Derrick B. Stark
"I used to get a big kick out of saving people's lives. Now I wonder what the hell's the point, since they all have to die anyway."
"Oh, there's a point, all right," Dunbar assured him.
"Is there? What is the point?"
"The point is to keep them from dying as long as you can."
"Yeah, but what's the point, since they all have to die anyway?"
"The trick is not to think about that."
"Never mind the trick. What the hell is the point?"
Dunbar pondered in silence for a few moments. "Who the hell knows?"
- “Catch-22,” Joseph Heller, 1961
My name is Derrick Stark. Welcome to Never Mind the Trick (NMTT), a blog series about getting better results with less effort. We spend so much time fighting sheer inertia that we either run out of steam before we accomplish anything, or we forget the point altogether. NMTT is about figuring out what matters and then eliminating anything that does not directly advance us toward our goal.
No shoes. No rank. No problem.
"I used to get a big kick out of saving people's lives. Now I wonder what the hell's the point, since they all have to die anyway."
"Oh, there's a point, all right," Dunbar assured him.
"Is there? What is the point?"
"The point is to keep them from dying as long as you can."
"Yeah, but what's the point, since they all have to die anyway?"
"The trick is not to think about that."
"Never mind the trick. What the hell is the point?"
Dunbar pondered in silence for a few moments. "Who the hell knows?"
- “Catch-22,” Joseph Heller, 1961
My name is Derrick Stark. Welcome to Never Mind the Trick (NMTT), a blog series about getting better results with less effort. We spend so much time fighting sheer inertia that we either run out of steam before we accomplish anything, or we forget the point altogether. NMTT is about figuring out what matters and then eliminating anything that does not directly advance us toward our goal.
No shoes. No rank. No problem.
NMTT is an equal opportunity destroyer of wasted effort; no impressive management title required. Readers must, however, have the ability and energy to assume responsibility and create authority. It is for those who don't waste time focusing on what they don't have...what's not fair...but instead go all-in to advance from the hand dealt to the hand desired.
My goal here is to create a thoughtful construct for applying logical thinking in a simple, non-conventional way, to get what we want personally and professionally. If not for everyone, at least for my current and future staff and clients. NMTT explores applications of:
- Everyday critical thinking and logic,
- The importance of first plotting the course,
- Momentum: the cure to what ails, and
- Keeping it simple. Period.
This series is not for everyone. If you are satisfied with the status quo, it is not for you. I do not wish to infringe on the time of the content or values of the innocent.
NMTT is for small teams. Small teams get things done. If you need advice on how to play office politics, I am sure there is a blog for that somewhere on the internet. This ain't that.
Our philosophies are not for martyrs who want to work themselves to death. If you insist that only you can do every job correctly because everyone else is an idiot, then you are a self-fulfilling prophesy. Good luck with that.
Psych! We are totally going to throw in some tricks along the way.
Tricks are awesome. Apps and tools that eliminate mindless repetition rule! So, of course we are going to share the useful sites, tools, shortcuts and hacks we discover along the way.
I hope you will join us. Please consider:
- Subscribing to our RSS feed
- Bookmarking our blog at http://www.miravistallc.com/blog
- Following us on Twitter (@MiraVistaLLC)
- Subscribing to our email newsletter
Here is to the adventure.
- Derrick