Good Is The Enemy Of Great

I’ve been reading this book called Good to Great by Jim Collins. It’s about research that was done to determine if there were factors that made companies go from good to great. The book is obviously about how companies go from good to great, but all the same characteristics that these example companies have are applicable individually.

Of the few resounding traits that great companies possessed, one of them was the idea come to be known as the Hedgehog Concept. That is, “a simple, crystalline concept that flows from deep understanding about the intersection of the following three circles” that ask / answer the following questions:

• What can you be the best in the world at (and equally important, what can you not be the best at)?
• What drives your economic engine? 
• What are you deeply passionate about? 

Consider this excerpt:

Suppose you were able to construct a work life that meets the following three tests. First, you are doing work for which you have a genetic or God-given talent, and perhaps you could become one of the best in the world in applying that talent. (“I feel that I was just born to be doing this.”) Second, you are well paid for what you do. (“I get paid to do this? Am I dreaming?”) Third, you are doing work you are passionate about and absolutely love to do, enjoying the actual process for its own sake. (“I look forward to getting up and throwing myself into my daily work, and I really believe in what I’m doing.”) If you could drive toward the intersection of these three circles and translate that intersection into a simple, crystalline concept that guided your life choices, then you’d have a Hedgehog Concept for yourself. 

I reflected on myself and thought, “I have always been good… but will I ever be great?”

Currently, I have 2 possible options in front of me for work if both paths continue to unfold. I’ve recently interviewed at a company (let’s call it “L” for now) for a Tax Manager position. It’s my line of work. I’ve done it for 13 years. It’s my background, and I’m comfortable continuing my career earning a very good salary. I hope to be given an offer to join the company soon.

On the other hand, I was recently introduced to a Community Director here in Houston (at a place we’ll call “WW” for now) by a great friend. WW is looking to open a location close to home in the very near future and are looking for a Community Manager to run the operations. The job is very entrepreneurial and runs the gamut of hiring, firing, making decisions, earning revenue, spending to run the day-to-day, and everything in between. It’s the type of work that I’ve always dreamed about. I always wanted to run my own business, and this is kind of like that opportunity but with the backing of an established organization, so I wouldn’t be going at it alone.

I could continue to be good at something, a career that I started over 13 years ago. Or, I could try something new, love it, and live it.

Is this the breakthrough that my life was looking for? Is this the tipping point where I go from good to great?

No History, No Culture, No Self - KNOW History, KNOW Culture, KNOW Self

I've become a friendlier person. That's one of the changes in my life that I'm happy about.

My Uber and Lyft rides have become more and more interesting with each ride I take. Last night, I was picked up at the airport by a man with an accent, a Lyft driver. It's one of the first things I recognize when I first meet my drivers. Naturally, out of curiosity, I had to ask where he was from. It's been my leading question often these days, and it's a great conversation starter.

His name is Guy, and he told me that he is from Haiti. Quick to draw on my memory banks,  I asked if he speaks French, which I recalled is a major language of Haitians. He does. And then I asked if he was from Port-au Prince, to which he responded that he was from a town on the outskirts with a French sounding name like most other cities, town, and villages in Haiti have. Guy immediately started to break out his historical facts of the Haiti, most of which I had no idea about.

He zoned in on the French colonization / occupation and then on to the revolutionary times. I sensed that he welcomed this conversation and looked for an outlet to let his freedom of speech go. As I complimented him on his spectacular knowledge of history and politics, he, funny enough, mentioned how happy he was to be able to speak to "someone like" me. I asked him who that might be, and he said someone who is curious and engaging in conversation. It made me happy to be the recipient of his knowledge. And it brought back to mind a quote I'd heard many years ago that drove my self-awareness:

"No history, no culture, no self. KNOW History, KNOW culture, KNOW self."

Guy has aspirations of making documentaries about Haiti and Haitians, the history, the politics, and the culture all with the point of enlightening others about the struggles and strife their people have endured over the years. His near-future goal is to save money for a decent camera with which to produce the videos he intends on posting to YouTube. I wished him well on his dreams and hoped to see something come of it in the future.

My conversation with him made me look back at my own history of shyness, of being closed-off, possibly even standoff-ish in my demeanor. But I really am not. Taking a step back and reminding myself of my culture, my education, my knowledge base allowed me to be confident in speaking with others. Opening up has given me comfort in being more friendly towards others and accepting of who they are, as I hope that they accept who I am. I know my self better than I did before. It's taken a few years (34) but at least there is improvement.

I hope to continue to chatting with my ride-share drivers. They've mostly been pleasant, engaging,  and forthcoming with their stories. I admire them for their service and their attitudes.

Do you strike up conversation with your Uber / Lyft drivers? If not, it's not too late to start. (533)

Are you the type of person to chat with your @Uber or @Lyft drivers?

— Jesse Go (@jessereynesgo) October 31, 2017

Standing At The Airport, Waiting For A Train

Today, as I struggle to find something to write about, I decided to have a look back at my old posts in this blog. Doing that was a good reminder to reflect on the past every once in a while.

I realized that I've been blogging for a while, albeit very inconsistently, since 2008. The funny part is that I didn't have my own domain name until 2013, when I registered it with GoDaddy. Although I cannot remember the actual reason for registering this domain, I'm sure it had something to do with wanting to brand myself and not be a subdomain of a generic website (ie. blogspot). And I probably wanted to keep up with the times and the social / internet evolution. Over the years, I've registered a number of domains with the hope of conjuring up some kind of business or idea to make use of the outlet. Nothing major has come out of any of them yet.

Anyway, some of the content I had in the past was fairly interesting. I wrote with such passion about some things and other entries were merely updates about myself. Then there was a phase where I wouldn't write about myself and concentrated on topics of interest (or so I thought they were. Who knows what others thought?). And I actually had an interactive audience back then. I wonder where they are now?

I also used to follow a number of blogs in the past, many of them friends. When I tried to peer into those websites this morning, I found that many of them no longer exist. And those that were still present are currently inactive, meaning they haven't posted in months or years. I recall that the people I subscribed to were interesting writers whose content and writing style kept me interested. I wonder where they are now? I'm sure they still lead active, fun lifestyles but lack the time to share through writing. Or maybe they still write, but microblog through Twitter or FaceBook or Instagram, which I do too (man, I'm shameless).

Over the years, I can see that my writing has improved and my interests have evolved. The one thing that has not changed about me is that I constantly look to learn something new. And in that, I believe I'm successful. My first post was about "success" and that it is a journey, not a destination. So here's to the continuation of my journey - that I may navigate the twists and turns of life as well as the land, air, and sea around the world in a safe and enlightening way, to learn as much as possible from others, and to share the insights I have accumulated along the way.

Transition Tuesday: Changes to Make After Spending Life Overseas

Life's a beach...at least it should be. 

When you have a lot of time on your hands it's easy to make lists. This one is for improvement. I want to improve the way I live my life, and this is how I will do that.

• Read more books. There's plenty of information, perspectives, insights, and opinions out there to learn from. And books are the platform. Despite the movement to e-readers and text available online, I still prefer the hardcover/paperback versions of books.
  
• Maintain weight. You've read this from me before. But this time it's different. At 291lbs before we left, I struggled. My goal is to weigh-in at under 250lbs going forward. My best was 109kg (238lbs) while we were in South Africa. But I don't know how feasible that is to maintain. But I am pretty sure I can swing under 250lbs from now on. How will I do that?
• Coffee - I started to drink coffee because it will boost my metabolism and help me move my bowels better. 
• Drink plenty of water. While we were abroad, I drank something like 3-4 liters of water per day. We were doing a lot of walking and sweating in the heat so I needed it. 
• Eat fruits and anything with natural sugars in the mornings to give them a full day to digest, break down, and burn off. 
• Keep the carbs low unless I know I will need the energy for an intense workout or other strenuous exercise (hiking, rowing, climbing, etc.). Also, eating them for lunch will give them some time to digest. 
• Increase my protein intake. This should include more fish, poultry, and lean meats. Finding and consuming alternative protein sources (like soy, nuts, yogurt and other dairy, etc.) is key to keeping my diet interesting and varied. 
• Eat more vegetables. I was not a fan so much of eating veggies. I mean, I would do it but not often. Our time abroad has given me such a better appreciation for clean, organic, vegetables. In so many places around the world vegetables are the main dish. Meats and other foods are a treat.
• We recently started our own little organic herb garden. We will have a variety of mints, parsley, and cilantro/coriander. Will keep you posted on how our garden grows. 
• Try to eat more organic, non-processed food. It's hard. And it's expensive. But to the extent possible, we will make it happen. 
• Add chili peppers to my food to make it spicy! This will keep my food interesting and may also help with metabolism and limiting the amount of intake.
• Workout at the gym 3-4 times per week, even if it means going to work late or leaving work early. Because at the very heart of it all, I always blamed the lack of time to go to the gym on my work schedule. But like my boss has always said, it's not worth dying for. So I'm going to the gym, so I won't die at work.
  
• Reduce daily stress. My former manager always told me that we have to live one day at a time, not to let the challenges of work or life make you crazy. I always listened to him and tried to not let things bother me, but it took this trip to really change my mind. One day at a time, one thing at a time.
  
• Invest. Time, money, effort. We did a lot of thinking, and our conclusion was that we need to establish ways to make our own lives better and build a foundation for our future child(ren). So we're going to invest in property. A timeline was made and the hope is to stick to it as closely as possible to maximize the future benefit. We contemplated if it should be foreign property or domestic, and we narrowed it down to select cities. Now it's just a matter of executing.
  
• Clean up. There are plenty of items, tasks, and thoughts that are unnecessary in our lives. The goal is to trim off what we don't need. If it occupies space and is never used, discard it. If the to-do can be lived without, then forego it. If the idea or thought causes stress, then try to turn it into a positive and learn from it. There are other mountains to climb and conquer. The goal is to see the top and look down on what has been accomplished, and how can that be fun if you're bogged down with the useless?