Bears Repeating

From Investor's Business Daily.

HOW YOU THINK IS EVERYTHING

Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of a negative environment.

DECIDE UPON YOUR TRUE DREAMS AND GOALS

Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

TAKE ACTION

Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started. Just do it.

NEVER STOP LEARNING

Go back to school or read books. Get ` training and acquire skills.

BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD

Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

LEARN TO ANALYZE DETAILS

Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

FOCUS YOUR TIME AND MONEY

Don't let other people or things distract you.

DON'T BE AFRAID TO INNOVATE; BE DIFFERENT

Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

DEAL AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEOPLE EFFECTIVELY

No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

BE HONEST AND DEPENDABLE; TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Otherwise, Nos. 1-9 won't matter.

Disciplined Action

Isn't it weird that weight loss and obesity are such a national obsession? I personally struggle every day with overeating and gaining weight. I know that flies in the face of my image of being "rough, tough, hard to bluff, and damn good looking".... but it's true.
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Probably for the first time in history, we are not preoccupied with getting enough food. We are obsessed with finding ways to keep from eating too much!!! I suppose this is one of those good problems to have.
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All achievement comes from discipline.... taking a course of action and maintaining the discipline to stay the course.
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Getting into shape and losing weight is the most obvious example.
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Business success requires that you identify what you should be doing, and what you shouldn't be doing and continually redirect yourself to take consistent and coordinated actions.
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Better said than done.
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There are so many diversions, and uncertainties that interfere with your ability to take concerted, direct action. Basic lazyness and procrastination lie in between the diversions and uncertainties. Also time constraints and conflicting interests become deterents to disciplined action.
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No wonder it is so hard to lose weight... or succeed in business.

From Good to Great

Do yourself a favor and check JimCollins.com. He is a Stanford professor who wrote "From Good to Great" which I will read as soon as possible.

He asks three fundamental questions.

1) What are you deeply passionate about?
2) What are you are genetically encoded for -- what activities do you feel just "made to do"?
3) What makes economic sense -- what can you make a living at?

If you can come to the brutally honest answers to these questions, and discipline yourself to adjust your actions to work in concert with them, you can achieve greatness. At the very least, you could be happier at your everyday work.

Pats Beat SD Chargers

Phew! Patriots grit it out. Great competitive game 24-21. Hard hitting, grinding football. Not pretty in the vintage Patriots style.
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On to Indianapolis and Peyton Manning again in the AFC Chamionship Game next Sunday. Good Stuff.

Looking Back, Thinking Ahead

Some nice 1900 vintage Marblehead Neck Postcards.

Good fishing for Blues and Bass here.

I'd like to get the Herreshoff Tender out working these rocks this summer.

Balzac Discovered

My apologies to Mike Nestor and Tyler Gill. I was so sure that one of those two were hiding under false moniker of "Balzac". But Balzac recently came forward and identified himself.
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I can't reveal his identity. If he were to be known to be corresponding with Nanepashemet, the retribution from his peers and colleagues would be swift and deadly.
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I simply respect the fact that he mustered the fortitude to unmask his burdensome secret identity. A true profile in courage.
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Once again.... Mike and Tyler.... I am sincerely sorry. But then again, both of you are capable of saying the same stupid shit as the real Balzac. So I don't feel that bad.

Waiting Patiently

I've had my book proposal out for about two weeks now.
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No response.
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How do they expect me to help millions of peeps in need if I can't get one freaking book published??? Do these literary agents realize that they are delaying the advance of culture in our society??? Do they realize that people's livelyhoods and well being depend on this book being published? How do they live with themselves??
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Looks like I might need some divine intervention. I can't leave something this important in the hands of fallible humans.

Logo Update

I found a 14" round clock in the garage that I had made out of 2x6 hemlock about 30 years ago, so I used that for the sun part of the logo. The rays were cut from a 2x6 clear piece of spruce stock that I was saving to make spars with.
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At Home Depot, I picked up a 12 MM piece of poplar plywood that will be painted white and used as a backdrop for the logo. Primed everything with Rustoleum white primer and I will paint and install tomorrow.
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Rockett cut down the four spruce trees for the Sundance parking lot on Friday. It's too bad, they were over twenty five years old, but I have to deal with this rediculous off street parking requirement.
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In the meantime, Joanne has been wonderful to live with in response to Michael's relocation to Washington, DC. This will be an interesting transition.

Tuna Fish and Ginger Ale

Some things are made for each other. The best example is tuna fish sandwiches and ginger ale. Milk and tuna, coke and tuna... it's just not the same.

I'm sure you wise asses will come up with some other lewd combos. This is just a simple observation. Why do you have to drag everything into the gutter? Perverts!

Sundance Logo Sign

I have to dig out the template of the Sundance sun that I used for the first building and build another one for the new site. Now do you see why you should save everything? You never know when you have to build a new sun logo.

I'm thinking that I can change the method a little bit and make the sign logo out of birch plywood which will be painted, rather than the redwood that I edge glued last time. It will go faster and look just as good from the street.

Off to Home Depot.

Stupid Bureaucrats

Bureaucracies are the boon of society. So much effort wasted. So much energy diverted into insincere and untruthful activity.

Can there be organization without the decay of bureaucratic behavior? Can people be tasked to act in keeping with truthful and forward moving endeavor? Bureaucracy is the manifestation of conflicting self interest. It rewards mediocrity and despises truthful and inspirational acts.

The dedicated bureaucrats are denizens of purgatory. They are not content to see anyone expose their inadequacies by talented and forward moving action.

Happy and Sad

Mike heads to Washington DC to begin working with Nathaniel at Bearingpoint. We're really happy and pretty sad.