10.22.2009

The Wisdom of Jon Bland

"Do something—you're not a badass."

An old friend of mine castigated a co-worker with this bon mot years ago, and I've marveled at the succinctness of his salvo ever since.

Unless one is a badass, doing something—anything—should indeed be every man's mission, practically from the moment he discovers his opposable thumbs.

What gets done is almost beside the point. When actions have value, they will be rewarded.

Of course, doing something can and should include doing nothing from time to time, but those times better be short and recuperative; not long and recalcitrant.

In the sage words of Nigel Tufnel, "there's a fine line between clever and stupid."

Sleeping is doing something.

Sleeping on the job is not.

Planning is productive.

Procrastination isn't.

I've been doing a lot lately. Most of it good, all of it productive, some of it rewarding, and none of it self-destructive.

Booze, for instance, is ancient history.

Unfortunately, regular exercise has also pulled out of the station. I will get that train back on track, but for now I keep things moving with writing, and a new motorbike project. Nothing aerobic about these diversions, but since my status as a non-badass is legendary, doing them seems immensely satisfying.

Thanks for the poke, Jon.

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1 comment:

Jon Christopher said...

Harold, you’re getting hypocritical in your old age. You cannot have a Blog named "Crown Lounge" with a refreshing cocktail and a delicious slice of Mango and get off the booze bandwagon. Pick up that drink, hop on that neglected bicycle and do some work son!