Sig went missing. As did Mary. The rumor that floated in gossip streams at the state hospital was he suffered a heart attack and Mary caught a flight back to upstate New York.
“5” Steve Aoki, 41: “You’ll reach a turning point in your work. Pause here a while to really consider the options. Once you pick a direction, its reversal, though not impossible, will be awkward and time-consuming.” Sagittarius
Hi and welcome to Saturday’s Episode 50 in Season 3 of “My Paradoxically Normal Year” on this 22nd day of May in the spring of 2021 — which is a three-year examination of how bits of wisdom changed during the “normal” pre-pandemic year and then in the pandemic year, and now months after.
“The Tau of Steves: What You Don’t Know Could Fill a Book”
Previously from Season Three, the Paradoxically Normal Year
S3 E49 — Stealing Your Sign Without Doing the Time; S3 E48 — Is That an Ace Up Your Sleeve or Are You Just Glad to See Me?; S3 E47 — Why’s and How’s of the Genius Art of Procrastination
Related from Season Two, The Pandemic Year
S2 E50 — 5 Fundamental Uncertainties; S2 E49 — Navigating Waves of Disruption When You’ve Lost Your Bearings; S2 E48 — Tracking Millennials from One Resort to Another; S2 E47 — 27 Adventure Regions for Your Remote-Working Bucket List
Related from Season One, The Normal Year
S1 E50 – The Bias Brothers or Just Plain Losers?; S1 E49 — Magnetize the Version You Imagine; S1 E48 — Holiday TauBit Trumps Funk; S1 E47 — Day 47 of My 1-Year Experiment
I initially introduced this story as:
17. Graduate Assistant Internship —
Working for the State of California half time and professional services startup in the afternoons, as my first job in the field of psychology, and first mentioned in the beginning of “Volume Two Manuscript — WorkFit,” a work-in-progress.
Sig went missing. As did Mary. The rumor that floated in gossip streams at the state hospital was he suffered a heart attack and Mary caught a flight back to upstate New York.
I wasn’t buying it.
My sweet deal blew up.
I’d been living the dream nestled in a small bungalow on Fernleaf in Corona del Mar on the western side of Pacific Coast Highway. I hiked on a walkway over Bayside Drive, what for what may be 3 or 4 blocks to the bluffs overlooking the mouth to Newport Harbor and the small beach at Pirates Cove.
If I walked the same distance, but east of my rental, I spooked ground squirrels and those owls who burrow in the ground through and open field to the office in Newport Center.
Two things saved me.
-
- I could still hang on to my internship at the state hospital at the beginning of my psychology career and I met the love of my life, Emma the Baroness. At the hospital he supervised be in one program full of developmentally delayed clients and Les in another.
- As a business model was a doctor-knows-all in a pecking order of nurses and administrative staff. I was shocked with his out of the blue comment and his prescience when he told me I wouldn’t stay married long. I chalked up to his wisdom as a clinician, until looking back I wondered if he had recruited me for something else entirely.
In their private life, Sig and Mary swung if that is how you say swingers in the past tense.
That fact only slowly emerged as celebrity-like friends of theirs visited our Institute office near the athletic club and the shopping destination overlooking Corona del Mar hidden in swaying palm trees and Balboa Island and Peninsula off in the distance, but still at the edge of the Pacific Ocean.
Sig needed money to keep the Institute’s doors open.
He put the touch on several of their swinging friends from Beverly Hills and others who streamed through our suite of offices to sample our bio-feedback services.
The background story I eventually heard was Sig fled New York, left his wife, son and a psychology practice with Mary, his girlfriend, and settled a mile or two just outside the border of Huntington Beach.
Sig envisioned a business model similar to a franchise of bio-feedback centers in Southern California.
We couldn’t find clients, let alone celebrity investors or potential franchisers. But, the challenge opened my eyes to corporate medical and wellness centers in large organizations and eventually to several career changes.
So what happened to Sig?
Did he fake his death to throw off his creditors? I never found out and it wasn’t until later that I understood organizations and organization types that I see we were Systematic-Professionals.
We Systematic-Professionals come in four flavors — talent brands of experts who love their profession and their local location. In general we are known for methods and metrics.
-
- We prefer to distance themselves to remain objective and follow a well-articulated and tested methodology.
- We find occupational homes in university research centers, professional practices, academic institutions and in standards-setting associations.
- Our identity is tied to their profession.
Systematic-Professionals by the very nature of their work make the best candidates for developing a Mobile KnowCo that allows them to live and work anywhere in the world.
Which made it easy for Sig to leave his practice in New York, affiliate with a state hospital in Orange County, and launch BMI.
But, many stay in one place –- in or around university towns or urban and suburban centers where they find clients for their services.
Which led to “Knowledge Banking” many years later, when I looked around and asked, “Should I stay or should I go?”
Random ones that make me want change my sign.
Ha! Too bad this wasn’t Sig’s birthday, right. Maybe we could travel back in time and find his investors to fund BMI. And, this ain’t my birthday, but the lessons I learned and took note of paid dividends for me over my career trajectories.
Today’s Holiday Birthday:
A rebellious spirit pervades. The rules you break will liberate you. You’ll attract investors. The money helps you get a project off the ground, but there’s even more value in the time and lessons you gain. To repeat this success will bring you exponentially more, so take careful notes, pay attention and be methodical.
“5” Steve McQueen (1930 – 1980): “Success in one area of life won’t automatically bring success in other areas, but certain basic principles will apply universally. The work is best chunked down into small steps and mastered in order.” Aries
Yup, Steve chunking is good. I used to call it knowledge chunking, breaking down lessons learned into knowledge nuggets so you could apply them in a variety of settings.
“4” Steve Smith, 30, Stevie Nicks, 72: “There’s a time to keep score, and a time to indulge and share without worrying the least bit about who gave what. Scorekeeping turns giving and receiving into a job or a game instead of a spiritual act or a pure pleasure.” Gemini
Thanks Smithy and Stevie. This reminds me of research I stumbled upon in my behavior modification days. If you rewarded kids who truly enjoyed math with stars and tokens they grew to hate math. I’m not sure about the spiritual corollary, but I’ll take it.
“5” Steve Aoki, 41: “You’ll reach a turning point in your work. Pause here a while to really consider the options. Once you pick a direction, its reversal, though not impossible, will be awkward and time-consuming.” Sagittarius
Wow, Steve. Not only did my physical therapist know who you were and shared your sign, but your Holiday Tau proves meaningful to me today. I’m writing up my report about Phase 1, including the expansion of the 1-year natural experimental format into our pandemic year somewhat reluctantly, while I figure out Phase 2 in which I solicit TauBits from real Steves. I’m thinking through my strategy attempting to gauge how much time and effort it will require, versus my return-on-investment.
“4” Steve Harvey, 62: “While you’d rather go into a game with a strategy, those require time you won’t have today. So, the best strategy will be to stay on high alert for clues and trust your instincts.” Capricorn
Since when Steve are you in collusion with Aoki? Here’s my takeaway when I combine both of your Holiday Taus — keep an evolving scenario in the background, but start with small steps so I can iterate without reinventing the wheel and essentially starting over.
What’s Going On …
Literally Bottled and Set Adrift from KnowWhere Atoll
-
- @KnowLabs suite of 36 digital magazines jumps from 8203 to 8218 organically grown followers.
Foresight
Quality-of-Life
Long-Form
-
- “Why?: What Makes Us Curious,” by Mario Livio. “… socially shared myths, rituals, and symbolism were most likely the first sophisticated responses to nagging why and how questions and were therefore the fruits of curiosity. The chain reaction that resulted from the positive feedback between curiosity and language turned Homo sapiens into a powerful intellect, with self-awareness and an inner life.”
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Inspired by: Holiday Mathis – Creators Syndicate
CENTER FOR KNOWLEDGE CREATION AND INNOVATION
The Knowledge Path | Know Laboratories | Knowledge Banking | Knowledge ATMs | Western Skies and Island Currents | Best West Road Trips