by Nathan Coumbe

“Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”

It’s a stupid interview question. The only true answer is: “I have no idea.” Because I don’t know what this job will look like until I start doing it. 

Will I want to keep doing it? Will I want a promotion (if one’s available)? Will the job be obsolete by that time? (That one is more and more likely.)

But it’s a great question to ask yourself. Not because you know the answer—it will most likely change as time passes. It’s because the outcome you envision for yourself can help dictate the behaviors you take now. 

If, in 5 years, you see yourself retiring early and spending your weeks on the beach, you know there are some things you need to do. Pay off debt. Invest aggressively. Save, save, save!

If, in 5 years, you want to compete at a high recreational level in tennis, you need to work on conditioning drills, mobility, tennis skills…and hire a coach. 

If, in 5 years, you want to send your first child off to kindergarten, you know now that you should work on your finances, improve your health, and have a conversation with your partner about starting a family.

It’s a stupid interview question. But it’s a great life question.

Get new posts delivered directly to your inbox.

by Nathan Coumbe

Answer the phone

Or return the call if you want to have them on voicemail.

We forget that one of those missed calls will be the last one we ever get from them.

If you recognize the number, it’s a good idea to pick up.

For more musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

Make an exercise out of the hard parts

Something I learned to do as a musician was the idea of “deliberate practice.”

What this meant for me—like when I was learning a concert snare drum solo—was to take individual measures or a small group of measures, and turn them into exercises.

Examples:

  • A difficult passage that had a hard dynamic transition or sudden change
  • A complicated rhythm I needed to drill before I could play it

I would take these passages, slow them down, get them perfect, and work my way up to “normal” playing speed. Then I would add back in the music that surrounded these difficult sections.

This is how I was able to learn difficult music.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for every aspect of life.

Doing the things you can already do easily won’t make you any better at anything.

You’d got to practice the hard parts until you can get them right.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

It’s not about discipline

Having all the discipline in the world won’t help you eat better if the candy is the first thing you see on the counter.

Being disciplined with your time is useless if your phone is set up to make social media easy to access.

Discipline, like motivation, is fleeting and finite. Better to rely on systems and environments that support you instead.

Take social media off your phone. Make it hard to access on your computer by not saving your password and manually typing it in each time.

Keep candy hidden in the back of the cupboard (or if you’re like me, out of the house completely). And keep fresh fruits and easy protein at the front of the fridge.

It’s much easier to build things that support what you want to do rather than trying to muscle your way through.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

Sometimes you miss a day

Even the best streaks get broken most of the time.

The only good response is to wipe the slate clean and start over.

The wrong, and much more common response, is to quit the whole thing because of one bad day.

Don’t do that.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

Police escorts & football

What does it say about us as a people that we assign police escorts to every college football coach in the nation? At every game!

It’s a football game… It isn’t a debate between future elected leaders. These are football coaches!

Are we really a nation of people ready to attack our football coaches at a moment’s notice if things don’t go our way?

Do we really want to be? It’s just a game.

And if we aren’t that kind of people, then what’s it for? 

To show status? “I’m important enough for a police escort, and you’re not.” Is that it?

At what level does one become important enough to warrant a police presence at all times?

Wouldn’t security guards be enough to protect these men (yes, they are almost all men)?

Surely the police and state troopers have better things to do than this…

It just goes to show how much importance we’ve put on certain trivial institutions in our society. 

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

Copy the masters

If you want to improve your drumming, copy musical phrases from masters like Elvin Jones or Tony Williams.

If you want to learn a new style of art, copy the sketches and brush strokes of da Vinci and Van Gogh.

If you want to  become a world-class copywriter, copy the best, most successful ads from people like David Ogilvy or Claude Hopkins.

From medieval apprenticeship practices to their modern-day equivalents in universities and 1-on-1 mentorships, the best creatives know you must first start by copying the masters. 

You learn the fundamentals of most everything first by imitation. Only then can you add your own touch to create something wholly your own.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

Don’t be offended

That’s easy to say when you’re in a group that’s doing most of the offending. 

It’s harder to be someone who must constantly shore up his defenses to take offense without suffering harm. 

Inevitably the latter leads to a reaction against the offenders. Because people want things to change. For their children and the rest of posterity.

“No offense, but…” means someone’s about to be offended.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below.

by Nathan Coumbe

The joyful life

No original thought today… Just sharing some wisdom on how to live a joyful life.

“Many people view their habits and routines as obstacles or, at the very least, obligations to get through. Making the morning coffee, driving your kids to the next activity, preparing the next meal—we often see our routines as chores to be completed.

But these are not moments to be dismissed. They are life. Making coffee can be a peaceful ritual—perhaps even a fulfilling one—if done with care rather than rushed to completion. It’s about the amount of attention you devote to these simple moments, and whether you choose to appreciate them or bulldoze through them on the way to the next task.

Find the beauty and joy in your daily rituals and you will find beauty and joy in your daily life. To love your habits is to love your days, and to love your days is to love your life.”

—James Clear

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below:

by Nathan Coumbe

What you want to work vs. what actually works

Most of us often go about a task in a way that we want it to work…

Rather than by doing the things that actually get results.

It seems counterintuitive. Why wouldn’t we do things that work if the things we’re currently doing don’t work?

It’s not because we don’t want to succeed.

It’s because the things that work are hard.

Getting a job is like that. What people want to do is shotgun resumés to hundreds of companies, hoping they’ll pick us for a job. But your chance of success with this approach is almost zero.

It’s just easier—and less scary—than what actually gets jobs.

  • Making connections at companies in which you’re interested in working.
  • Cold-calling recruiters or team leaders.
  • Walking into businesses and asking to speak with the managers.
  • Asking friends for leads.

These strategies actually get jobs more often than not.

But to do them, you have to put yourself out there. You’re on a limb. Operating without a net. Whatever metaphor you want to use.

It’s scary because it’s hard.

But it also works.

For more daily musings like this, subscribe below: