Daily Mood Quote
Day 224 – December 16, 2011
Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no mater how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you're generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make.
~Donald Trump
I am really not a big fan of Donald Trump, especially politically, or in his recent feud with Rosie O'Donnell. It seems as if it is all showmanship and not much substance. But, as I have often stated, I report the truth, no matter it's source. In this particular case, Mr. Trump's observations about experience and when to pull back on the reigns make good sense.
So, it seems to me that he is absolutely right about listening to your gut. Providing your gut has been properly trained and educated. It's that little voice inside that is supposed to keep us from making big errors in our lives and help us along the way. But so many, so often, ignore it and plow ahead in spite of the warnings. It's usually when they believe that they are going to get something for little, or nothing. Even though they know better “somewhere inside.” Another thing about Mr. Trump's quote that I like is that you are usually better off sticking with things you know. The great thing about our world and the internet is that if you really want to learn something, to “know it,” you can. That however, requires an investment of time, energy, and in many cases much due diligence to get the “hang of it.” And finally, sometimes it is better to just walk away from situations that clash with those first two points. If your gut tells you no, and your experience and education point in a different direction than where the “investment”( time, energy, romance, whatever) is going, it is better by far to simply “put your foot down” and say in the words of Mr. Spock (played by Zachary Quinto) in the movie by J.J. Abrams Star Trek , “Not particularly, not this time.” Not much else to say about this quote, but a lot to think about.
“I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing.”
~Warren Buffet
The hardest part about life can be those in the middle times, where inspiration vanishes and leaves us working with just “what we know,” hoping the little light inside our heads comes back on sometime soon. I believe that everybody has different skills and gifts, but so often they go nowhere without inspiration. People can attribute inspiration to a higher power, or to background (subconscious) processing, that's not the point here (perhaps it is the subject of another blog). The point is that inspiration is a rare an wonderful thing, which can and often does yield fantastic results. We see this in our daily lives and in industry where genuine innovation and positive change are such rare “blips on the radar.” It rightfully should be embraced...but timing also counts, per Mr. Trump's observations. Few if any of us can generate a constant flowing stream of inspired anything, so its best to be ready for the right idea, right time. Even noted innovators like Steve Jobs put out some clunkers occasionally, because an idea may be genius, but the timing isn't right. Does anyone remember “The Newton” PDA, the first tablet platform from Apple? Sometimes even great ideas need to wait awhile, incubate and allow enough time to be relevant. Now there are tablets, tablets everywhere!
The “in the middle times” are great opportunities to prepare for the next inspired moment, by gaining patience, education, experience and the wisdom to recognize not only the “what,” but the “when.” I suspect that when Mr. Buffet says he's “not doing a damn thing,” he's doing a lot more than sitting like a stump staring off into space (although sometimes that's a good thing too). Life gives us times to gain strength and gather nutrients, both physical and spiritual and times to use those nutrients to grow though positive inspired effort. Experience gives us the wisdom to know when to do which.
How will you view your “gut feeling” today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
