Every morning, I plop in front of my computer and pull up my Google home page, and check Alerts and Analytics for our site.  I cruise through my Outlook, prioritizing responses and gauging my day.  I check LinkedIn, approve “Join Group” requests, answer InMails, and browse through the top news.  Then I hop over to Tweetdeck and see what’s cooking there.  Facebook runs consistently and quietly in the background, as I connect, re-connect, source, search, evaluate, write, submit, crop, code, advise, ask, proofread, list, revise, give feedback, receive feedback, call, Skype, chat, and text –all that before 10AM. 

Our lives force us to multi-task and you know what?  We suck at multi-tasking.  Every single day, it seems like there is more to do, more to achieve, more to delete, more to save, more to hibernate… Multi-tasking divides focus, eliminates necessary time, drives failure, and cheats everything.  I used to say I was the queen of multi-tasking, used to say that.   While I can keep many plates spinning, I am not forcing the spin on more than one at a time.  The batter’s circle is always loaded in my brain, but I know there can only be one player in the batter’s box at any given time.

The lessons of life are continual and it is never easy to admit when you have been unsuccessful or when a miscalculation led to loss.  Failure can be a tough lesson, but it is a lesson.  And one we must all live.  I suppose there are those who were born under a lucky star, who have never experienced hunger, metaphorical or physical. Whose desires have all been fulfilled.  Whose grade point average hovered at 4.0.  Whose jobs were always secure. Whose parents stayed together.  Whose house never flooded.  Whose life never tottered.  But that wasn’t and isn’t me. 

Taking a swing requires taking a chance.  There is a risk you may miss the ball, but it is an absolute truth that you will never hit it if you don’t take that swing.  A calculated risk?  Is there such a thing? Do you ever truly know that risk?  Can you ever really predict the prospective loss?  Chance, fortuitousness, opportunity.  Calculations often fail.  It’s like predicting the weather.  If I’d waited for the sun to shine before I decided to play ball, I’d still be on deck. 

Risk *  Motivate * Center * Balance * Focus * Act

Success - The six-edged sword.

by rayannethorn