Oh my goodness, the browser has filled up with tabs quickly. It’s time to read ‘em through, write ‘em up, and close ‘em out in a recurring feature on Vox Pop that we lovingly refer to as… THE WUNDERKAMMER.
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Harvesting sunflowers in January is not normal. In fact, even in my parent’s well-traveled farming community running combines in several feet of snow was new territory. Harvester cabs are designed to keep the operator comfortable in the sweltering afternoons of July and August – they’re ill equipped to maintain temperatures in sub-zero weather. The snow hides the large gopher holes that can severely damage an axle. External repairs meant possible frostbite from omnipresent Dakota winds. Finally, the ridiculously long harvest was preventing my parents from coming to see their new Granddaughter, much to my selfish frustration. “But Mom,” I asked during one weekend phone conversation, “Why? Why not just cut your losses and try again next year?”
“Well,” she replied, “your father says it seems silly to leave $10,000 in the field just because its inconvenient“.
The timing will never be perfect. The right alignment of blue moons and serendipitous chance rarely happens. To pine threatens to waste a life instead of creating the one we want. Its a fact of life that my father knows and I’m still learning.
The past several weeks have been incredibly challenging. As I detailed in the The Hollywood Model my firm, Vox Pop Design, has a unique organizational model. Its set up to provide the maximum amount of flexibility at affordable rates. The dynamic nature requires a high degree of communication and coordination – arguably more than a conventional shop. This management of distributed, “free range” talent comes at a high time cost. And the rash of recent opportunity has strained the model to an uncomfortable degree. Its a situation where I’ve caught myself holding back on new initiatives more than I’d like – because I’m too busy, or I’m too tired, or the timing isn’t perfect.
I’ve seen much hand wringing about whether now is a good time to start a business. People loudly contemplate, as if the sound of their voice will embolden them, if they should change jobs. Starting a family, traveling to a foreign country, embracing new education – all are on hold because tomorrow may be a more comfortable transition. We’ve embraced our uncertainty and excuse the toil of working toward something better till later.
This weekend, I’m considering what I’ve been putting off. I’m coming to terms that the timing will never be perfect. I want to stop gaming forces beyond my control for a perfect synchronicity that doesn’t exist. By doing so the true risk/reward is presenting itself, unencumbered by the fears of today. And now the work begins anew.
What have you been waiting for? If you disregard some kind of romanticized time frame, do things change? How so?
Continue Reading...Craigslist is a site that allows anyone to post free classifieds. It also has RSS feeds for its various sections allowing for asynchronous polling and mashups of various category data. One of those categories is computer gigs. Despite long ago having time to entertain such work evaporate under the shine of existing clients (a renewable resource btw) I continue to follow – because of the absurdity.
Amongst other legitimate offers (install a new hard-drive, tutor on excel) about once a week an entrepreneur offers what I’ve come to call the Equity Special:
‘New Puppet’ by NickStone333
In other words – I’ve got an idea that nobody else thinks is worth doing, I’m too paranoid to have gotten feedback on it from anyone who may help, my personal network is anemic so I’ve resorted to a free classified ad, you’ll endure the upfront costs for murky future reward, and I have nothing to entice you but your own sense of greed. Finally, this morning somebody distilled the true sentiment of the Equity Special into its truest form:
Puppet Wanted To Do My Bidding
I’ve devised a devious plan of stunning brilliance that’s astounding in its intricacies and require the services of a loyal sycophant to execute it properly. To apply, please submit an essay of 250 words or less extolling your qualifications to be designated as my compliant minion.This scheme does not involve any illegal activities nor is it sexual in nature. Oh, and it doesn’t pay anything either.
Sadly, this post has since been deleted while other, more obtuse versions of the Equity Special remain up.
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