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September 09, 2006
Back from the Edge
Funny how a little thing like a cold can completely unhorse you, but there's an important lesson there: it's the little things, the things you can't possibly plan for, that make the difference.
Take D-Day, for example. It was the speed of an Atlantic storm. Had it moved a bit faster and the invasion at Normandy would have been postponed. A bit slower, and the Nazis standing watch might have suspected that--to borrow a phrase--"today's the day." But the weather was just bad enough to be good.
Or consider your last job search. What was it, exactly, that allowed you to make the connection with your current role? A brilliant ad campaign? An inspiring message? Or something a bit more random , like learning over coctails and war stories about two-year-olds with colds (more about that in a moment) that the job of your dreams was there for the taking?
It's the little things, the random coincidences of life that give it shape and interest. But, as Confucius cautions, the flip side of this is that little things are actually the biggest things: "it is not the mountain before you, but the pebble in your shoe, that slows your progress."*
Point taken. Consider, as an illustration, my cold.
The very special gift of a toddler, it came at about the worst possible time. (Always happens.) During this last while, my group has been woking frantically--but on schedule--to complete a large research project for one client with an in-person presentation, to finalize another key presentation for a brand launch at another client, and so on. In addition, there was a bit of news about TMP Worldwide as well as all the ordinary work that goes in to work.
I'm sure there's a point to be made about all of this, but making it would defeat the purpose of the point I'm not making. So I'll end with a hearty welcome back to my blog.
*Note: like most sayings attributed to venerable figures from antiquity, this may or may not be from any particular source. Don't care for Confucius? Shakespeare's fine. So is Aristotle.
Posted by davidkippen at September 9, 2006 01:47 PM