A Reading from the Gospel of Gordo....
"When we find something emotionally difficult--odds are -- the situation is bumping against personal fears and challenging our self-image. True confidence arises from acceptance of our own performance not the capacity to dominate the performances of others."
- Gordon Byrn, taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/2008/05/fear-self-worth-and-performance.html
Whenever I don't have much to write about--sometimes when I do--I check out Gordon Byrn's weekly installment of insight. He usually has something that catches my attention. This week, the aforementioned quote caught my eye.
While working in public accounting as a younger man, I met MAD on an audit engagement. I was still wet behind the ears, but MAD had about 2 years of tax experience and was participating in an audit rotation. We didn't have much support for our senior auditor, and it seemed like MAD was just picking up on everything and knocking it out of the park. At one point I asked him how he was picking it up so quickly and he said, "Don't worry. It'll come to you."
He might not have said exactly, but that is how I remember it. It was a very powerful lesson that I didn't start to understand until three years later. Performance is relative to each individual; in the long-run, the only way to make true progess is to focus on yourself, put the ego aside, and work with focus. It's not always easy, but that the formula that has seemed to work for me. Good instruction is important as well, but you can get their without it.
In my current position, as well as with swimming, I have been able to let things come to me as I work. It probably has to do a lot with being more comfortable in my own skin, and having a much smaller ego than I did at 22. Beat downs aren't always fun, but they taught me an important lesson: The bigger your head is, the easier it is to fill your shoes.
To address Aunt Shelly's comments from last posting, I didn't allocate any cash to shoe polish as it is inexpensive and I already have a large supply of it at my current residence. But I did decide to allocate some of it to buying a deep fryer, so I can make french fries in the tradition style of Belgium.
Namaste
- Gordon Byrn, taken from http://www.gordoworld.com/gblog/2008/05/fear-self-worth-and-performance.html
Whenever I don't have much to write about--sometimes when I do--I check out Gordon Byrn's weekly installment of insight. He usually has something that catches my attention. This week, the aforementioned quote caught my eye.
While working in public accounting as a younger man, I met MAD on an audit engagement. I was still wet behind the ears, but MAD had about 2 years of tax experience and was participating in an audit rotation. We didn't have much support for our senior auditor, and it seemed like MAD was just picking up on everything and knocking it out of the park. At one point I asked him how he was picking it up so quickly and he said, "Don't worry. It'll come to you."
He might not have said exactly, but that is how I remember it. It was a very powerful lesson that I didn't start to understand until three years later. Performance is relative to each individual; in the long-run, the only way to make true progess is to focus on yourself, put the ego aside, and work with focus. It's not always easy, but that the formula that has seemed to work for me. Good instruction is important as well, but you can get their without it.
In my current position, as well as with swimming, I have been able to let things come to me as I work. It probably has to do a lot with being more comfortable in my own skin, and having a much smaller ego than I did at 22. Beat downs aren't always fun, but they taught me an important lesson: The bigger your head is, the easier it is to fill your shoes.
To address Aunt Shelly's comments from last posting, I didn't allocate any cash to shoe polish as it is inexpensive and I already have a large supply of it at my current residence. But I did decide to allocate some of it to buying a deep fryer, so I can make french fries in the tradition style of Belgium.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 5:08 PM
1 Comments:
Oops, looks like my vote in the last post is too late. Oh well.
I'm curious about these French fries though... Belgium has its own style?
I've been quoted again! I love it.
It is true, you have to accept who you are and what you know. I believe most everyone is capable of doing anything they set their minds to. You just have to be persistent and allow for enough time to get there. And as you said, get rid of the ego. Humanity would be so much better off without the ego. All it ever does is get in the way of progress. (What I consider progress anyway.)
I'm happy to see that you have made a significant amount of progress over the years. It has been an honor to be a part of it.
MAD
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