What Would you Give up to Get Back?

"To center is to relax the tight fist of clinging. Into the open hand falls freedom." [Thomas Crum, Journey to Center]

For Hugh, it was Twitter. He enjoyed it, he was very popular, and he was good at it, but it was too easy - and it sapped away time and creativity that he can now invest in his book project.

For Scoble, it's turning off the Internet. Something about being bored causes us to be more productive, he wrote. I would say that doing one thing at a time makes us more focused on the task at hand so we get it done faster. Distractions indulge the procrastinator in us.

For your brand, it's not trying to be all things to all people. Instead, being more focused on the personality it already has and potentially aspire to the one it can achieve. Remember that in perceptual maps you can move only in one direction. No having your cake and eating it, too. Or as we say in Italy, having the cellar full and the wife drunk.

For your writing, it's cutting out what is not essential to your paragraph. In considering this piece, I thought about quoting from Al Ries' 22 Immutable Laws of Branding. It didn't quite fit, so out it came. (And ironically, it's back again.)

When it comes to your business, your brand, your projects, your relationships, or your Friday schedule, what would you give up to get back?

Comments

[Jarrod Clark]

Great post! For me the internet is something that consumes my life because I am into internet marketing. I spend a great deal of my so called "free time" which is the time I get when I'm not working my day job, doing business online. Which, although it is very productive, I could stand to give up about 50% of online marketing to get back other areas of my life.

Thanks for sharing!

Jarrod Clark
www.JarrodClark.com

[Jacob Frew]

What would you give up to get back? Well when I first saw this question it made me think: I would not give up anything because thinking in the past only roadblocks your future. A lot of people dwell in the past and have regrets but is that really going to change anything? The best thing your past can do is teach you how to change, how to do things differently and how to shape your future. I read the post and thought about the question again and realized I may be interpreting the question in the wrong way. Does the question mean what would you give up temporarily to get back on track, back where you should be or what would you give up permanently to make room and time to get back where you should be. In that case honestly there isn't anything that I would need or feel the need to give up to get back on track. I know a lot of people probably can't say the same, but I feel comfortable with everything today. I also feel like you don't necessarily have to give up anything, just prioritize better. Shift things around and time will come to you. I'll leave you with this and I believe it and try to live by it. The present is not today it is tomorrow. Today is already the past. Live for tomorrow not today.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Jarrod - you said something there that made me ask myself - if time is free, what costs? Is it the activities and relationships you could do and have with the 50% you'd get back by not being online? Your passion shines through!

@Jacob - you make a solid point about the past. It is useful to learn from experience and apply what we learn. Success reinforces success so having internal stories about achievement from the past can be a springboard. Let me give you an example of giving up to get back. In leaving Twitter, Hugh is not giving up connections or the ability to have relationships, just the time he spent on Twitter. At least that's how I see it from here. Can anyone have it all? In my experience, no. Prioritizing bad habits (or addictive behaviors, or time sucking activities that are a distraction) does not make one more efficient. You put forth a provocative thought on present and future. I find that when I give myself wholly to the present, I get much more done than when I am thinking about the future. I'd be curious to learn what everyone else thinks.

[Tom O'Brien]

Hi Valeria:

Did you know web surfing (and twitter, reader, etc) has real addictive potential?

You get a dopamine hit when you find new and interesting information - so you do more of that. Take a look.

http://humanvoice.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/why-we-surf/

TO'B

(I'm about to step away from the computer, move to another room and start working on a "big plan")

[Valeria Maltoni]

I did know that ;-) Thankfully I fell in love with books at a very early age and still am - that saves me from watching TV or surfing for hours on many occasions.

My synapses fire best when I am running; that's when I do my best thinking. Many of the best blog posts here where inspired by a run in the park. Curious about your big plan, Tom.

[Vivek Chaudhuri]

Isn't it the mantra of life, you've gotta give up something to get something? In the grinding pursuits of life we calibrate and reason ourselves into believing that the direction we are taking is for the best. However, Jacob touched upon the caveat to prioritize carefully.

As an entrepreneur the past few years have taught me few things about giving up to get something...I tried prioritizing but can't make up for the lost time (5years) to connect with my parents back in India.

@ JACOB: Congrats! If you have figured out a way to be happy...that's the best thing in life my friend. Your closing note was awesome! One of my favorite quotes by Gandhi "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever".

[Valeria Maltoni]

Vivek:

I like the way you put it. In some cases we do talk ourselves into believing that the direction we're on is inevitable and we take the path on least resistance.

With my family in Italy, I'm with you on trying to make up for lost time. Thank you for taking the conversation forward.

[Mike Wagner]

"Hugh is not giving up connections or the ability to have relationships, just the time he spent on Twitter."

To me that is the point exactly.

Thank you for the refreshing moment of clarity!

Keep creating...Mike

[Valeria Maltoni]

Thank you for dropping by, Mike.