(IJCH) Habit #2 and Why I never throw away My Scribbles
(IJCH) Habit #2 and Why I never throw away my scribbles
IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (meaning: My warped, personal opinions and musings)
From the Author:
Salutations.
I am JaiChai.
And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.
I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!
For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"
A Great Book for All
While pursuing my MBA many years ago, I was introduced to a great book that had a profound effect on me.
In the book, the author clearly and concisely explains a lot of things I'd intuitively known, but could not express so eloquently.
It provided a better framework, a more organized and effective prioritization of how I should spend my time and the way I could best conduct my personal and professional life.
The book is called "THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE" by Dr. Stephen R. covey.
And if you haven't read it already, I highly recommend you do so as soon as you can.
You'll be glad you did.
Habit #2
Habit #2 is based on imagination--the ability to envision in your mind what you cannot at present see with your eyes. It is based on the principle that all things are created twice.
There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint.
If you don't make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default.
It's about connecting again with your own uniqueness and then defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines within which you can most happily express and fulfill yourself.
Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or project with a clear vision of your desired direction and destination, and then continue by flexing your proactive muscles to make things happen.
I apply Habit #2 to almost everything I do, including all my writing.
Whether it be copyright, technical manuals, journal submissions, policy change proposals, business plans, market projections, editorials, news articles, short stories - you name it, I begin by envisioning the "possible ending" first.
I say "possible ending" because in the course of writing anything, sometimes your perspective changes; that is, subsequent research and new facts may lead you to a different conclusion; hence, a different ending to the story.
But nevertheless, I find that when I "Begin wit the End in Mind", the "Writing Muse" appears more often and the writing is easier, more fluid, and a Hell of a lot more fun!
Afflicted with Lifelong "No-Finish-Itis"
I suffer from chronic "No-Finish-Itis".
Similar to most of my intellectual, creative and enigmatic heroes, I have started many more projects than I have finished.
Are you like that too?
Here's a scenario that's all too common.
Ideas for another project suddenly pop into your head and of course, you must capture them before they evaporate. And these new projects appear so alluring that you put the current project on hold and pursue the new idea!
That's Ok.
Unless committed (personally or by contract), there's nothing wrong with switching gears.
But always save whatever work you've already completed.
Countless "hard knocks" lessons over the years have taught me to ALWAYS SAVE MY SCRIBBLES about fledgling endeavors.
Again I say, NEVER THROW AWAY any completed work - no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time.
Why?
Like me, you may decide to resume it in the future; or more likely, as you gain more life experiences, you'll attain a deeper understanding of the broader picture.
And this new insight could very well re-inspire you to revisit the issue and continue.
At the very least, your old notes could easily contribute to another project that previously seemed totally unrelated.
For example, here's something I posted awhile back:
)
Article Link:
https://steemit.com/fiction/@jaichai/the-chronicles-of-j-c-and-yu-the-user-manual
My intention for this project was to write a proper short story consisting of a series of chapter posts. But as usual, I allowed myself to become OBE (Overcome By Events) and forgot about the short story altogether.
By sheer happenstance, while decluttering my hard drive, I came across the initial "Possible Endings" to this story.
And although I decided not to continue the story, rediscovering the possible endings and the themes within the "Chronicles" post led me to writing many future articles.
Here"s a few of the recent articles that were largely written due to the "Chronicles" post and its possible endings:
Article Link:
Article Link:
https://steemit.com/philosophy/@jaichai/ijch-something-to-ponder-the-fail-safe
Article Link:
Article Link:
Endings for That Unfinished Story
If you were wondering, here are the endings for the "Chronicles" Short Story series that I never finished:
Version #1
1. Origins...
2. Contact Information....
3. Communication Channels...
Version #2
1. Ensure Alignment...
2. Turn On...
3. Power the World...
Version #3
1. Input Raw Gold...
2. Turn On...
3. Process into Monoatomic Gold...
By JaiChai
Thanks for stopping by.
About the Author
Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.
In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.
After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.
Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).
He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.
Yep. Just go through the times I've mentions that I'm going to make few more posts about a subject and then ended up going on a completely different direction.
Also, My hand will never be as fast as my mind and by te time I finish typing one thing, I've already forgotten other great things.
I saved so many scribbles and notes that I probably have enough material to write at least two books. I need an assistant to sort them out cause I barely find the time to type the notes. ;0)
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