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Dissatisfaction may be the motivation you need, if you don’t want to end up with a pile of shoulda, woulda, coulda.

Maybe it won’t.

The quote here is from Skip Gaskill, United States Marine, and a college roommate about 100 years ago.  He wrote two comments on yesterday’s jungle jeff blog post.

Skip, your edginess, your dissatisfaction, and everything else you wrote inspired me, and I’m certain it did others as well.  In your honor, as a United States Marine, I’m reposting your quote for everyone’s benefit.

“Some people wonder all their lives if they’ve made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.” — Ronald Reagan, 40th US President

And it seems as if people like it when I talk about how much hating bull can be a good thing.

Any idea how hard it is to be on fire, every single day, with a passion for excellence?

On the trip home from Hartford, Connecticut last week, while in the Orlando International Airport Men’s room (which smelled like a pasture), it hit me.

There is no way people can expect themselves or others to be passionate about something they themselves aren’t.

Duh, right.

So if you don’t like what you do, who you do it for, or both, get away from it.  Of course, this is tougher in a down economy.  But a down economy is the best time to prepare for the upswing.

It will come.  And if you are waiting for it, you are already behind. Now is the time to make your move. And even now may be a bit on the late side. But what if you continue to wait?

Sad indeed. No pity from me. You’re a grown up. Figure it out. Read. Study. Observe. Stay up late. Get up early. No one else is going to do this for you.

Stop looking at leadership and the organization as a parent.

I have a great optometrist if anybody needs one.

There are some really effective people using social media. Seth Godin leads the way.  Mashable is another.

And then there are the digital neanderthals – smart business men and smart business women – who think the world isn’t really going to change, and if they ignore social media long enough, it will go away.

Fools.  Sloths. Dinosaurs. Excuse makers.

“I’m too busy.”  “It doesn’t apply to me.”  “I’ve made it this far without social media.”  “It’s too difficult and I don’t have time to learn it.”

Good.  It’s the perfect storm, isn’t it.  Let the people who excelled in traditional ways make room for the others.  It’s their turn now.  A new social (media) order.

Have you ever read a fair number of LinkedIn profiles?  They are great if you have trouble sleeping.  Seriously. And very boring status quo.

How do I know?  Good question. Maybe I don’t.  But here’s a hint, from a Twitter tweet from someone who read my LinkedIn profile.

“Thx for following, Jeff Will look forward to your tweets. Jennifer PS: Best Linked In summary ever- clever, yet informative.”

Put it to the test.  Click here.  Remember Lane 8’s post from two days ago, “Put Up Or Shut Up”?

Do you know one of life’s most under rated yet critical success factors?

Most people have such a casual approach to this gold medal secret that many of their challenges in life could be remedied, or at the very least, alleviated.

Still have no idea right?  Bet it’s not even on your radar screen.

Sleep.

When was the last time you had a year’s worth of consistently adequate rest?  Most adults require 7-8 hours of sleep per night.  As a student, and teacher of excellence, I confess to focusing hard on this.

I also confess to have had my clock rocked since (traveling to Finland in) August 2009.

Bottom line is, I’ve been struggling for a long time with this.  Having slept for eight hours each of the past three nights has felt like a major accomplishment.  And then this morning, this email article hits the inbox.

Click here to read it if you want a professional opinion on what I just wrote.

Get your sleep, or you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life.