Typically when people talk about free time they are referring to time when they are not working. Technically it's true in that if no one is paying for your time then it is, by definition, free.
In my case, and for many of you, the job was always with me. There were many times when it was all encompassing and I would remind myself and my wife that 'They buy my time.' Boy, did they ever.
I live on 10 acres of land, or at least I will for another week. I mow about 5 acres of it and it typically takes 4 hours or so. I loved it for two reasons.
First, almost every tree and bush has been planted by me. I know what they are, where they are, what they do, and why they do it. I spot small shoots a foot away from the parent, I mow around it, I let it grow. A mowing service would go right over it and I could never stomach the thought.
Second, and more importantly, I now understand that my time on the mower was the closest I ever got to free time. I could just mow and think. Mow and think. Mow and think. Sometimes I would shut the mower off and sit and stare and think. Sit and stare and think. Sit and stare and think.
The only other time I could do much of that was on driving trips but those were so often interrupted by the phone.
Some of you are familiar with the Gallup Strengthsfinder process. I must have taught that stuff to 10, 000 people over the years and I'm not kidding. I think its's very useful.
Gallup has identified 34 personality traits, or strengths, and they use a questionnaire to help you see how the 34 rank for you. They fall into 4 categories: Thinking, Striving, Relating, and Impacting. No surprise that most of my top strengths are in the thinking category. That means my thinking process never stops, it's really just a question of finding the time to process the thinking into something useful. I never had much of that time.
So now I spend a lot of time thinking. I may have an opportunity to do some kind of adult life preparedness course and I think about that one a lot. I think it may suit me, we shall see.
But the point of all this is that yesterday, during the first hour of a return drive to Illinois from Nashville, I came up with a clear concept for the course, a title, and a mechanism I think I can use to help people navigate their way through turmoil. All that happened because I just sat behind the wheel thinking.
Last week Nashville had the biggest snowstorm since 2003. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to go Uber Ken to the max with my 4 wheel drive F150. So I started Ubering at 4am Thursday morning and didn't stop till 12 hours later. I did another 6-7 hours on Friday and more on Saturday. I was Uber-ed out.
I helped a lot of people and derived satisfaction (and money) from it but I realized I do no thinking during Uber driving. It's a job, I have a customer, I'm monitoring the GPS, the app is pinging, etc.
Which brings me back to mowing. I asked my son in law Chris to inquire at his golf course about summer mowing work for me. They might have an opening mid spring. I really want a job like that. More than Uber. More than vitamins. More than the baseball park. I understand now that time on that mower will be some of my most productive thinking time. I would just about do it for free but I don't think I'll tell the guy that. Fairway. Mow. Think. Fairway. Mow. Think.
I wouldn't suggest to any of you that you take my current pathway to more thinking time. I wouldn't have chosen it either. Certainly my thinking processes contributed to my success in my prior life but my prior life also dramatically limited my ability to see how far and in what direction my unfettered thinking process might take me. Now I have that chance and I'm going to take advantage of it.
I know I can do it, I've done it all my life, it's just that I've always done it in an organizational structure. My brain, their structure. Now it's my brain, my structure.
I'm going to think, and I'm going to create things. I just don't know what yet, lol.
There is a simple psychological concept at play here: You must be willing to commit to the What before you know the How.
Get that? Most people are afraid of the risk, the unknown, the possibility of failure. They will not mentally and emotionally commit to something big until they know exactly how it's going to get done. And yet failure to fully commit to the What keeps them from fully committing to the effort to figure out the How. There is a tension that gets created by the gap between the aspiration and its achievement. The tension always gets resolved: either get it done or give it up. Make your choice.
I am fully committed to the What of my thinking and creating. I will inform you of the How as it occurs.
Now where is my mower?
KS
In my case, and for many of you, the job was always with me. There were many times when it was all encompassing and I would remind myself and my wife that 'They buy my time.' Boy, did they ever.
I live on 10 acres of land, or at least I will for another week. I mow about 5 acres of it and it typically takes 4 hours or so. I loved it for two reasons.
First, almost every tree and bush has been planted by me. I know what they are, where they are, what they do, and why they do it. I spot small shoots a foot away from the parent, I mow around it, I let it grow. A mowing service would go right over it and I could never stomach the thought.
Second, and more importantly, I now understand that my time on the mower was the closest I ever got to free time. I could just mow and think. Mow and think. Mow and think. Sometimes I would shut the mower off and sit and stare and think. Sit and stare and think. Sit and stare and think.
The only other time I could do much of that was on driving trips but those were so often interrupted by the phone.
Some of you are familiar with the Gallup Strengthsfinder process. I must have taught that stuff to 10, 000 people over the years and I'm not kidding. I think its's very useful.
Gallup has identified 34 personality traits, or strengths, and they use a questionnaire to help you see how the 34 rank for you. They fall into 4 categories: Thinking, Striving, Relating, and Impacting. No surprise that most of my top strengths are in the thinking category. That means my thinking process never stops, it's really just a question of finding the time to process the thinking into something useful. I never had much of that time.
So now I spend a lot of time thinking. I may have an opportunity to do some kind of adult life preparedness course and I think about that one a lot. I think it may suit me, we shall see.
But the point of all this is that yesterday, during the first hour of a return drive to Illinois from Nashville, I came up with a clear concept for the course, a title, and a mechanism I think I can use to help people navigate their way through turmoil. All that happened because I just sat behind the wheel thinking.
Last week Nashville had the biggest snowstorm since 2003. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to go Uber Ken to the max with my 4 wheel drive F150. So I started Ubering at 4am Thursday morning and didn't stop till 12 hours later. I did another 6-7 hours on Friday and more on Saturday. I was Uber-ed out.
I helped a lot of people and derived satisfaction (and money) from it but I realized I do no thinking during Uber driving. It's a job, I have a customer, I'm monitoring the GPS, the app is pinging, etc.
Which brings me back to mowing. I asked my son in law Chris to inquire at his golf course about summer mowing work for me. They might have an opening mid spring. I really want a job like that. More than Uber. More than vitamins. More than the baseball park. I understand now that time on that mower will be some of my most productive thinking time. I would just about do it for free but I don't think I'll tell the guy that. Fairway. Mow. Think. Fairway. Mow. Think.
I wouldn't suggest to any of you that you take my current pathway to more thinking time. I wouldn't have chosen it either. Certainly my thinking processes contributed to my success in my prior life but my prior life also dramatically limited my ability to see how far and in what direction my unfettered thinking process might take me. Now I have that chance and I'm going to take advantage of it.
I know I can do it, I've done it all my life, it's just that I've always done it in an organizational structure. My brain, their structure. Now it's my brain, my structure.
I'm going to think, and I'm going to create things. I just don't know what yet, lol.
There is a simple psychological concept at play here: You must be willing to commit to the What before you know the How.
Get that? Most people are afraid of the risk, the unknown, the possibility of failure. They will not mentally and emotionally commit to something big until they know exactly how it's going to get done. And yet failure to fully commit to the What keeps them from fully committing to the effort to figure out the How. There is a tension that gets created by the gap between the aspiration and its achievement. The tension always gets resolved: either get it done or give it up. Make your choice.
I am fully committed to the What of my thinking and creating. I will inform you of the How as it occurs.
Now where is my mower?
KS
Craig
ReplyDeleteI am very grateful for your kind words. I remember exactly when you made your decision thought I didn't know some of the details you describe here. I'm glad it has worked out so well for you.
Stay in touch
KS