Lately, I’ve been riffing off of Rudyard Kipling’s monumental poem, “If,” both in the context of pushing through tough times, and in the context of it being a roadmap for success. I have used it to explain why, in the grand scheme of things, a speed bump in the road to success doesn’t matter.

Today, I’m going to return to the Serenity Prayer.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I’ve been writing about moving on after the sale of the family cottage.

Yesterday was truly the final day. I rented a truck, made the trip up, loaded up the family antiques and heirlooms that were excluded from the sale, and brought them home. The cost of this was five hours in a very uncomfortable seat and several hours of heavy lifting.  I’ve written about the ergonomics of driving, and let me tell you, there’s a lot more to it than simply adjusting the driver’s seat lumbar support.

The topic of just how badly a rented truck is to drive is a topic for another day, what is the topic of the day is the effect of this experience and my poor back.

Now, you might wonder why a guy, who has written many times on the topic of how much healthier his back is today, than it was 7 years ago, is now talking about the effect of a hard day on his back. I mean, I’ve told you plenty of stories about how this hard day or that, this hard work or that, had no effect on me at all.

Well, today is not the day for that.

You see, today, I’m sore. Not pinched nerve, Robaxacet, heat packs, ice packs, bed rest and pain killers sore, but…sore. The day after all the work, I’m still sore, a good night’s sleep not having been enough to cure what ails me.

And hasn’t that been the topic of so many Thursdays? I did some previously hard thing, which after a good night’s sleep, had no effect on me?

Well, yes, and today is different. I went hard, did some stuff that was posture and spine unhealthy, and now I’m paying for it.

Why?

Because I spent too much of the last 8 months focussing on things outside my control, rather than those things within my control.

What’s outside my control? The pandemic and the governments’ response to it. The fool local government’s decision to wreck the neighbourhood park. The sale of my parents’ cottage. The closure of my yoga studio.

What’s within my control? My workout program, my diet, my sleep, my (home) office environment. Above all, my personal back and posture exercise routines.

That is what I let slip. I simply haven’t been doing enough to maintain a healthy spine and good posture.

I’ve known for a few weeks now that I’ve been slipping, and I’ve been working my way back. Good thing, too, because if I hadn’t started getting back into it, yesterday could have ended up being much, MUCH worse.

Okay Andrew, but what does that have to do with success? That’s what you write about on Sundays, isn’t it?

Well, yes, and here it is.

• Control what you can control.
• It’s far easier to control what you maintain focus on. If it’s out of your mind, you’re going to give it sporadic attention at best. Without focus, it’s gone.
• Don’t do too much. The more things vying for your attention, the less time you have for each.
• Get help. Even if you think you’ve mastered something, you still have more to learn. Every single one of the greatest athletes in their games have a coach.
• Don’t forget to practice the basics. The greatest players in their games never give up practicing the basics. I read somewhere that one summer, after a successful rookie campaign, an eventual hall of fame player decided his shot wasn’t NHL caliber. Every day that summer he took hundreds of shots to improve it.

I forgot those lessons. I stopped controlling what I control, I lost focus, I didn’t seek help, and I forgot to work on the basics. Because of all that, I’m paying the price.

Luckily for me, the price is low, and I’m already working on making it lower.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With 60 seconds worth of distance run

Rudyard Kipling, “If”

Lately, I’ve been riffing off of Rudyard Kipling’s monumental poem, “If,” both in the context of pushing through tough times, and in the context of it being a roadmap for success. I have used it to explain why, in the grand scheme of things, a speed bump in the road to success doesn’t matter.

Lately I’ve also been journaling the end of a summer of changes around Casa StandUpRight, and ol’ Andrew’s life, which came to a head last week with our final vacation at my parents’ cottage.

In the end, the changes thrust upon me forced me to prioritize my time this summer in ways I’ve never had to before. I have a bunch of goals; short, medium and long term, which I’ve been working on, but there was also the issues surrounding my family.

With the Kung Flu cancelling pretty much all kids’ activities, my wife and I had to be the sole source of entertainment for the boys’ summer vacation. The downstream effects of that meant I had less time. Less time for:

• Exercise
• Blogging
• Market research for my podcast
• High touch research for my remote working course
• Building out content in my mobile app
• Brand building on LinkedIn

None of which even touches the lost time with my wife, or the solo time necessary for my own peace of mind.

So I guess what I’m saying is that, looking back over the summer and viewing it through a success filter, it was a disaster. Total failure. Right?

Wrong.

Go back to those two lines of Kipling:

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With 60 seconds worth of distance run

In no way am I claiming that I accomplished even ½ of what I had hoped to accomplish. But I am claiming that the summer was a resounding success.

I filled those minutes “with 60 seconds worth of distances run,” because, while the side business end of my life didn’t get anywhere near where I wanted, on the other hand, I did:

• Get some of my research done
• Build out some of my mobile app
• Continue to research, and write for this little blog

And, what’s more, on the personal side:

• My children and I are closer than we’ve ever been.
• My wife and I are better and happier than we’ve ever been.
• I’m still in great shape.
• I’m running again.
• My blood pressure is normal for the first time in 27 years.

That last one alone constitutes a resounding success. My family has a history of hypertension, and my doctor was worried I was going to need meds for it. Not today, Satan.

So, when you’re looking back at the goals you set, and measuring them against what you’ve actually accomplished, make sure that you’re including all the factors. You need a wider perspective than just, “I set a goal. I didn’t make it. I failed.

So, yes, I filled those unforgiving minutes, and I filled them well. There simply weren’t enough of them.

The last few weeks, I’ve been riffing off of Rudyard Kipling’s monumental poem, “If,” both in the context of pushing through tough times, and in the context of it being a roadmap for success. Last week I used it to explain why a speed bump in the road to success doesn’t matter, in the grand scheme of things.

That was because a joint venture/affiliate marketing program I got into fell through. It was a really exciting prospect, and it sucks that it fell through, but it was just a prospect, a dream.

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;

Rudyard Kipling, from “If”

The dream of income from this particular affiliate program was in no way my master. It was just one more iron in the fire of building up more income streams to make my life a little more anti-fragile.

Which brings us to this past week, and another JV/affiliate program I’ve spent the last few days plugging. This one was a little different, it was for one off revenue, not monthly revenue. It is also for a very different sort of product, one that does not fit the spot I’m in with my business right now.

Long story short, I don’t really have high expectations for the outcome of this past week, where I had high expectations over the long haul from the other program.

But.

But just because I didn’t have high expectations, that doesn’t mean I didn’t give it my best shot. Even if I get precisely zero dollars of revenue from the marketing I did this past week, the time and efforts weren’t wasted.

Why?

Because I’ve learned a great deal about affiliate marketing. I’ve also learned a great deal about email sequences. I also pushed myself out of my comfort zone to learn these new things.

I suppose it all circles around to skill stacks. I’ve been expanding mine, and this is another skill that I think will be useful, eventually.

So do something. It doesn’t have to be in your core. I certainly doesn’t have to be in your comfort zone. It doesn’t even have to be useful. What it needs to be is different.

And, as to the headline, keep on trying new things. No matter how useless they might seem now, they’ll train your brain. And who knows, sooner or later, one of them just may turn out useful.