Advice

I've been perusing the BlogHer list of posts for NaBloPoMo.... apparently I'm supposed to be linking my daily posts.  Oops.  I wonder if I should go link each day from the last three weeks... Engineers are not good at following directions.  ;-)

Anyway I've found a few new blogs to follow.  A recent one is Retired Ruth.  I tend to enjoy school teachers and this post about advice hit a chord for me.  She started with a quote she had read recently...

"When you feel like quitting, think about why you started."

Definitely worth thinking about.  Sometimes there are reasons to quit, as noted in The Dip by Seth Godin.  He says, if you're going to quit, quit early... for example, my basketball career.  I sucked... Big Time.  But don't quit just because it's getting difficult... most things worth doing are going to be hard at least some of the time.  So the point is... when the going gets tough, think about why you're on your path.

The piece of advice that came to mind for me was...

 "Stick your finger in water.  If the hole remains when you remove your finger, only then are you irreplaceable."

That was tough to hear put so clearly, but the reality couldn't be more true.... as I'm in the midst of my 5th lay off.  :-/

So when the going gets tough, and you are replaceable, what are you going to do?

I've been searching for a new day job and working on the farm's business plan.  In both cases, I've been refining my focus on what I want to do and what value I can provide as well as attending classes and networking sessions.