1. Lack of motivation. A talent is irrelevant if a person is not motivated to use it. Motivation may be external (for example, social approval) or internal (satisfaction from a job well-done, for instance). External sources tend to be transient, while internal sources tend to produce more consistent performance.

2. Lack of impulse control. Habitual impulsiveness gets in the way of optimal performance. Some people do not bring their full intellectual resources to bear on a problem but go with the first solution that pops into their heads.

3. Lack of perserverance and perseveration. Some people give up too easily, while others are unable to stop even when the quest will clearly be fruitless.

4. Using the wrong abilities. People may not be using the right abilities for the tasks in which they are engaged.

5. Inability to translate thought into action. Some people seem buried in thought. They have good ideas but rarely seem able to do anything about them.

6. Lack of product orientation. Some people seem more concerned about the process than the result of activity.

7. Inability to complete tasks. For some people nothing ever draws to a close. Perhaps it’s fear of what they would do next or fear of becoming hopelessly enmeshed in detail.

8. Failure to initiate. Still others are unwilling or unable to initiate a project. It may be indecision or fear of commitment.

9. Fear of failure. People may not reach peak performance because they avoid the really important challenges in life.

10. Procrastination. Some people are unable to act without pressure. They may also look for little things to do in order to put off the big ones.

11. Misattribution of blame. Some people always blame themselves for even the slightest mishap. Some always blame others.

12. Excessive self-pity. Some people spend more time feeling sorry for themselves than expending the effort necessary to overcome the problem.

13. Excessive dependency. Some people expect others to do for them what they ought to be doing themselves.

14. Wallowing in personal difficulties. Some people let their personal difficulties interfere grossly with their work. During the course of life, one can expect some real joys and some real sorrows. Maintaining a proper perspective is often difficult.

15. Distractibility and lack of concentration. Even some very intelligent people have very short attention spans.

16. Spreading oneself too think or too thick. Undertaking too many activities may result in none being completed on time. Undertaking too few can also result in missed opportunities and reduced levels of accomplishment.

17. Inability to delay gratification. Some people reward themselves and are rewarded by others for finishing small tasks, while avoiding bigger tasks that would earn them larger rewards.

18. Inability to see the forest for the trees. Some people become obsessed with details and are either unwilling or unable to see or deal with the larger picture in the projects they undertake.

19. Lack of balance between critical, analytical thinking and creative, synthetic thinking. It is important for people to learn what kind of thinking is expected of them in each situation.

20. Too little or too much self-confidence. Lack of self-confidence can gnaw away at a person’s ability to get things done and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Conversely, individuals with too much self-confidence may not know when to admit they are wrong or in need of self-improvement.

• Have a time-consuming, 14 hr day, Project with ultra-tight deadlines at work,
• Buy a House,
• Move,
• Renovate Home,
• Try to blog daily,
• try to start working out,
• Unpack,
• have a pregnant wife

...all at the same time. No good. No good.

Have you ever heard of the Herman Miller Aeron Chair? Its one of the most comfortable, ergonomic chairs in existence. Guess what, I just bought one on Craigslist for next to nothing. Yes, Craigslist. It is in perfect shape and has all kinds of levers, knobs, and adjusters. Are you jealous? You shouldn't be -- I mean, I'm the one sitting here on the Internet _bragging_ about buying a stupid office chair like its a sacrificial rite of passage to nerddom. Dont get me wrong -- it is ... a rite of passage ... but ... how pathetic do you have to be to be bragging about a chair at 1:35am? ... Sigh ...

Oh well - I am enjoying it. I am NOT enjoying my wife being pissed that I bought it, but sometimes you gotta swing the 'sac around and lay down who is boss (and / or buy her something nice for the baby ... or a house ... with new floors, carpets, counter tops, whisper-close toilet seats, and Behr Premium Plus Paint...) ((yes, cause normal paint isnt good enough to put on a friggin wall)) ...

Before you ask, I am going to put up a blog post about whisper-close toilet seats. I know your dying to know about them...

Love,

You Friend Craig

Should I be drinking diet coke? Maybe this is a sign. All I know is that its completely frozen and all over the floor... and not sliding down my throat providing me with the vital caffeine I need to survive. I am so bitter right now. Maybe a trip to QT to get a rooster booster is in order...

The last few posts have probably sounded a bit morbid and pessimistic. I'm not going to lie, these are scheduled posts - I wrote them all in one night.

Someone, quickly, save me from the self-loathing pity I have surrounded myself with lately. I am the big 3-oh. That's 30. Thus far, 30 is a pretty horrible feeling. You wake up realizing that you're not cool anymore. Seriously, half of the marketing professionals in the world are pretty much done with you. The only people that have interest in you anymore are:

• TV manufacturers
• Golf stores

Why? Cause your old fannie can't do anything but watch TV and hit range balls. If your profession was related to Extreme sports, you'd be retiring at this point in life.

At least you still have your health, right?

My metabolism has completely stopped. I eat everything in sight. I've gained nearly 50lbs since I started dating my wife a mere 3 years ago. Folks, that's the equivalent of carrying nearly four 12lb bowling balls on your gut every moment of your life. My blood pressure is lackluster at best. Stress? STRESS?!? Yes - stress is totally associated with age, even though scientist would tell me I am crazy. Something about turning thirty means you need to be constantly advancing your career, having a baby, and moving into a bloody new house all at the same time.

Craig, seriously, calm down. Its really not that bad...

If bad were a living in a small hut in desolate part of Africa, then yes, things could be worse -- but being age 30 in desolate Africa is like being 92 years of age in the United States -- I could spend my free moments carving rocks to use for my headstone.

Well -- At least the Wildcats are 16-0...

Thank Bloody God or you'd be pulling the shotgun out of my mouth!

...

Please don't read into this too much - I am just trying to have a bit of fun. I realize that I am a really fortunate person -- and being 30 isn't that bad, I just like to be negative for fun! Special thank you to everyone who showed up for the Tim Stark / Craig Clayton - 30 year old bash at Nicks the other night! I have the best wife in the world for setting that up. This week could be kinda bad on the blog -- got a lot of projects to finish, then i'm heading to KY for my birthday celebration, Round 2 with the grandparents. Great, another opportunity to realize I suck ...

Fact of the Day -- Kurt Cobain killed himself at age 27. I thought he was a whole lot older than that... dang, that was a long time ago!

Who? Me. I'm paying for your services. I'm paying for "internet access". When you shut it off for 36 hours, for no reason - well, ... I do not have "internet access". When I don't have internet access, I cant work effectively, communicate with my colleagues, or send out snarky emails to my staff. I can't order stereo equipment online. I can't check the weather to prepare for 3 to 5" of snow. See, basically your stopping free markets. When you stop the free market, your promoting communism. Russia was a communist country once - We know what happened to Russia - you really should watch out.
[/insane rant]

I have a friend, ... an internet friend, that i have shared a majority of my life with - I mean, i've told this guy a lot of stuff over gtalk ... and I've never actually physically met him in person.

You may say: "Well, Craig, that's normal now-a-days ..."

I say to you - no, not at all... Why?

• The guy was in a fraternity at the small college I attended in KY at the same time I was school.
• He was in IT - I am in IT
• We have a mutual good friend in Andy Hill.
• I am pretty sure I sent him an invite to my wedding, totally not even thinking "that might be awkward - not actually have met him..."
• I know him by his facebook profile picture...
• We now live in the same city.

Tim Hart - Maybe we should go to lunch sometime soon.... hahha

This year, in no particular order.

• I went to Las Vegas with Suzanne.
• I only got to wakeboard twice.
• I didn't go snowboarding.
• Fourth of July sucked because it was like 50 degrees outside.
• My friend, Scott Randolph, got married.
• My friend, bofe, got engaged.
• I lived in New Jersey, then I moved to Missouri.
• I ditched shared hosting, my vps, and my box on softlayer for cloud computing.
• I found out that my wife was pregnant with a little boy.
• I went to New York to hang out with some "internet friends".
• I got real fat (225lbs), lost 25lbs, then gained it back (230lbs).
• I developed an insane "bloodlust-like" addiction to PJ Whelihans Hot & Honey Wings (see previous weight gain line item)
• My Friend, Heath Bittel, had a baby girl - Lana.

Here is a listing of the top albums I listened to in 2009:

• Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise
• MGMT - Oraculary Sepectacular
• Kings of Leon - Entire Discography (renewed interest in this band)
• Manchester Orhcestra - Entire Discography
• Norma Jean - The Anti-Mother
• Scott Weiland - Happy in Galoshes
• Jay-Z - The Blue Print
• Kanye West - Entire Discography (I never listened to him until taylor swift incident)

More to come as I remember what happened. I'm feeling reflective today...

First off, I was cruising around on AllianceWake.com - think of it as the US Weekly of wakeboarding news and events. I usually check out the videos section, looking at the latest uploaded films. I watched one of the new top videos and was a bit perturbed by something I saw -- something I don't see very often. Aaron Rathy wakeboarding without a life jacket.

Is he the first to do this? Nah, I've seen it before - but its really hit me mentally - what if he was get his breath knocked out -- wonder how fast a dude like that would sink?

We could ask Raequel Hoffman... I wonder if she would stop wearing a vest...

As stated before, in my eyes Aaron Rathy can do anything he wants - wear no life jacket, crush baby rabbits with the jaws of life, porno, tattoo the word "earth" on his forehead - whatever... its a free country. However, if you do something that is against what most humans have been socialized to (ala: Wearing a CGA life vest when participanting in water sports) -- expect the wrath that comes with it. Every personal decision you make has consequences and possibly unintended wrath associated to it. I, personally, felt obligated to share my opinion that wakeboarding without at least a semi decent vest was stupid and suicidal on a large forum...

All and all, i thought there was some good discussion - here is the thread if you are interested in reading what others had to say.