“An object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by another force.”
Sir Isaac Newton’s First Law of Motion, also know as the Law Of Inertia
I have to confess that when you discover gravity, you’re the kind of historical figure who gets my attention. For that reason, I have always been a big fan of Newton.
Yesterday, I was trying to explain to my son why he was better off developing the habit of doing whatever it was we were discussing [cleaning his room maybe?]. I had tried the idea of the practice habits of great athletes like Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Tiger Woods and others, explaining that when you did things repetitively in practice, you would automatically do them in a game. The explanation fell flat. And I realized in a nanosecond that it should–I wasn’t talking about what athletes do–performing under pressure, although certain of my kids might disagree when talking about the pressure to clean their rooms. Instead I was talking about the idea of, well, inertia. If you do something everyday, you are more likely to do it the next day. If you don’t do something very often, it usually takes some special energy to make it so. Inertia. Momentum. Great concepts for explaining why its easier to keep a room clean instead of trying to clean it all at once before Dad goes nuclear.
So as I am driving in this morning feeling all proud for this “good dad moment,” I started thinking about whether I am following my own advice. How good am I about calling my clients and talking with them on the phone every now and then? How am I about reading the Google alerts on my clients or others I’m trying to represent? How often am I reading press releases or SEC filings on my clients so I am up to the minute on their business? How good am I about my marketing efforts?
These examples illustrate the countless questions I’ve been asking myself all morning. Damn that Isaac Newton!