“Time is that quality of nature which keeps events from happening all at once. Lately it doesn't seem to be working.”
Anonymous
Each second of the day and night are filled with focused intensity. Accomplishments are piled high in the corner, never am I allowed to find amazement of the milestones of the conqueror. With unrelenting determination each task is systematically dissected and efficiently dispatched. In the process every fleeting second is captured to fulfill a mission. It was said “Every man is given the exact amount of time each day, successful men knows how to use time with the greatest efficiency.” My mind is sharp as complex situations reveal critical structure as solutions emerge effortlessly. The volume of original and innovative work has never been surpassed as creativity flows forth in torrents.
It has been called “being in the zone”, the ability to see events with clairvoyance. It is not a random act of probability or statistics, but trained and disciplined mental acuity. In mentoring my staff, I consistently stress the ability to “see around corner”. It becomes the most difficult skill to acquire, the ability to anticipate future obstacles by knowing the evolution of events. The ability to predict how future events will culminate by understanding the processes in play is an acquired skill that some will never obtain.
I will explain it another way by using Vince Lombardi’s old football axiom, “run to daylight”. At a certain level of situational awareness all movement is inherently understood. Like a field of football players in motion, ebbs and flows create patterns that appear random but are really predictable. During precise and limited moments of movement opportunities or gaps reveal themselves as “daylight” between the moving obstacles. The challenge then becomes timing the events as you “run to daylight”. Most great running backs can instinctually feel daylight reacting subconsciously. As with everything in life daylight is fleeting.
Over the years my situational awareness includes the technical relationships to manage the construction process. I have acquired the ability to see on paper conflicts and contradictions months before they will occur on a jobsite. More recently my situational awareness includes the geopolitical world, thereby understanding politics, personalities and public processes which doom many great ideas. Working on projects I see the world in three dimensions as a moving football game, quickly discerning which design solutions are technically achievable and which ones will gain political traction. Between all the chaos and shifting forces is a small sliver of daylight. As the challenges become greater and processes more complex, the ability of hitting smaller and smaller gaps of daylight is its own reward.
Each day is keenly focused on making a difference in the world. The time to do so is so extremely limited, that one must constantly strive each day to make progress and challenge the world as we know it. I have no time for the self absorbed activity of being idle. There are those who sit and complain about the world from afar, never engaged in making a difference, believing they can see the plight of the world. Let them continue in self indulgent metal masturbation while hopeful that the acts of contrition will provide them solace. Those of us that are engaged in changing the face of the world do not have time to view our handiwork or to ponder our lives. We have no time for self awareness or ruminating about our purpose. We will allow someone else in the future to determine our contribution and of what relevance it was. We are just focused on investing every ounce of strength and fortitude, every second on “Running to Daylight”.
It has been called “being in the zone”, the ability to see events with clairvoyance. It is not a random act of probability or statistics, but trained and disciplined mental acuity. In mentoring my staff, I consistently stress the ability to “see around corner”. It becomes the most difficult skill to acquire, the ability to anticipate future obstacles by knowing the evolution of events. The ability to predict how future events will culminate by understanding the processes in play is an acquired skill that some will never obtain.
I will explain it another way by using Vince Lombardi’s old football axiom, “run to daylight”. At a certain level of situational awareness all movement is inherently understood. Like a field of football players in motion, ebbs and flows create patterns that appear random but are really predictable. During precise and limited moments of movement opportunities or gaps reveal themselves as “daylight” between the moving obstacles. The challenge then becomes timing the events as you “run to daylight”. Most great running backs can instinctually feel daylight reacting subconsciously. As with everything in life daylight is fleeting.
Over the years my situational awareness includes the technical relationships to manage the construction process. I have acquired the ability to see on paper conflicts and contradictions months before they will occur on a jobsite. More recently my situational awareness includes the geopolitical world, thereby understanding politics, personalities and public processes which doom many great ideas. Working on projects I see the world in three dimensions as a moving football game, quickly discerning which design solutions are technically achievable and which ones will gain political traction. Between all the chaos and shifting forces is a small sliver of daylight. As the challenges become greater and processes more complex, the ability of hitting smaller and smaller gaps of daylight is its own reward.
Each day is keenly focused on making a difference in the world. The time to do so is so extremely limited, that one must constantly strive each day to make progress and challenge the world as we know it. I have no time for the self absorbed activity of being idle. There are those who sit and complain about the world from afar, never engaged in making a difference, believing they can see the plight of the world. Let them continue in self indulgent metal masturbation while hopeful that the acts of contrition will provide them solace. Those of us that are engaged in changing the face of the world do not have time to view our handiwork or to ponder our lives. We have no time for self awareness or ruminating about our purpose. We will allow someone else in the future to determine our contribution and of what relevance it was. We are just focused on investing every ounce of strength and fortitude, every second on “Running to Daylight”.
