The QLog

The Last Lecture

"We can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." - Randy Pausch

Former Disney Imagineer and Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch is an inspiring man at age 47. He is also dying from pancreatic cancer but you would not know from his enthusiasm for life. On September 18, 2007 he gave his 'last lecture' to a packed audience at McConomy Auditorium. Also, more recently, his new book The Last Lecture, was published and I do recommend it. However, I suggest that watching the original lecture should be mandetory for just about every adult at any age!

As someone who strives to enable the goals of others, I promise that if you choose to spend the full 76 minutes viewing this very enjoyable lecture, you will be well rewarded. It will help focus your thinking on what should be most important for your life: striving to acheive your dreams!

A Reason to Consume Smart: The Island of Garbage

Productivity, in part, is about the efficient use of time, energy, and resources. However, as a society, many believe that any solution which is 'faster and cheaper' for a single person is the best one. I would argue that true productivity for an individual, firm, or the planet as a whole needs to embrace a systems approach which accounts for long-term impacts and is more 'global' to integrate the various parts. Otherwise, the real costs are not considered.

Due to the nature of ocean currents and the waste disposal habits of modern Homo sapiens, a very large island of plastic garbage exists within the Pacific. In fact, this floating heap of trash is visible from space. Here it is within Google Maps. Clearly, systems thinking with a time horizon extending far into the future is currently lacking for our world.

I am not advocating that everyone should stop using plastic; however, I would suggest that smart consumerism includes making responsible choices. Vote with your dollars when plastic is concerned (e.g. small bottles, shopping bags, single-item wrappers, and many other packages). There is currently too much waste. Of course, if the costs of oil continue to rise (especially if we have really crossed Hubble's Peak), then Adam Smith's invisible hand might solve this problem with market forces as firms will seek other remedies.

To learn more about this island of trash, I've embedded this clip from an web documentary called Garbage Island (note: this was produced by VBS, an online broadcast network, not PBS...and therefore, it does contain some adult language).

50/5 Challenge

I have encouraged friends, family, and clients (and some strangers) to consider crafting the following:

A. A Life List of 101 Goals that includes goals for 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, (and maybe 50) year time horizons.

B. A Purpose Statement to explain the reason one has for waking up everyday (a good starting point is to consider what you would like people to say about you...both now and 100 years after you have died).

However, a few people have told me that they have have a hard time with both of these activities. Here is an exercise that can help.

Today, you are given both "the good news" and "the bad news".

1. While having breakfast with your accountant, you discover that your net worth has suddenly increased, due to all your efforts, to $50 million dollars!

2. However, after lunch, during a routine doctor visit, you discover that you only have 5 years to live. These will be healthy years until the very last day; however, there is no cure or treatment.

This is the 50/5 Challenge. Map out how you would spend your time for the next five years. Go into detail. Do not just say "travel the world". Where would you go? Why? With who? What would you do there? What else?

If you have a problem with goal setting, this may help you gain some insight into what you really would like to try, see, experience, be, or have before you really do enter into your last five years of your life.   

Fifty Year Plan

If you have completed your five year plan, I encourage to craft a 50-Year Plan! Expand your time horizon for half a century and plan out all you would like to be, do, have, learn, see, and experience.

What if you are already 80 years old? Then consider what legacies you would like to leave behind and how could you help\influence\impact your family, friends, community, or the world-at-large in fifty years from beyond the grave.

Of course, this plan is subject to change as the world changes; nevertheless, course corrections are easiest when you are already have your bearings and are heading in a single direction.

A rough outline can be completed within a few hours. A superior Fifty Year Plan will take several weeks to assemble as it will involve personal brainstorming, quite reflection, critical thinking, and strategic planning.

Know-What

"There is one quality more important than "know-how" and we cannot accuse the United States of any undue amount of it.  This is "know-what" by which we determine not only how to accomplish our purposes, but what our purposes are to be." - Norbert Wiener (the founder of the interdisciplinary field of Cybernetics), The Human Use of Human Beings, 1954

Avoid the 7 + 1 Blunders of the World

Shortly before Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, have gave his grandson Arun Gandhi a short list of errors to avoid. Below is the wisdom he shared with him on their last afternoon together:

The Seven Blunders of the World 
1. Wealth without work
2. Pleasure without conscience
3. Knowledge without character
4. Commerce without morality
5. Science without humanity
6. Worship without sacrifice
7. Politics without principle

After years of reflecting on his grandfather's life and work, Arun Gandhi added an eighth blunder:

8. Rights without responsibilities.

Diet Day and 14 More Years!

If weight loss or fitness is a goal for 2008, then these two items might interest you.

1. National Diet Day is the Second Tuesday of January (today). No, this is not a day to pick a fad diet. Instead, it is recommended that you choose a long-term plan and adopt healthy lifestyle habits that includes a smart diet that you can sustain for many years.

2. The PLoS Medicine, a peer-reviewed open access journal, published a new study today that concluded that four very basic and easy behaviors could add as many as 14 years to one's lifespan. The evidence came from the EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study which had a large data set of 20,244 men and women.

The four longevity lifestyle behaviors are:

• not smoking
• being physically active
• moderate alcohol intake
• eating at least five vegetable servings a day

If you are looking for some lifestyle habits to improve your life, these are obviously a good four to adopt today.

Here is the download citation for the full article:

Combined Impact of Health Behaviours and Mortality in Men and Women: The EPIC-Norfolk Prospective Population Study Khaw KT, Wareham N, Bingham S, Welch A, Luben R, et al. PLoS Medicine Vol. 5, No. 1, e12 doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050012

Here is the link to the PLoS editorial on the article:

From Theory to Practice: Translating Research into Health Outcomes The PLoS Medicine Editors PLoS Medicine Vol. 5, No. 1, e15 doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050015

T.A.R.G.E.T. Goals Part 2

Check your current 2008 goals for each of these T.A.R.G.E.T characteristics:
   
Tangible: You can touch, see, hear, taste, or smell things that are tangible. They are concrete and this makes observations possible. The main benefit of having a tangible goal is that it is easily measured at any time, so progress can be tracked.

Achievable: Choose annual goals that are reasonable for your skill level and can be completed within 365 days. If you think you can, you can! However, if the goal just seems impossible, then the goal should be broken into smaller chunks over a few years or you'll need to become an expert within this domain to achieve it.

Reviewable: If you have tangible goals, this normally is easily done, as long as you have a process to measure progress. Regular inspection is necessary to determine if course corrections are needed. I highly suggest that you build a monthly review schedule into the goal plan itself.
 
Grand: Goals should be big enough to challenge as well as inspire. Human lifespans are short: 120 years, maximum, and most do not make it past 80. If you are going to spend time, talent, and treasure pursuing something, make sure it is an excellent goal, an objective that you consider grand. Focusing one's effort and energy on worthy goals is fun too.

Explicit: Goals need to be clear, exact, and specific. Clarity is key. For example, the goal "I want to earn more money this year" is extremely vague. Technically, if you were paid the exact same annual salary as last year and then I gave you an extra dollar on December 31st, you would have more money and accomplished your objective. Be explicit about what you want, how much, and how often. Detail both qualities and quantities and use the right adverbs and adjectives to describe your vision.

Time-Bound: Procrastination is common; therefore, goals need definite and predetermined deadlines. Ideally, these need should be set at the very beginning of the process. Also, one should be smart and assume that some delays will be encountered over the next 12 months. Do your best to add extra time or a cushion to insure completion by year end. You may grant yourself extensions if absolutely necessary, but try to do this very sparingly and only when conditions beyond your control forced a re-adjustment on the end date.

2008 is Already One Percent Over

Have you completed your goal setting for 2008? If not, I suggest you spend time this weekend working on it.

Why? 4:00 PM today (your local time) marked the passing of 3.67 days of this new year, meaning that only 99% of 2008 remains. WOW. The arrow of time flies fast, so do not delay and set some goals for 2008. 

Tip: one way to start is to consider what three major things you'd like to brag about at the end of December next year. Do some brainstorming an then narrow the best ideas down. Consider the 'what' and 'why' questions first. Once you have defined some goals, you can determine the 'how' and 'when' answers next.

Thanksgiving, Part 1

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. Yes, traditionally, we enjoy a feast of turkey and pumpkin pie, but more important, this holiday represents the one day of the year in modern America which is centered around family and loved ones for the vast majority of the population, regardless of faith, creed, or race.

I encourage you to be thankful in three ways:

1) Think It: Embrace the attitude of gratitude.
2) Say It: Tell as many people as you can how thankful you are that they are part of your life.
3) Do It: Actions always speak louder than words. Show someone you truly care. Also, do not forget those who are less fortunate than yourself: the hungry and the lonely in our society. This is a good day to reflect on your blessing and consider donating time, talent, and treasure to a local charity.