Originality

“Adapt or die.” - Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) – Moneyball

I was going to write a Halloween pun-laden article with a tenuous link to something related to Contract Renewals. Bat then I thought, is that really a good idea? Witch article would my colleagues, peers and future employers find more interesting; a cheesy pun filled article with very little substance or something more original?

I thought about writing something about how many days there are until Christmas but then I realised that the moment I posted it, the countdown would be out of date. 

The US election is everywhere you look at the moment; I could write about that.

Or maybe I could write something about the move to Daylight Savings Time and how it might be 8:45pm as I write this, but in my head it’s actually 9:45. Or is it 7:45?

How about Brexit? I could write about the impact of Brexit but it hasn’t really happened yet and everything that is happening is more about the fear, or indeed excitement, (depending on your viewpoint), about Brexit. And besides, talking politics on a public forum is dangerous at the best of times, but in the current political climate anything that’s written will be out of date in seconds.

Heathrow? Again, nothing has been decided, the Government have just decided that they are in fact going to explore the possibility of building another runway and even if it does make it all the way to construction by the time it's finished we probably won’t have enough oil to keep the planes in the air. And, anyway, it’s been written about so much already…

And then it hit me… Originality! I should write something about being original. Imitation may well be the sincerest form of flattery but necessity is the mother of invention. The need for success drives us to our greatest and most original achievements.

The progress of the human race has depended on and been driven by our need to stay alive. Weapons and tools were developed to help us catch, cook and eat food. Without these inventions the human race would have become extinct centuries ago and would have saved us from President Trump. Anyway, a work related goal should clearly never be a life or death situation but without the edge of a deadline or a target how do we keep focus?

To truly move the needle, or to smash your targets, having an original idea is the key. As Einstein once said, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of madness”. But then at this time of year being insane at least would mean saving money on a costume. 

There's only one of you and there will only ever be one of you*. We all have the capacity to be original; we should use it more.

*I thought about sharing the story about how I asked a brother and sister whether they were identical twins but decided not to because it's far too embarrassing.