The Orchards of Commerce
If our natural tendency is to relentlessly consume everything around us, then there is an inherent need to provide all of those consumable goods. Honest people work way too hard for way too little every single day so that we may clutter our existence with all of those really important objects and services that fulfill our very important lives. Like food, water, energy, shelter and medicine. Like reality television, freshly manicured nails, beautiful new breasts and little plastic beads in every color of the rainbow strung together by thread.
In your community college, Introduction to Business class, instructors do not teach the "low hanging fruit" theory and how that phrase is a metaphor for expendable assets...also known as employees. Sure, they teach you the basics of economics, the concepts of supply versus demand, and so on. It should be a matter of common sense when a place of business is spending more than it is making, the fruit that is ripe for picking is pulled from the branch so that the other fruit get the nutrients they deserve. If this pruning is neglected, the entire tree stands to fall...so to speak.
A certain lime tree comes to mind...we all know that story's tragic ending.
Giving your all, all of the time, is fairly unrealistic. I see people at my place of business that could be categorized as one-hundred percenters...but this type of employee's torrid pace just can not be sustainable over the long haul. Some give 50% effort 100% of the time and then there are those that give 100% effort 50% of the time. I'm no mathmagician, but those numbers seem to have an equivalent sum...yet the two types of employees are not alike in any way. If I had to choose, I'd prefer 75% effort 75% of the time and this still adds up to the same number.
All of that being said, there is something to be said for momentum.
If we allow ourselves to imagine our actions in terms of physics, which seems fairly reasonable, the 100% effort 100% of the time will likely have to abide by the law that states what goes up, must come down. So we will not explore that unhealthy model.
The other physical law worth considering states that an object in motion, tends to stay in motion. The inverse is also quite valid.
Given these concepts, something that is moving 100% of the time seems to be the most ideal as momentum never really stalls out...but show me an employee that is not distracted enough to take a short break from time to time and I'll show you average output...adequate results, certainly, but nothing to put on the mantle. Perhaps 75% effort 75% of the time doesn't tell the entire story. What might be occurring in the remaining 25% of the time? A nap? Reading an article not directly related to a work project? Sending a text message to a BFF?
How that remaining 25% of time is spent probably dictates how low on the branch an employee hangs. Perhaps this 75 percenter likes to jazz their hands 25% of the time. We're all well aware that only good can come from that. Perhaps during that 25% of time they offer 100% effort...as mentioned, they give 75%, 75% of the time, that does not necessarily mean that 25% of the time is spent sloughing off. Maybe 10% of that time is spent at 100% effort while 15% is spent hand jazzing. The endless variables are mind boggling.
Business 101 may discuss the pros and cons of varying degrees of quantity versus quality...what they will not tell you is that every person needs to work hard, they need to focus, they need to make themselves as relevant as humanly possible so that when harvest time comes they are not ripe for the picking...however, all of this needs to be balanced with distraction...distractions can lead to very important discoveries. A defocussed brain yields creative results...so long as the mind can be disciplined well enough to know when to buckle down, roll up those sleeves, and pull up those boot straps. Find a convincing argument for your relevance. Stake your claim on importance.
When I stated in a prior entry that "we...are...so...very...important" the ellipses denoted sarcasm, inferring that relevance and importance were a mirage. Rethinking this thought process, who cares if we're hallucinating? After all, the mind does not can not and will not know the difference between real and imagined. It is vital to be productive, to contribute and to build forward momentum. We can't all be farmers and doctors but that doesn't mean we have nothing to offer society. We could decide to do nothing at all, but then we turn into Pops and walk the streets, invisible, like a ghost. Perhaps we actually are...so...very...important. Those ellipses denote emphasis rather than sarcasm. I assume you noticed the difference.
Ripening is inevitable. All fruit will have its plucking day come eventually. If you're going to get picked, you may as well be one of the fruit that gets juiced for a fresh batch of lemonade. The orchard will one day cease to produce. We will consume everything in sight like parasites. This is our regrettable tendency. In the meantime, pretend the world depends on your contribution, most of the time.
During those other times, find a beach ball. Play hide and seek. Donate blood. Make lemonade. Jazz your hands. These are but a few options available. There is no excuse not to contribute. But if Jazz Hands have taught us anything, it's that we must embrace the art of distraction to keep perspective and balance within our grasp.
Jazz those hands. Embrace your illusion of relevance and hone your distraction skills. Otherwise you may find yourself at the bottom of the bushel come harvest.
Today's Jazz Hands had inertia. Day one-hundred and forty-two complete.
When I stated in a prior entry that "we...are...so...very...important" the ellipses denoted sarcasm, inferring that relevance and importance were a mirage. Rethinking this thought process, who cares if we're hallucinating? After all, the mind does not can not and will not know the difference between real and imagined. It is vital to be productive, to contribute and to build forward momentum. We can't all be farmers and doctors but that doesn't mean we have nothing to offer society. We could decide to do nothing at all, but then we turn into Pops and walk the streets, invisible, like a ghost. Perhaps we actually are...so...very...important. Those ellipses denote emphasis rather than sarcasm. I assume you noticed the difference.
Ripening is inevitable. All fruit will have its plucking day come eventually. If you're going to get picked, you may as well be one of the fruit that gets juiced for a fresh batch of lemonade. The orchard will one day cease to produce. We will consume everything in sight like parasites. This is our regrettable tendency. In the meantime, pretend the world depends on your contribution, most of the time.
During those other times, find a beach ball. Play hide and seek. Donate blood. Make lemonade. Jazz your hands. These are but a few options available. There is no excuse not to contribute. But if Jazz Hands have taught us anything, it's that we must embrace the art of distraction to keep perspective and balance within our grasp.
Jazz those hands. Embrace your illusion of relevance and hone your distraction skills. Otherwise you may find yourself at the bottom of the bushel come harvest.
Today's Jazz Hands had inertia. Day one-hundred and forty-two complete.
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