The Four Ds

The four Ds should not be confused with the four Fs, which are an altogether different topic.  The research department has been working hard on finishing a paper for publication regarding this highly controversial subject.  I am hopeful they will do an excellent job for which I will be able to take full credit.  Don't tell them that though.

Determination, Discipline, and Delusion can be a powerful package when used properly. The determination to rise above all obstacles, the discipline to keep grinding through the hard times, and the delusion that you are capable of realizing the dream.  Delusion and extreme confidence share a lot of qualities.  Delusion is unique from the others in that it can exist as being both correct and incorrect at the same time.  The end result will retroactively determine if it was delusion or extreme confidence.  If you are successful despite the apparent odds against it, then you exhibited extreme confidence.  If you fail, it was a foregone conclusion because you were delusional when thinking it was even possible.  Delusion needs to be used in moderation or one can expect a horrible crash.

Your ability to count to four probably hasn't failed you.  I only mentioned three of the four above because the fourth deserves its own paragraph.  It is best if this one can be eliminated, or minimized as much as possible if elimination is not an option.  The fourth D is doubt, and it can be the most powerful and destructive force.  Doubt exists within all of us, and there are too many who live to foster it in others.  Once it starts growing, it is hard to contain because it corrupts everything around it. Delusion, when wielded by a master, is a counteracting force against doubt.  I have studied with the masters to learn the inner secrets of the power of delusion.  I am much closer to an answer now than I have ever been in the past.  I am hopeful that the solution will be mine after a few more lessons.  The only problem is that these lessons cost more than college tuition, and I'm not sure how many more AcMo can fund before the accountants uncover the money trail.

The formula for success involves maximizing the three Ds, while limiting the fourth.  Be prepared because it can be a circuitous and unexpected route to success.  One can usually compensate for an imbalance between the elements, but an overwhelming amount of delusion and/or doubt will take the train off the rails with no hope of recovery.  Trains sometimes derail of their own volition, so keep that in mind as well.  I think the best practice here is to just avoid trains whenever possible.  Doubt is so hard to defeat because it can often be the loudest and most convincing internal voice.  Doubt knows all of your weaknesses, fears, and failures, and it never lets you forget any of them.  How does one defeat doubt?  The truth is, I haven't found the answer to that question, but sometimes you can only win by just not listening.  Keep in mind that the natural order is balance, so some doubt should always be present.  It may keep someone from doing something extreme and dangerous like antagonizing electric eels while swimming with them.

Predicting the future without a functional time machine is a difficult task.  Knowing how an action taken will resolve itself is almost always a best guess.  Doubt only wins if it stops you from even making an attempt.  There's always a chance of failure, or the situation not working out, but you can't ever know if you don't try.  AcMo has been at the forefront of defining new technologies for years, but we have often failed to capitalize on that knowledge because of doubt.

We are working hard in the lab to create a doubt eraser.  The problem so far has been that our method to erase doubt lacks a targeting system, so it erases everything else as well, leaving the test subjects blank.  We have been scouring the world for additional involuntary test subjects and a better testing procedure.  We have so far been beaten, but we will keep trying.  We won't know anything for sure until we can test on more people.

AcMo will not rest too much until a marketable solution exists.  It won't do us any good to create a solution if we can't sell it to the public for further testing.  We depend on our customers to fund and finish development of our most important projects because that takes the strain off of our resources and allows us to focus on finding Waldo.