12th Dec 2006

It’s often quoted that winners never quit, and quitters never win. In reality, it just looks like that. It’s just that the winners don’t compete if they are not ready. The serial winners will tell you just how hard it is to win. But if you’re winning all the time, perhaps it comes a little easier when you have all the attributes. After all, all you have to do is beat the best of the losers.

The big trick is knowing when to quit for the day/week/month and when to pick things up again. That’s not an easy thing to do with all of the outside influences that press upon us all the time.

And that brings me to advertising. Not that I see much of it these days, post giving up normal TV.  And by TV I mean the old box.

Advertising is all about what we do with out elusive spare time with all of the wonderful products our jobs provide for. I see adverts for pills that will allow us to work through the pain. But never adverts about how to get you job done, and get out on time.

To do that would be a bad thing. What happens in offices and factories is secretive. Bad practice and bad habits will be repeated everywhere. At the same time, company workers will be told how valued they are, and that the company is the people. These people are respected for their hard work and their sacrifices. And sacrifice means working free overtime, and time away from their free time.

I suppose, life is tough. This isn’t really a new insight. It’s always been tough.

The difference from the old days is that we will be here tomorrow, and the day after, because life is safer. There are many dangers that are mitigated by medical advancements giving us the problem of what to do tomorrow, and for decades after that. So, if we make it through the early years, and the tricky suicide years, life can be great. We can work, enjoy wonderful middle age with all the toys we can afford, then sit on cruise ships in retirement until we die.

The big problem is how hard to work in order to get to the later wonder years. Do we work really hard and burn up our younger years, or risk having a good time?

One thing is for sure. Pushing hard all the time is bad for our health and something has to give. If we don’t push enough, we might end up with nothing. So, we must push hard, for our companies can waste out precious time resource, whilst at the same time watching out skills slowly become obsolete, because we don’t have time to work play and study. I give up! But not for long. Otherwise, I might fall off the treadmill and never get back on.

In short – do what you need to do to keep you happy, and just enough to keep your bosses happy. However, on some occasions I’m my own boss for the things I want to do, and neither of us are happy!

Be happy with what you have. Enjoy the moment, and remember that there’s always tomorrow.

12 Dec 2016