www.creativedestruction.com/blog -> www.creativedestruction.com/blog/
Creative Destruction May 17, 2006 More on discipline In my previous post on discipline, I neglected to mention one key piece of the equation. It isn't like a regular job where you can just quit if you get bored and become interested in something else. Some people regard this as a drawback, because it limits your flexibility and options. I, on the other hand, see this as a feature, rather than a bug. Over the years I haven't really stuck to one thing for very long. Even the professional high-point of my life so far, running C2Net, was something I was engaged in full-time for only two full years. With the serious commitment of joining the Marine Corps, I will not have the flexibility to do this. Furthermore, I've had a great deal of flexibility in my life due to having had early financial success with C2Net. This is generally considered a good thing, but it has led me to stagnation and lack of direction, as noted above. With the ability to live pretty much anywhere and no requirement to work to pay the bills, I have had the freedom to switch from thing to thing at will. Further, this wealth of choice, while generally assumed to be a good thing, could be a negative factor in one's life, it could be argued.
The Paradox of Choice, but the basic thesis is that the greater choices we have in this modern world lead to less happiness, not more. Now I would not of course translate that into a policy prescription that would result in less choices in the marketplace, but from a personal fulfillment and happiness perspective, I realize now that less choice would very likely be good for my happiness and fulfillment. If I live where they tell me and do the job that they tell me to do, I will not have to worry that perhaps I would be happier if I made some different decision, living elsewhere or doing something else. I'll be doing what I'm told and I'll be forced to make the most of it, rather than constantly wondering if I should change my job or living situation to improve my happiness and fulfillment.
Comments May 16, 2006 3) To develop my physical abilities and mental discipline The first half of this reason is obvious -- to develop my physical abilities. The first step of course is training so that I will be selected for OCS, which will be its own reward. This piece isn't really that big of a deal, I have discovered. In starting to run I have realized that I really enjoy it, and I could easily come up with goals that would develop my physical ability better that don't involve joining the Marine Corps. I could quite easily start training for a marathon or triathalon, and in fact the Marine Corps-focused training is a little bit annoying at this point because I figure it would be great fun to start training for a small triathalation or a marathon or something along those lines. But that's not a serious problem, as I figure I can easily get into the marathon or triathalon thing once I am commissioned. The second half of the equation is the important piece, the mental discipline. I have a solid level of mental acuity, but I think that because intellectual/mental activity has come easily over the years, I haven't built up any mental discipline. I have a short attention span and a limited ability to do things which bore me. I am kind of a slob and I don't take the effort to keep my life as "squared away" as I should. To be able to put in the effort to keep my rack and gear squared away even when I am completely exhausted. To be able to stand and stare straight ahead and count the hairs on the back of the neck of the guy in front of me for extended periods.
Comments Racelab When I started my training program, I signed up with a personal trainer, thinking that would help me motivate and improve better than otherwise. That seemed to be going well, as my crunches and pullups were improving, but my running wasn't really getting any better. And it turned out that everything I'd been reading about running contradicted the things that this trainer was telling me to do. This guy said I should focus on getting my 1-mile speed up to six minutes, then focux on extending that out to three miles. Everything I've read though, and every runner I've talked to, has said that I should build up endurance first, then speed. Also, he said I should gain weight and bulk up, but the key to running is not bulk, but lean powerful muscles for endurance rather than pure strength. So I figured that this guy doesn't really know what he's talking about, and I fired him.
Racelab which I'd seen t-shirts from during the recent Ironman Arizona. They seem to know what they are talking about with respect to running. I am signing up with them tomorrow, I will report back how it goes. I'm focusing more on running now than the pullups and crunches, although I am still doing the a Armstrong program for pullups and about 200 crunches per day to get my abs in shape -- but I figure since I improved on that so quickly I can slow down the effort there a little bit and let the running catch up, because I will probably be at max pullups and crunches well before I am even close to max running speed, at this rate.
Comments Forerunner 205 update So I've had a chance to use the Forerunner 205 for a week now, and I really enjoy it. Yesterday I woke up and went out for my run to discover that my nifty GPS wasn't turning on, it was stuck saying 'BATTERY CHARGING COMPLETE' even though it wasn't plugged in. I had to go back home and grab my regular watch to do my workout with. I tried to reset it with all kinds of combinations of keypresses but nothing worked. It clearly wasn't completely broken as I could plug it in to the computer and it would accept info and upload info, but it just wouldn't do anything else. So I went to REI, told them it was broken, and the guy there didn't know what was up, so he gave me a replacement. Unfortunately, I woke up this morning, and I had the same problem! Unfortunately, Garmin tech support wouldn't open for another hour, and I had to go out and run. When I got home I called tech support and after waiting on hold for about forty minutes the tech support guy told me how to reset the device, which worked. Then he told me that I could get a software upgrade on-line, which will hopefully prevent this from happening again. One would think that the reset sequence (Press mode and lap at the same time) would be in the user's manual so I wouldn't have to spend so long on phone to tech support, but that was not the case. Ah well, the problem should be fixed now, so it should be ok.
I picked up a new bicycle today, so I can ride bike on days that I'm not rowing, to build up my cardio-endurance. I bought the cheapest road bike at REI and it was still expensive. Oh well, a better bike will be more pleasant to ride, so it will be worth it I'm sure.
Comments May 10, 2006 This best-selling book really exists I've recently gotten back in touch with an old friend, Srini, who tells me that he has a book that will be released shortly!
Sticker Nation is a book full of the sorts of stickers that have made him famous. They are irreverent and funny, but most of all I enjoy the irony which is right out there up front for everyone to see and enjoy. Note: This book actually exists, according to Srini, so don't go buying tons of copies like you did for my best-selling book that didn't exist, expecting never to have to pay for your order.
Comments May 09, 2006 Forerunner 205 report So I tried out this Garmin Forerunner 205 this morning during my run. I set it up for the workout I wanted to do, and it complained at me when I was going too slow, and it told me when it was time to rest, the whole thing! I got home and uploaded the results to the little program on my PC and it gave me a little map of my pace along the various bits of the run. It's really helpful to keep my pace up when I am getting a bit tired and want to slow down, it is like having someone there next to me telling me to keep up!
Comments May 08, 2006 2) To give something back to my country, which has given me so much In my first post discussing my new plan to apply for a commission, I've already explained reason #1, about having people ...
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