So It’s Been A While… and Making a Difference

On By Nick ArmstrongIn Geek Superhero, Personal, Star Trek

I’m a bad Blog host. I show up, rant for days, and then disappear into the fray. I’m working on that – the last few weeks I’ve been keeping a lot to myself.

About a year ago someone said, “I don’t think people follow your blog as closely as you think they do.” It halted me in my tracks. I write for me, to be sure, but suddenly, I didn’t have a voice; in my mind, I didn’t have anything to say that people would want to read.

So, I retreated – I stopped working for myself and lost that feeling that I was the Captain, the guy who took charge and led the way. And for eight months, I had some really good times and some really bad times. I was doing good work, but I wasn’t making a difference and my confidence wasn’t coming back.

There’s a scene – and this will seem silly to you non-Trekkies out there – in Star Trek: Generations where Captain Kirk and Captain Picard meet. I’ve included it below; it’s something I think about every day.

Show transcript

Transcript:
Kirk: Maybe it’s about that empty chair on the bridge of the Enterprise. Ever since I left Starfleet, I haven’t made a difference. Captain of the Enterprise, eh?
Picard: That’s right.
Kirk: Close to retirement?
Picard: I’m not planning on it.
Kirk: Let me tell you something – don’t. Don’t let them promote you. Don’t let them transfer you. Don’t let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you’re there, you can make a difference.

Hide transcript

I eventually realized that I don’t work well while standing in someone else’s shadow. My confidence wouldn’t come back because I’d done good work – I had to get my hands dirty and make things happen for myself. I decided that I’d quit that job on Xmas day – and did.

The last two months have been intensely introspective. I started to rebuild my confidence and sense of leadership, and started looking toward the future. I became The Geek Superhero – and did everything I could to live up to that title. I re-built my business; started right. Fixing a lot of the mistakes I made along the way last time. Built up a client base to provide a tight, but livable income.

A lot of the projects I put on hold for the last year are on my mind along with some new ones. The Digital Gunslingers. PodCamp Fort Collins 2. CareerCamp. Psychotic Resumes… TEDxFoCo.

I can’t do it alone, but I’m confident that I can lead the way. It’s time to make a difference – and I’ll stand with you if you feel the same way.

(Header photo: Untitled by tnarik)

7 thoughts on “So It’s Been A While… and Making a Difference”

  1. I think it’s important that you do what you do because you love it. In a world of budget cuts and layoffs, it’s the people that stand in someone else’s shadow that get laid off first (I’m being cruel but honest here).

    One of the biggest problems I have with a lot of the social circles that you and I overlap in is that there is a whole pile of talk, and not nearly as much action. In the world of Free Software, you are only as good as the actions you’ve taken, so that’s how my mind works. I constantly say “Do the actions I’ve taken reflect who I am as a person?” It’s been a good way to evaluate myself.

    Edit: I changed “very little action” to “not nearly as much action” because I don’t think it’s fair to say “very little” because it diminishes some of the fantastic actions that are taken.

    Like

    Reply

    1. Paul — spot on.

      I’m working to change that talk-majority mentality. The Gunslingers created a list of things they want to accomplish by year’s end, and we’re shaping the classes to help them accomplish their goals.

      I’ve purposefully structured my new business to help smaller businesses actually accomplish their goals in rapid succession.

      I’ve started up a community managers group to help people get events out faster and with higher quality.

      It takes nudgers and accountabilibuddies and all sorts of follow-up to make sure that stuff gets done (rather than just planned). And a lot of time, the choice to focus on (and by necessity – cull down to) just one thing causes a lot of anxiety. Especially to someone like me, who has a corkboard filled with things I want to do and try, but each one is in a different direction. Having too many fun projects, too many choices, is ultimately self-defeating if you can’t pick one.

      That’s the thing that’s been holding me back until recently, but it’s a constant battle.

      Like

      Reply

      1. This is a huge problem for a very small population of people that are above average and driven. I’ve been meaning to blog about this “culling down” for a few weeks, and this comment made me sit down and do it.

        http://blog.paulhummer.org/doing-a-few-things-really-well-and-forgetting

        I suspect that the anxiety comes from putting all your eggs in a single basket, because that basket might fail. Having just trimmed more fat than I thought possible, I find that I have much less anxiety, because nothing is being neglected now.

        What’s more, my “downtime” isn’t at the expense of one of these things, so I find I relax more now that I did before. Simplifying life is definitely something I can get behind.

        Like

  3. Pingback: One Little Thing | I Am Nick Armstrong: The Geek Superhero

Leave a comment