Note from JD: Short, Simple Wisdom is a new semi-regular series of short posts (less than 500 words) written by those who have little or no experience with blogging or the blogosphere. By publishing the perspectives and life experiences of those untainted by an inundation of self-help/lifestyle design drivel, I hope to uncover some hidden bits of wisdom that we, as a community, might not have otherwise considered. With that in mind, I present to you David’s perspective.
The year – 1999. Date – December 31. Time – 11:59:59 PM. Event – end of the universe as we know it. Or would it be the end? No. Not for me – or anyone for that matter. But it did mark the arrival of a new computer in my home – an HP desktop with Windows Millennium Edition. After a few minor nuclear explosions in my office, the Y2K bug finally hit the windshield, and Windows ME settled nicely into its cubbyhole.
That was over nine years ago. Nine years ago things were very different. Nine years ago I was accustomed to sitting in a typing class at the middle school (I suppose it’s paying off). Nine years ago I was 11. Now, nine years later one of the few things that has remained constant and semi-reliable is that Millennium Edition desktop – this Millennium Edition desktop on which I’m popping my proverbial blogging cherry.
What were you doing nine years ago? Did you have any idea that you would be reading a “blog”? Or how about “tweeting” your every move? I know what I was doing. Dreaming. I dreamt of being a professional baseball player, and there wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t think of that dream being fulfilled.
As I grew older though, I found that growing up isn’t all about realizing one’s dreams, but about realizing which of one’s dreams can be realized. I learned that I wasn’t cut out to play baseball the moment I picked up my first guitar and wrote my first song. I was a musician. I was a traveler.
Sure, baseball is a love of mine, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that, as much as I love it, I discovered it wasn’t my passion. See, that’s the difference, I found, between passion and love – I enjoy baseball, but I long and desire to play music and travel as much as I possibly can.
For you it may be something different, but the one thing that will benefit you most in your life will be doing something that you enjoy doing. I urge you to find something – anything – that you are passionate about and go after it! Don’t work… live!
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Hey, I'm JD. Last year, I started Wage Slave Rebel as a resource for those who are dying to escape from conformity and design the lifestyles they dream of! I write about online entrepreneurship, productivity, and lifestyle design.
9 years ago I had never even heard of a blog. I was at university studying linguistics and planning to be a English teacher for life. 9 years later, and I am not in my last year of teaching. I plan to retire from teaching next July after 7.5 years. I'm now a blogger at heart and want to put more effort into that. I need to remove the distraction of teaching from my life to become more focused.
Oh man, I can barely remember what I was doing 9 years ago. I suppose I was probably playing Magic cards and building up a community around that (which eventually landed me my first REAL job at a bookstore, which lasted 5 years) and then slowly establishing myself as an extravert rather than an intravert, which is how I had always tested up until that point.
It's so hard to remember, though! I have photos on Facebook from that time period, but they seem so…surreal!
What about everyone else? I'm curious to find out what your main concern was 9 years ago!
My main concern 9 years ago was getting better at basketball, and playing in the NBA. Ahhh so full of dreams haha. That's about it, because all I ever did was play basketball. I didn't play video games or anything. I guess it ended up well as I had a good college career. My passion is still there for the sport, just now as a fan. Very interesting and thought provoking post!
Nine years ago I was running around in fishnets and colorful hats, terrified of driving a car and kissing every one that I ran into….oh high school….actually, I guess not a whole lot has changed
Looking back 9 years is such a double-edged sword for me. At 25 it's embarrassing to look back at where I was, what I was doing, and what my priorities were (though I have to give myself a break since I was in high school) but it's certainly nice to see where I am now in comparison.
Really taking a second and looking at how far you've come in a period of time like that can be very motivational. When you're trying to plan for the future, it's hard to see how much change you can accomplish. The micro changes that happen day to day are easy to miss, but compounding them over several years can change the whole world.
When you see how much you've changed already, it becomes much easier to see all the possibilities ahead.
9 years ago, I was still getting used to the fact that my daughter had moved out on her own… to Georgia of all places. I was helping my son, pick up the pieces after he returned home for the 2nd time, after spreading his wings and crashing to earth again. Lastly, I was living in fear of loosing my job during the next round of layoffs, wondering if I would ever have enough money to retire.
Sound a bit different than most who read this blog?
I’m not that different at all. I just happen to be down the road a bit further and have a few more grey hairs. Preparing for retirement is very much like “graduating”. The big question is the same…. NOW WHAT?
The common thread is that we are all wondering…. What is our passion. What are we going to do with the rest of their lives that will make a difference. Some of us just have a lot more sand in the bottom of the hour glass than others. (Most “older folk” don’t know what the heck we're doing either.)
Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone. So make good choices, seek good council, and help as many other people along the way as you can. It will come back to you. Above all, don’t be in such a hurry to get to where you are going. Take the time to just STOP, and take in the journey itself. It’s the best part.
Kickass post, David! I think our goals or dreams will always continue to change and evolve with us as we grow as well. You'll never quite "reach" them, there'll always be more you want to do before everything is just "perfect"—but that's the beauty of life is you never stop growing.
Some goals you find out are also just totally silly, for your own situation! I remember when I was in middle school I thought I was gonna grow up to be a famous basketball player.
Some of my dreams now: 1) become a published author, 2) be a Stanford-MBA-toting Silicon Valley entrepreneur/venture capital guy, 3) bring social change to the world in some big crazy way like Muhammad Yunus. Only time will tell which ones actually resonate with me and I have the guts & commitment to actually see through.