Shiny object
From CaseyPedia
A shiny object or shiny thing is a sweet new idea or opportunity that serves only to distract a busy but short-of-focus ideas guy from his current activities.
The term shiny object was first introduced by Duane LeGate during his abortive attempt at mentoring Casey Serin:
- I am trying to work with Casey to do the following:
- 1) Stop chasing the shiny object.[1]
The phrases shiny object and shiny thing became haterz™ shorthand for Serin's many distractions. They have also become descriptions of Serin's prioritization process, in which he tends to focus on the superficial and flashy aspects of things rather than on an real value. This was the case with several of his properties and the purchase of Vdubs, when Serin paid more attention to the vehicle's rims and subwoofers than to the fact that it was a crappy car and that for the same money he could have purchased something far more reliable and useful.[2]
The phrase even came to be used by Serin to describe his lack of focus:
- (Exposure) attracts people, contacts and opportunities. However, managing multiple competing opportunities is the tough part. To succeed I am having to learn a whole new set of skills and a whole new level of focus. By personality, I already have a hard time saying “NO” and sticking to a strategy without being distracted the next “shiny thing”.[3]
Shiny thing thus represents one of the few phrases to successfully cross over from the haterz™ to Serin's own usage.
