On Spec means building something to specifications determined by someone else, with no guarantee of a return on investment. I’ve been wondering about living on spec. Because I’m pretty good at it. If someone gives me an assignment, with guidelines, I shine. Ask any of my professors or supervisors.
But this blog
? It’s all mine. No guidelines determined by someone else, no deadlines, even less of a guaranteed return on investment. It’s so, throw-it-out-there and see-if-anyone-picks it up. It’s so un-me.
Give me an expectation and I’ll meet it. Chances are good I’ll even exceed it. I want some specs! This is embarrassing, but I’ve gotten so good at it, my master’s program classmates say, “Wow! You really Laurieanned that!” when someone follows and then exceeds the specs on the syllabus.
I love specs. They have helped me succeed, define my life, and stay on course, on track. Doing anything off spec is the kind of daring for those maniacs who jump from high places for fun, you know, like these guys.
I prefer to read.
Even while I am writing this, I am coming up with my own blog specs so I won’t feel as freakishly free and maniacal as those cliff jumpers look. And, at the same time, I am wishing I could just leap without so much looking sometimes. I wish I could fly by the seat of my pants – that could be fun right?
When do you go off spec in life? Do you prefer predictable specs too and if so, are you free for lunch?
open book open heart 