Taking time, expanding circles, and more

Another gap in updates.

My writing ability seems to be dropping sharply, so a few miscellaneous notes.

I failed at work recently, and I'm writing this down as reflection.
Grateful as I am for busy days, more tasks have started to stall.
I was reminded again that I'm not the type for whom things go smoothly early.
More than other excellent people, I need to take time, keep polishing delivery quality, and focus on raising satisfaction.
Anything short of 100% is a fail — I have to put in more hours.
There was plenty I could have handled in advance. There are learnings, but failures like this don't have much value.
It made me think I need to be more conscious of humbly taking time.
Don't compare with others — take time and keep going.
Lately my circle of people has been expanding. Sometimes through private friends I got close to a while ago, sometimes introductions via ongoing clients.
Opportunities to be connected — "I'd like to introduce you to XX," "We're looking for someone who can do XXX" — have increased on both business and personal sides.
I also often ask acquaintances whether they know someone like XX. Referrals really are reliable and helpful.

Just recently a friend my age whom I'd had a meal with about half a year ago reached out: as projects at the company he'd founded were growing, would I want to collaborate?
I answered positively and we talked soon. We first met about half a year ago and talked fairly deeply then — that he remembered me now and brought a project was already enough to make me happy.

On Zoom after a while, after a light catch-up, we spent about thirty minutes discussing an abstract topic with no clear exit — oscillating between divergence and convergence.
Being able to get excited about something that abstract right after reconnecting felt lucky.

When I meet someone I like, I often take the approach of talking deeply without holding back.
Over time that comes back around, connections grow, and I feel fortunate in the people around me. A happy thing.

I watched an interesting TED Talk in Japanese.
"When you befriend the elephant in your mind, people move"
It simply moved me. Better than my commentary — please watch the video.

That's all.