More Thoughts on Indecision

When I wrote my last post, I was still trying to figure out whether or not I should quit Team In Training, and I had just started to think about the crippling effects of my indecisiveness. Well, I’ve had some more time to think about it, and I wanted to write out my thoughts while they are still fresh.

I really think that indecision is going to keep from being successful, and so I need to just stop being like that. Once I make a decision, I need to be completely devoted to that decision at all times. However, that means that I will do less than I’m currently doing so that I can focus all my time and efforts on one or two things. Napoleon Hill mentions how Henry Ford would constantly get approached about new business opportunities to get involved in, but he always rejected them because he said that all his time and talents were absorbed into what he was doing and so he had no room for anything else.

That’s how people become great. They focus on one thing that they want and that they know they want above all else, and then they go after it, no matter how hard it is to achieve. Think of an athlete. We always hear those stories of athletes and their commitment to do whatever it takes to get to the NBA or the NFL. They wanted that dream more than anything else, and so they spent all their time and energy going after it. Are they good at anything but the sport that now earns their living? Maybe not, but who cares. They knew what they wanted, and they did everything they could to achieve it.

If I want to be successful and achieve what all the most successful people in this world have, I need to have that kind of focus and determination. I need to make up my mind about what it is I want, and then focus all my time and energy on achieving that. This means that I’ll reject many other opportunities and ideas that arise because I have no time to devote to them. So, that means I’m going to quit Team In Training. It’s just one of those things that is taking my time and not contributing to my main focus(which I still need to figure out).

My hobbies can also get in the way of my goals. I love triathlons and so that’s why I got involved in Team In Training. However, my goal isn’t to become a world-class triathlete and so I really don’t want to spend more than an hour a day on training. With Team In Training, I started doing 2-a-days, but, I’ve realized that isn’t contributing to my main goal and focus. I’ll keep exercising daily, but I won’t let it affect my main purpose and aim.

I think it’s good to have a balanced lifestyle, but, if I really want to achieve the success that I dream about, I need to have one major goal or focus that takes the majority of my time. I will no longer let any of my hobbies or interests take away from those goals. I also will no longer agree on participating in anything that will take my time or energy away from my main focus. Today I start a new chapter. I’m no longer going to be indecisive and I will no longer spread myself too thin.

Indecision

When I got to Vegas a few weeks ago, I felt like I should get involved in some service activities now that I was going to be here for a while. I’ve had this nagging feeling for a while to get more involved in service, and I’ve tried to get myself to commit to things before. My last attempt at an ongoing service project was with Micro Business Mentors, which is an organization that helps teach entrepreneurial skills to lower-income groups of people. For some reason, it was hard for me to get fully invested into what I was doing and it kind of fizzled out.

Now, in Vegas, I found a service organization that I was very excited about, Team In Training. I’m training with a group of people to be able to compete in a triathlon in Texas. In conjunction with our training, we raise money that goes to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’ve been really enjoying the program, but I didn’t want to raise funds using the traditional methods. Like always, I wanted to do my own thing. I wanted to take this opportunity to learn what it takes to put together a non-profit organization. I had the cause, now I just had to figure out a way to make money by using that cause. So, I decided to host a bicycle drive. I put together a website at www.Bikes4Cancer.com and I’ve been trying to get bike donations so that we can fix them up and sell them.

With so much going on with my job and all things that I’ve been doing while trying to get assimilated here, it took me quite some time to get my website up and running. Because of that, I haven’t raised much money at all. I committed to raise $4,200, and I’ve only raised like $150 or something. Well, with the program, they have a time period about half way through that they call, “Re-Commitment”. At that time, when you recommit, you become personally responsible for raising those funds, and if you don’t, you authorize them to charge your credit card.

So, now I’m trying to make the decision of whether or not I should continue with the program. The problem is, I don’t want to. This frustrates me because of the habit of indecision I’ve had lately. I’ve been reading “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. He discusses indecision as one of the faults that keeps people from achieving success. As I look back at my life, I can see how indecision has been a trait that has crippled me. I always say that I’m good at a lot of things, but not great at any of them. That’s because I could never make decisions about what things I wanted to pursue. I have many varying interests, and so my time was always spread among so many things that I never have developed any expertise in one particular area.

For example, growing up, I always wanted to learn both the piano and the guitar. After hearing somebody play the piano, I would get motivated to learn that instrument, so I would be all gun-ho on practicing that one for a while. Then, later I would hear somebody play the guitar and decide that the guitar would be a better instrument for me to play. So, the result of this indecision? I can play a little guitar and a little piano. I’m not good at either, although I know the basics and can learn songs if I really want to.

With Team In Training, it’s not that I don’t want to continue with the program. I really do. I also want to continue to try and raise money through the use of a bicycle drive. However, with the time pressure, I’m just lacking the confidence that I know how best to do so. It’s the time pressure and commitment that are making me want to bow out. Also, I’ve been really stressed with my job lately and so I feel like I lack the energy that is required to make the bicycle drive a success. Getting the bicycles in one challenge, once I get them, I need to tune them up and sell them. I’ve done that before and I know how time consuming it can be so I just don’t know if I have the time necessary.

Anyway, I really think this is a crippling habit of mine and I need to get it figured out. I have lots of great ideas but I jump from one to the next so quickly without giving things a chance. It’s much better to stick with an idea too long than it is to jump from one to the other without giving it adequate time. I’m not sure that’s the best choice with Team In Training, but I do feel it’s the best choice with my current job.

Thoughts on Hitchhiking

Ok, so I had another hitchhiking adventure yesterday, and while the thought is on my mind I’d like to reflect on my hitchhiking experiences as a nomad. First off, let’s talk about yesterday’s experience. I was out visiting a client, and I accidentally locked my keys in my car. So, the first feeling I had was of complete helplessness, but then I thought about how I could just hitchhike to my house to get my spare key.

So, I started going around the parking lot, and the second person I asked was able to give me a ride. He wasn’t going the whole way, but he dropped me off and I got another ride the rest of the way. I got my spare key, and then I tried to get a ride back to my car. This proved much more difficult than getting a ride to my house. Everyone that I approached said they weren’t going the direction I was headed. So, then I made up a sign on paper and held it out by the Freeway on-ramp. Nothing. I decided that I needed to go to another area with more people, so after walking to the nearby Smith’s, I tried again a few times. Still unsuccessful after 30 minutes of trying, I decided to give up.

It reminded me a lot of the feelings I had as a nomad. Now, the reason I wanted to hitchhike on my trip is because I thought it would be fun to meet new people. I wanted to maximize the amount of people I interacted with, so hitchhiking seemed perfect. Unfortunately, it was much harder to hitchhike in Arizona(and now in Vegas) than I had anticipated. I was so surprised at how scared people seemed when I would approach them as ask for a ride. I was wearing a black suit and tie yesterday, and a guy even mentioned how he felt a scared at the sight of me just standing around in my suit.

It made me realize that often, we keep ourselves from doing good because of our fear. There are many people that we could help that we don’t, because we are afraid to help. This was a thought that came very strong to me in Arizona that I hope to remember. I should never let my fear get in the way of me helping someone out who is in need.

Also, although the idea of hitchhiking is still very appealing to me, the necessity of hitchhiking no longer is. When I was hitchhiking in UT for two weeks, it wasn’t completely necessary. I still had a car that I could drive, but I wanted to make sure I could get around. Anyway, I wasn’t doing it out of necessity, and I knew that at any time I could go get my car. Well, when I really didn’t have the option of a car, I felt myself getting more frustrated with people’s lack of willingness to give me a ride. I was completely dependent on others, and so I was more emotionally involved in the process. I think hitchhiking is better when you are doing it merely for the fun of it, and not out of pure necessity.

Well, those were just some of the thoughts I had on hitchhiking from my trip and my experience the other day. I think if I ever want on another nomadic adventure, I’d want to live out of my car. I could still hitchhike and what-not, but it would take out the necessity of the act and in turn would make it more enjoyable. Anyway, just a thought…