Career

The Value Of Stupid Stuff

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Recently in my viewings of various anime, I came across "Oh! Edo Rocket", a show that borders on the inexplicable, as it's an anime based on a play based on a legend that is loaded with parody elements.  I vaguely described it as "Excel Saga with a continuing plot" but it's hard to explain it.

One theme touched on, especially later in the series, is that sometimes things can be inspiring but aren't necessarily "useful" or "even lasting."  Sometimes big useless, even stupid stuff is indeed a good thing.

Big, giant, useless, crazy stuff can inspire people.

Stupid blatant nutty things can shock people out of complacency.

Huge insane efforts can help you explore your limits and yourself.

It can also be fun, and we usually need more of that.

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Burn Your Box

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Is your career in a rut?  Is your business in a rut?  Are you in a rut?

If you're in this situation, you've probably been told "think outside the box," which basically means "get outside your current assumptions" to see new opportunities and solutions.

This is wrong.  You should not think outside the box career-wise.

You should get out of the box, set it on fire, and jump up and down on the ashes before sweeping them into the river to be washed out to sea forever.  You then need electroshock therapy to forget your box.  By the time "the box" has imprisoned you it's not something to get out of a little bit – it is something to DESTROY.

In fact, here's a guilty secrets for us geeky, neo-literati, otaku fan-types.  We are just as capable as anyone of being able to straightjacket our minds.  In fact, we're probably very good at it since we're use to using our imaginations, and we can dream up an amazing amount of ways to shackle ourselves.

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Promoting Professional Geekery #17: Evangelize To A Professional Association

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If you've read this blog for any length of time, or any of my books, you know I'm big on people joining professional associations.  They're great for networking, for keeping your skills up, and more.  They're de rigeur for any professional.

So I'm going to assume that you're joining one, have joined one, or are so seized with guilt after the above paragraph you're going to join one.

Now, when you are/if you are part of a professional association, you want to make sure they know about things from the geeky side of things.  They might not always know about the people who have a passion for the same subjects they do – but are coming at it from the fan/geek/otaku side.

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