Theologians confess the toll it takes to be in the world but not of it.
And those on the other end also think that it is their job to save the world too.
Doesn’t matter where you are on the spectrum.
There is always a weight with self-actualization.
A participant in one of our classes commented, “The trail was harder than the climb.”
The reason wasn’t because the trail was objectively harder. (It wasn’t.) It was because this particular student felt like they had a choice to opt out of the climbing. And for whatever reason felt like they needed to finish the approach.
Of course, it always feels easier when we have a choice to opt out.
Opting out may be a sign of privilege but often we use it as a crutch.
How will you ever know your limits if you are never given the opportunity to explore them?
When is the last time you went to the edge and see if you could step over?
If you are looking to push a limit, it’s worth the time to invest in creating a system that makes it harder to back out.
Not many of us choose the stairs when there is an escalator right in front of us.
I’ve never been stuck in the middle of a snowstorm on the way to Cleveland.
But if I did, I’m sure there would be a story behind it.
In fact, it seems that the most memorable stories we have are not when everything went according to plan. It’s usually when Plan A and B are out the window.
“We’re here. Now, how in the world are we going to get ourselves out of this mess?”
It’s the moments of uncertainty that make us feel most alive. Not reassurance that everything is going to be okay. It’s an adventure.
Could you eat at least one vegetable today?
How about tomorrow?
How about for the next 100 days?
The first 100 days is the most difficult in building a streak. But once you do, you will find that it is much easier to maintain.
I’ve been blogging every day for five years straight. Of course I don’t want to break this streak now!
I no longer need to decide every day whether or not to blog. I have already made that decision long ago. It is just part of who I am now.
Life is a series of decisions. One decision can alter the course.
No one cares more about your product or service or song or book more than you do.
Period. Full stop.
You are not entitled to a 5-star Google Review or for everyone to like what it is you are selling because you worked hard on a project.
If you are making something remarkable, then it needs to be for someone specific.
Since 2008, Kevin Kelly and Mark Frauenfelder have been posting where to find Cool Tools online. Most of those tools are not for everyone. You may not be interested in buying a 500 page book about tools. But someone is.
Instead of building something and then finding customers to buy it, find a customer and build something for them.
Even better, what kind of story am I telling that will resonate with this person I am trying to serve? What are their wants, passion, dreams, fears? What are their hopes and desires? What do they want to change? How can I create status?
Then you are on your way.
I don’t remember the day I was born or taking my first steps or speaking my first words.
Yet, I can be sure it happened.
Because people I trust told me it happened.
We have more faith than what we give ourselves credit for.
So why do we find faith a difficult subject to talk about in our culture? It is faith that helps us build a world that doesn’t exist yet. It’s faith that keeps us going on a project that has a high chance of failure. It is faith that helps pull us through a tragedy.
The problem in our culture today is once we lose faith in our own abilities we will turn to others to make decisions for us.
We need more faith not only in ourselves and our own abilities to solve difficult problems but we also need to put more faith in humanity that we can overcome the problems of the past and future.
A house but not a home.
A clock but not time.
A bed but not sleep.
Pleasure but not joy.
Sex but not love.
Food but not an appetite.
A doctor but not health.
Insurance but not safety.
Salvation but not peace.
A travel agent but not an adventure.
Luxury and status but not significance.
A promise but not a reputation.
A piece of paper but not an education.
An acquaintance but not a friend.
A title but not respect.
A headstone but it doesn’t mean you will be missed.
…
This is the problem with money. Money can’t buy anything we truly want.
Money is only one axiom we can use to measure a life worth living.
How will you measure your life?
Turn off?
Slow down?
Quit publishing fake news?
We can’t possibly find closure in a medium that seeks to entertain.
However, we can simply put down our phone and see there is no existential crisis happening.
At least not in the urgent sense.
You have agency. Your choice in how you use it.
Remember: You are the product, not the customer.
I can’t think of a product or service that makes more people miserable than the media.
Staying informed takes 15-minutes per day. After that, you are just a sucker.
Harlan Ellison has a great bit on paying writers. And it isn’t just writers. It is anyone who is using emotional labor to create a connection.
The worst thing to happen to artists in the last decade or so is when the public started to call them content creators.
As Michael Metcalf has pointed out, “Content creation is culturally insignificant.” It is used to fill gaps. Click bait. We can all agree that there is a distinction between the work of Bob Dylan and what a stranger on YouTube posts.
Artist are much more important and need to get paid.
Of course, you can find amateurs who do something for free and are willing to do work anything to get their name out there. That’s fine. But don’t expect a professional to do the same.
For professionals the stakes are much higher. They do their work for money because that is how they put food on the table.
From time to time, I get asked to guide for free because of the gear and experience we have at Pivot Adventure. “Hey, its rock climbing. It is supposed to be fun.” And I almost always say no now. Because I know what I do has a ton of value. It bring joy and meaning to so many people’s lives. And I have to get paid to keep the lights on. Good Charma doesn’t fill your gas tank.
That is not to say artist can’t be generous with their time and talents. Of course they can. Just like a plumber or a CPA can give their time to help someone who needs to be helped. Generous doesn’t mean free though. Generous is seeing someone who is in pain and alleviating it. Generous is invoking a change in emotion. Generous may be giving the number to your competitors when you can’t serve someone the best. There are lots of ways to be generous.
It seems to me, when you are getting paid by the hour, you are not likely to stay after your shift ends.
There are not many people on the Amazon assembly line asking if they can stay later.
That is vastly different from someone who is working with purpose–doing that thing they were born to do.
We do things all the time for free, especially when we are younger. But all of sudden we get paid, and now it is work.
If you are going to dedicate 40 years of your life doing something, you should be careful choosing your life’s vocation.
