Reading the Rules

Ok, Tim you lost me here. Not that I didn't understand what you were saying, of course that was clear, but that I apparently have ingested so much coffee in my life that I can't make sense out of rules when I read them. My eyeballs just bounce. (Guess what...Tim even takes care of me here in a few more pages...but we're not there yet)

Trial and error is not so cheap, and that little experiment I did with Lucent stock about ten years ago really can't be salvaged. You're right. You're one hundred percent right.

I said I would follow the instructions word for word. I think I already may have already goofed up. Since I am my only reader at this point (blog is not live, that's my excuse), I don't have to fess everything. Yet.

OK so I have a hard time reading rules. I can read the book. Page 30 starts explaining the traditional rules of the grown-up (to distinguish from the "adult") lifestyle -- and differentiating.

My brain really began spinning on "Emphasize Strengths, Don't Fix Weaknesses". What a great flipping idea! Yes, when I'm cleaning or coding, I do look for the negatives, and remove them. But I'm never going to be as shiny clean as the kitchen counter or even any of my (not necessarily sparkling) software. I'm me. Yay. (Group-of-one group hug).

Since I am in the resume market, selling the strengths really seems like it's going to make a lot more powerful and positive impact than, um, noting that I am not the best Java programmer or statistician in the world. I'm not. Never will be, don't want to be. I want to be good enough at those skills.

Besides even though those skills always show up on job requirements, they're not really what makes a person successful at a job. I show up (a lot of the time), I get along with my coworkers (most of the time), I learn deeply the problem space, I can do a standup routine in front of customers at a moment's notice and look reasonable, and I care. Oh yea, and I can code in couple of languages and use a bunch of software engineering tools and practices. Blah blah blah.

Leave the resume market. Real life. What are my strengths? I am interested in the world and traveling, I am smart enough, I can read some situations pretty well ... I have a great kid, a prime-plus mortgage, reasonable health, and a social worker who thinks I am competent enough to adopt again.

Ah, but wait -- I also have Tim Ferriss' book. BWAHAHAHA...