Looking forward to a year of Satisfaction
I prefer to avoid new years resolutions–for me, they’re too tactical a response to the turning of the calendar. I prefer to select a unifying theme to guide me through the tumult of daily life. A strategic north star, a melodic refrain, a mantra. I limit it to one word, and make sure it is filled with as much personal meaning as possible. It has to last a year, after all.
A few years back, when Amy and I decided to sell our house in Napa and move our family of three back to the urban jungle of San Francisco, we christened the year “Renaissance.” It really felt like a complete renewal of our lives after the dulling effects of exurbia.
Last year, knowing we’d be expending considerable effort to build out our company, putting it on the map, I struggled somewhat to find the perfect theme. The word popped into my head only a half hour or so before the balloons dropped, as fireworks that sounded like a cluster bomb tore through the night–”Blitzkrieg.” It’s a word that means “lightning attack” in German, and it evokes to me a rapid breakthrough advance through territory that is not your own. With a clear image in mind, we pushed Rubyred into the limelight and surpassed our own marketing and financial goals for the year.
This year the theme took no effort. The word is “Satisfaction.” It’s a pregnant word for me for several reasons.
1. I’m taking a calmer, more balanced approach to my affairs. I’m more disciplined and productive with work. I’m reading and writing more, partying less. Spending more time with family and friends, less with strangers.
2. Things that have been challenging are becoming increasingly effortless, be they personal finance, parenting or managing a product development team. This means that time once spent on the nuts and bolts of life is increasingly spent on richer, more strategic or creative activities. I can achieve David Allen’s Mind Like Water.
3. Finally, Rubyred is refocusing its business on a new product inspired by this theme. More on this in due time…
Happy new year, and may you and yours share in the satisfaction.