Four Years On

Happy Birthday Compass Star Wordsmith. May you live forever. Or until Substack shuts us down.

Never give up. Always fight. Last one standing wins.

On March 15, 2020 I was sitting in my boss’s office along with the HR Manager, discussing my “Five Year Personal Performance Plan”. No big deal, I was in my sixth year at a world-class venue in Southern California, happily (mostly) married, with two kids in college and another one with kids himself. I was at the top of the current game, and was planning on advancing to new roles with some responsibility. And the money was good and getting better.

The very next day we got sent home for two weeks to “Stop the Spread.” Well, three months from now, on the Ides of March, I’ll have to check on the progress of that plan. Somehow, I do not think I stuck to it. Or rather, the world didn’t stick to the plan. Just look at us now. All grown up and so much the wiser. Not.

Remember before Covid, when the frustration level with the status quo was up to our eyeballs and people were begging for a break. “Just stop the world for a minute” I heard more than one friend comment. Their wish came true for many millions - whose world stopped with death. For many workers, it became difficult, exponentially more difficult. For most others, it was a portal to hell. Or to here.

With all of the current events happening, maybe the two are the same: Here is Hell. Or maybe it’s just the here and now that’s hell. We’ll know soon enough or way too late, so we might as well make the best of it while the future unfolds.

You are holding in your hands my efforts at making the best of it while I can. Compass Star Wordsmith is four years old today. This is post #254. I’m very proud of that number. There are 61 drafts in the queue, just marinating. It’s a body of work that was not contained in that 5-year plan. Who knew?

Before measuring metrics, prior to making marketing decisions, and ahead of manipulating manifestos comes the work of writing. The label Overnight Success applies only to lotto winners and nobody else. And the label Success can be applied to every effort depending on the intention. But being a writer does require writing. And consistency is a form of success. So, I’m glad I’m doing this.

Being Glad is a form of success in and of itself. Putting forth consistent effort and feeling satisfied with the result seems to be a process in short supply today. Maybe it’s because our gratification need-cycle is about a second long. Now, is everything I wrote Pulitzer-worthy? Of course not. But am I proud of the effort? Absolutely.

And the greatest source of pride about Compass Star Wordsmith is all the pirates on the ship. It’s a collection of worthy individuals and kindred souls that like the idea of individual liberty and personal freedom. I’m sharing my first three posts from that day waaay back in 2020 when I started this thing so we can reacquaint ourselves with the mission. Thanks for being here. Let’s keep going,

Ric