Chapter 9
Furry Object Syndrome
Franchise: The Original Series
Season 2, Episode 15: “The Trouble With Tribbles”
Hey, entrepreneurs! Small business owners! Network marketing professionals!
No, not over there - look over HERE!
And now that I have your attention:
Did you know that it’s possible to cripple your entire mission, halt everything you’re trying to accomplish, miss goal after goal, risk running your whole business into the ground …
… and not even realize you’re doing it?
Yup. and the warning signs are hidden in this delightful little dollop of all-time Trek comedy.
By the way, you’re not going to get a lot of detailed descriptions of this episode here. The reason is that, if you’ve never watched Star Trek before, if you’ve never before taken the time to get acquainted with these legendary characters, I think you ought to make this episode your introduction to the Trek universe.
I’ve seen people who aren’t fans – heck, I’ve seen people who’ve never seen a SINGLE episode before – beside themselves laughing at the hijinks herein.
Yes, that’s right:
You’re going to have to go watch this one yourself.
And now with that out of the way, a few pointers:
The Enterprise is summoned to Space Station K7 on an urgent distress call. In fact, as Captain Kirk puts it in his log:
Captain's Log, stardate 4523.3. Deep Space Station K7 has issued a Priority One call. More than an emergency, it signals near or total disaster. We can only assume the Klingons have attacked the station. We're going in armed for battle.
What they find isn’t a battle with the Klingons, the sworn enemies of the Federation. In fact, they don’t meet a battle at all … they meet a bureaucrat. Nilz Barris, a preening government functionary from the Federation. Arrogant, pretentious, issuing ridiculously nonsensical orders … I imagine you’ve seen the type before.
He isn’t the worst of the trouble, though. Nor are the Klingons. The worst of it – in fact, the thing that truly disrupts not only the station, but the Enterprise and the Klingon ship as well – is the appearance of the creatures in question.
The TRIBBLES.
Soft, fuzzy, furry, purry little pets that are so sweet, so soothing, and so impossibly CUTE, that they nearly bring the entire STARSHIP to a grinding halt!
How in the heck do they do THAT, you say?
Like I said before:
Watch. The. Episode.
But here’s the Lesson You Can Use:
Ever been fired up to get things done? Excited about accomplishing boatloads of work in or on your business? Ready to attack the phone and bang out that ton of follow-up calls you’ve been meaning to make?
… and then you look up an hour and a half later, and you haven’t done a damn thing??
OK, how’d that happen? I’ll tell you how:
Distractions.
The phone rings.
Your assistant comes into the office with a question.
Your roommate comes into the apartment with a pizza.
There’s a knock at the door.
The pot on the stove boils over.
The movie playing on the TV hits a dramatic climax.
Your computer dings with that email from your buddy.
Your computer dings with that email from your BOSS.
You see an ad for a business that “looks SO much better” than the one you’re building now.
You just wanna get this ONE Facebook post finished …
… and ninety minutes have flown by and you’re scrolling kitten videos again or nodding and shouting Amen! to another political rant and now you’ve missed your goal or dropped your deadline or blown your project or you’ve left your network marketing company completely for the “greener grass” someplace else and WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME ………………
So, how to prevent it?
Actually, the better question is WHY to prevent it?
As in, stop. Turn your phone off (yes, I went there – turn it OFF). Close the door to your room or your office. Shut out everything - EVERYTHING - for five minutes – then sit quietly and ask yourself:
What’s my WHY?
Why am I doing this in the first place?
What’s my goal? What am I shooting for?
And is it important enough to me that I’m willing to put aside everything else for the next FIVE MINUTES and work ONLY on this task that will move me closer to my goal?
I know, I know – I only said five minutes. But you’ve been fighting this distraction thing a long time, haven’t you? You’ve been derailed more than once, haven’t you? You’ve switched companies for what you thought was a better deal before, right? Maybe a few times? (In the network marketing game it’s called “shiny object syndrome” … see what I did there?)
So, to begin to overcome your distractibility, let’s start with FIVE minutes. Just five. Make one call. Complete one task. Write one paragraph or one page. Answer one email. Get one thing done – really done.
Then stop again, and CONGRATULATE yourself. You did it! Well done!
Now see if you can do it again, for another five minutes.
And then maybe ten minutes.
Wanna try for 15?
And before you know it, ninety minutes, ninety days have passed – and you look up and your goal is in your rearview mirror.
Just gotta get the tribbles off the bridge first …