The Shortest Cut .....

There are very few times in life when you get something for nothing ........ In fact i think it is never. There is always a cost to everything that you receive. (Notice i said "cost" and not "price" )

This cost may not be not be monetary- it may be time, it might be effort or inginuity, but also it may come at a cost of friendships or relationships. Nothing is free. Every action has a consequence. And i don't mean in the religious sense in that there is a supreme being dealing out punishments and rewards in accordance with his appeasement or displeasment with humans. (Not that i don't necessarily believe in a supreme being - but rather that i believe such a being would not waste time on petty nuisances). So I don't believe this in a religious sense, but quite opposingly as common sense ..... lol

Common sense, logically speaking, everything gained is made at the sacrifice of something else (time, money, friendships etc.).

I was always a firm believer in the shortest cut ........ taking the best short cut to achieve your goal ...... work smart and not hard. I still believe in it ........ but with some slight alterations. To achieve the shortest cut, and be successful, some sacrifice must be made ....... usually in the form of a small goat in a pentagon ..... i'm kidding. (I know its supposed to be a pentagram, but the ZZMadMan likes shapes)

But seriously, some sacrifice has to be made..... If i want to achieve a task, but also spend a short time on it (thus affording me ample time to goof off/ watch TV/scratch my hefty nuts) ....... then either I have to:

1. do an effort re-allocation (coersing/paying/tricking someone else to do it) - at the cost of
   -getting caught
   -losing respect
   -losing control
   -the sacrifice of your own development
   
2. put in a greater effort concentration (greater effort in less time) .. ie. cram - at the cost of
   -a greater leverage of time (no liming/parties closer to the due date)
   -sleep (usually the case)
   -health (over-extent of oneself)
   -disposition (the emotional aspect)
   
3. put in a greater mental concentration - ie smart-maness.
   (Like finding a mental path through the woods that has a shorter distance to the main road way). This path is usually hidden, otherwise of course everyone will take it, and it won't really be a short cut, or it may be somewhat tricky.
   
   This comes at the cost of:
   -the mental effort required equivalent to the "beat the trick"
   -time effort required to "beat the trick"
   -People not liking you: hard workers never like smart workers. (But who cares about losers anyway) lol
   
   (Calling in favours falls into this category - performing favours is also effective but just not as acceptable lol)

All of these "methods" usually also come at the sacrifice of quality (though not always)

Ie ..... If you want something big to happen, you have to do something big. Reward does not always exactly equal effort, but it runs parallel to it. It is a symbiotic relationship. So if you want to achieve a certain level of success ........GET CRACK-A-LACKING !!

Either that or just be content to scratching your nuts !! (or whatever you got)

Disclaimer: "Scratching your nuts", although being a male-sex genitalia reference, is spoken of figuretively, and not meant to discriminate against women who would also like to "Scratch Their Nuts"

The ZZMaDMan would never discriminate against the ladies ;)