>\n

#13 – Done is the engine of more.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is obviously my favorite. It’s like<\/p>\n