Ego.

Burning Man - Trey Ratcliff

"You should have just enough ego so that you don't walk into the street and get hit by a car." 

TED GONDER

Genius.

"Here's To The Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world - are the ones who do."

-Apple Computers

Old Vices, New Friends

Written reflection has been hard to come by these days--I've been talking a lot and writing down little. So I thought I'd exercise my languid thought and externalize my stream of consciousness. I'm a little out of touch.

There are three overarching ideas that have become entwined with my synapses, dominating my perception, relationships, and distracting me from econ. Today, I'll talk about one of them.

1) ROLE PLAY.

The idea of roles in the midst of diminishing social circles. I had my 17th breakdown on a Saturday night in the middle of November, when I realized that I was alone. Our social relationships are undoubtedly what anchor us to life--to living. And if we're so disconnected, if nobody actively remembers or is thinking about us, whats to say that we even exist? Everybody who lies outside of our extended network and line of consciousness, don't matter because we can't conceptualize them. We have no idea that they're out there. We don't know if the things they do affect us or not. And even if we could potentially care, we're none the wiser. So what does that mean for someone who is not in anybody's circle--at all? If nobody knows they exist, if they don't exist in thought, do they exist in life? With the exception of genius and those who have found purpose through obsession of pursuing their passions, most of us live for those around us. And if there's no one around us and if we're not brilliant...then what?

I had my 18th breakdown when I realized I was alone during a time when I was supposed to be the least alone: college. The formative years. The best years. This is supposed to be the height of the relationships we can be apart of because we are surrounded by like-minded and hungry individuals, who came to an institution to broaden our worlds, and inclusively, our networks. After this it all goes downhill. We go out into the workplace and suddenly we're surrounded by a much more insular society; the cohort of our coworkers that we connect to is smaller. And after that, then what? Who are we surrounded by then? Your immediate family? Is this why people have children? To make sure that they are important and needed. To make sure that they can be conceptualized. To make sure they do in fact exist to at least one other person.

So I went through my quarter life crisis and then I learned something else, something that keeps me sane. I realized that as my social circles become smaller, the number of roles I play also decrease, and I become more whole. In highschool, I spread myself between social groups and played a different role and function in each. The older I get, as my friendships solidify, the role I play across social groups is increasingly the one and the same, which lends to my sense of identity. This then builds stability. And now I'm here. I may have a tighter circle of close friends--but I'm starting to know who I am. I think this is why some great actors go crazy. They can fit into so many roles; they are simultaneously everyone and nobody.

I strongly believe that well-defined roles are a crux to social life and productivity. Especially in a business, if you understand your function then you'll know how to proceed, in which your motivation and accountability are derived not only from achieving the end goal, but from self. Businesses in which stakeholders are unsure of their role, reach a stasis, always waiting for someone else to initiate and delegate need-based instead of role-based tasks (which if well understood ultimately shouldn't need to be delegated or enumerated). Thus, progress moves much slower and only proceeds when it is forced--always a step behind instead of two steps forward.

I think this is enough for one day. The two reflections to come:

2) POWER PLAY.
"The trinity of power, private interest and relationships"-Phil Muggins

3) AND HOW IT ALL PLAYS OUT.

Problems and progress and the road to innovation