Man, it sure is hard to do everything at once.  We like to think big, change the world, make a difference but doing that out of the gate is brutally difficult (translation: impossible).  The key is to think big but act small.  Paint the arc of the big idea in your mind and on your whiteboard.  Big ideas invigorate- but regardless of the market, social cause or product, stuff just takes time (*sigh*).

Pick one thing and do it really really really well- then add another that builds on the first.  Connect the pieces along the big idea trajectory until after years of blood sweat and tears….all of a sudden and practically overnight- it’s a huge success.  Figure out what you can do *today* to move forward, not what you should be doing when you have already achieved a big piece of the vision.  Execution is everything.

I’ve come to love taking photos- and the more I take the better I get.  I was too cheap (and not ready) to buy proper tube/macro lenses for my Canon 60D so I gambled $11 on simple filters to go with a 50mm 1.4 prime lens.  I think the result is pretty good- for $11, and no, I didn’t eat them.

For 2012, as every year, I am making two simple lists: Do and Do Not. For my Do list it will have a few goals or items I want to achieve personally or proffessionaly- the rest, ALL of the rest goes in to my Do Not list. A few goals to focus and execute on. I use Evernote to keep track of the lists which allows me to track items I have on my Do Not list and evaluate them for future years. Monthly calendar reminders help bring me back to check in and make sure I stayed focused on my Do list. So, Do a few things that matter well and Don’t do the rest, because mediocrity sucks.