I keep getting asked why I’m not more surprised at what’s happened, both good and bad, in 2008. People know that I deplore the duplicity and stupidity that got us into this mess; they also know that I’m an econ-idiot and didn’t see it coming.

So why am I so calm? How can I just shrug and focus on moving forward, with nary a backward glance? Come to think of it, why is that my typical reaction to so many screw-ups?

So in deference to my friends and colleagues who’ve been asking, and in honor of the start of a new year, I’m going to share my secret here, publicly, with everyone.

While many people are adherents of Murphy’s Law, it doesn’t give nearly the mental, emotional, physical, even psychic protection that O’Brien’s Law gives.

What? You’re not familiar with O’Brien’s Law?

Then for your erudition I will state them here together, so you can understand why I’m a passionate believer in the O-Law as opposed to Murphy’s.

Murphy’s Law
Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

O’Brien’s Law
Murphy was an optimist.

And that, my friends, is why nothing really surprises me any more.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 5:30 am and is filed under Just For Fun, Leadership, Miki's Rules to Live by, Personal Growth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Tags: Miki's Rules to Live by, Murphy's Law, O'Brien's Law
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.