Experience or Result

I could tell you that I haven't been able to blog because I have been so swamped lately but that would sound like nothing but an excuse, so I won't even say it. Having no time for something is the age old excuse that has been used to dead. But, that's not what I am blogging about.Have you ever heard of the phrase, "Experience is what you get when you are busy focusing on something else." I thought this sounded interesting and insightful, but I didn't quite get it at first. Okay, I am a slow pepper, but you know how language always have so many different meanings. And unless they give you an example, you don't really know exactly what they mean. So for example, lets take my case. For many years, I was busy trying to build my career or (off the record) cash out on a startup. ;) While busy doing that, I gained a lot of experience in chip design and domain expertise in several different industries like networking, telecom, storage, and semiconductor. Damn, this sound like it came straight out of my cover letter. =)So after I heard that quote, I came up with a slightly different version: "Result is what you get when you are busy focusing on something else." Now, your first reaction might be, "Damn, this guy is off to the deep end." or "Is he smoking something?" Well, maybe it might help if I had said, "Result on something else is what you get when you are busy focusing on this." That probably didn't help either, so let me explain with an example. Btw, I came up with this while working out at 24 hour Fitness. Okay, I may sound like I work out often and consistently, but I don't. My work out frequency can be best described as "once in a blue moon". In any case, I diverged. My example... when I do my 30min on the machine, if I listen to my iPod, watch TV (with subtitle on), or thinking about something, time just fly. I also see other people reading their magazines or books. One time I even see a guy doodling some kind of design while on the treadmill. So as they are focusing on something else, they get the result of a good work out. The insight here is that if you want to get some result and the process to get that result is hard or boring, just trick yourself into doing something to get your mind off the pain or boredom and before you know it, you have achieved your desired result. Also, a some what related quote from a guy I used to work with, "If you know you are stuck doing something, why not just try to enjoy it." As you are stuck doing something, you can either hate life or really try to enjoy it. It's just the flip of a switch in your mind. ;)