Gary Vaynerchuck’s #AskGaryVee had been lying around at home for more than a month. I used to watch every episode of his show. Then it slowly slipped. Mainly because, well, like he says himself, it is better to watch one episode and actually use the practical tips and advice he gives than watching every episode and actually ignoring his whole message of putting in the work. So that’s what I did, I worked and stop watching the show. I bought the book, but didn’t take time to read it. And I thought I was doing good. But, I was wrong.
One of Gary main concepts surrounds the notion of ‘Clouds & Dirt’. If you’ve never seen the video, make sure to check it on YouTube. The idea is quite simple (yet very confronting), you have to know what makes you tick, what your values are and what you actually believe in (clouds). At the same time, you have to put in the work, execute, develop your skills and know your craft (dirt).
What I realised this weekend was that I am actually lost in the dirt. The past couple of months I’ve been completely focused on executing. This, of course, is not necessarily bad, but I lost sight of why I was executing. I was constantly focusing on KPI’s and targets, being efficient and structured, both for clients and internally. But something was off. Even my personal life was suffering, including my health. To the extent that two weeks ago, I went for a blood test, because my body just didn’t feel right.
Those who know me have seen or have at least had a taste of my philosophy of life. I live for the development of my country, Suriname. I want to see our country succeed, local companies to succeed, locals to succeed. In a sustainable way, that doesn’t include the selling of the rainforest. I believe in hard work and believe it is worth more than talent, but also feel people should be self-aware of their capabilities, their surroundings and their talent. I don’t believe there is one way to Rome. I don’t believe in failure or mistakes, I believe in lessons learned and the possibility to become more mature with every experience.
While there are many causes for getting lost, I’ll single one out. Anyone with close ties to Suriname knows our current economic and political situation and can probably understand that this could have something to do with me hitting the panic button. The only thing is, I didn’t respond in a type of panic that you would expect. I just started executing. Started completely focusing on execution alone. And subsequently, doing ‘work’ instead of doing ‘the things that I love’. Basically, I forgot why I loved ‘work’ so much.
One of the things I love to do, is put out content. Blogging and writing was part of my weekly flow and I enjoyed it. Being lost in the dirt destroyed it. I started seeing it as a chore and completely forgot why I was doing it. I’m glad I got the ‘why’ back. We need more positivity and joy. In Suriname, globally and in life in general. Not by turning a blind eye towards what is going wrong, but working hard to improve our life and the lives of other. By doing what we love.
For anyone finding themselves hitting the panic button:
Put in the work, but do take some time to think why you do it and what you believe in. Don’t get lost in the dirt.
And put that phone away.
