Tuesday, February 11, 2003

Why It Doesn’t Pay to Fulfill Unrealistic Expectations The following was written earlier in the day, but not posted until now since I wasn’t able to access my blog until now:   I’m sitting here waiting for that inspiration to come that always seems to be there when I need it. That sudden burst of insight that shines a light on a tough problem and shows me the way. So often it has been there to enable me to turn a loser case into a winner. I always joked with my employers that I don’t want any winners, since I can only screw them up. “Give me the sure losers, I can only be the hero.” And so often that has been the case. Well, it just ain’t coming today. Maybe my career burnout has finally torched the source of this ability. I don’t know. All I know is that right now the well seems to have run dry. I’ve got to get this project done today and in all likelihood I’m going to finish it by just going through the motions. Oh, it will be a professional job all right. It will just be missing that extra “something” that I used to be able to call upon. I think Edison said that genius was 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. Maybe 90% is going to have to be enough this time.   Addendum:   There’s nothing like listening to someone who doesn’t know his ass from his elbow take potshots at your work product. Especially when it’s the same guy who handed you the assignment and told you it was a losing proposition to begin with. You sit there listening to vague generalities from someone who can barely put together a cogent thought on paper and who obviously hasn’t even finished reading all of what you gave to him because he would know that half of what he his questioning is already answered if he’d just read on. I guess that’s the price you pay for repeatedly pulling someone’s “fat out of the fire” in situations where there should be no reasonable expectation that you could possibly do so. Sometimes your own success can jump up and bite you on the ass. 10:43:49 PM    Go Ahead, make my day  []