Life is an amazing journey. Full of precious moments, things that seem bad at the time but really aren’t, and moments that you don’t realize their importance until much later in life. I get made fun of for smiling all the time. It’s generally not a smart ass smile but rather a smile because I’m enjoying this ride and taking it all in. Here are a few things I’ve observed as a middle aged man
1. Three seconds after you tell a story, most people absolutely can’t wait to tell their version of the story. After they’ve figured out the subject matter they’ve already stopped listening. When I see a look on somebody’s face I can tell if they are preparing their story for immediately after I stop speaking. To have a little fun I usually end my story with a question. Changes things up a little bit
2. Bullshit has been a part of business forever. It’s called different things at different times but everyone wants to appear successful. Nobody want’s to work with a person or business on a downhill slide. It’s become much easier to hide reality with the advent of the Internet but at the same time it’s now harder than ever to hide it for long.
3. The rarest find is a person that is successful in business AND their personal life at the same time over the long haul. It usually takes sacrifice in one to achieve success in the other.
4. A man is as faithful as his options. From women, suppliers, to personal choices, most men will explore their options. The more popular and desired one becomes, the more the options open up, and the harder it becomes to make good decisions.
5. If a problem can be solved with money, it’s not a real problem. The only problem is that you don’t have enough. If you have a problem that no amount of money can solve, then you’re in trouble.
6. Eventually you will give up all your money to have your health, looks, and youth back. Most will do everything to achieve the wealth but will ignore the needs to keep the latter.
7. When people ask “How much money is enough?” I have this answer. Each person’s level of “enough” is when they care more about having free time than making more money.
8. Creativity is one of the most desired trait in today’s person. All the buzzwords like “thinking outside the box” and think different are just terms for creative. Going places the average person can’t get mentally. I can find a smart person easily, finding a truly creative person is a much harder find.
9. There is only one way to protect your privacy in today’s world. And that’s not to tell anyone. Above that, you’re one divorce, facebook or twitter post, from having the world know something you didn’t want public.
10. You will never accomplish anything by yourself. You can be the driver, the centerpiece, the worker, or the money man but I have yet to meet a person that didn’t have others help or influence their path. The person that feels they went solo is the person that is the least likely to repeat the feat.
“If a problem can be solved with money, it’s not a real problem”
I like that,how true
4. A man is as faithful as his options. From women, suppliers, to personal choices, most men will explore their options. The more popular and desired one becomes, the more the options open up, and the harder it becomes to make good decisions.
Aaah…that is so true!
Shane,
Hell of a post! Legendary, this is a Rick quality post. Thank you for sharing.
J.
Shane,
I would be very interested to know the inspiration behind this post.
JS,
I actually sat down and wrote it today in 20 minutes. There are times when my brain just clicks. I spent a rare full day alone with my daughter today, we had lunch, watched a movie and just hung out and talked. I said a few of the things I wrote in the article and realized it would be fun to share some of my thoughts. Glad you liked it.
Creativity is very, very rare.
I work in an insanely competitive creative industry (strategist) and see just how uncommon it is. Our “Under 90 Day” new hire churn rate is over 75%.
Perhaps 1 in 10 people is even functionally capable of originating a unique thought at any point in their lives. Most people are so totally hard wired to base their intellectual processes on referencing what other people are doing, then just following that in one slightly modified form or another. Finding the rare bird who doesn’t think that way can be a chore. Even if you find someone who’s creative, finding the one who’s bright enough to comprehend enough of creative intellectual ecosystem to think up something marketable and/or worthwhile is hens teeth.
Anyone can say they’re creative, everyone believes they’re creative, some people can even create the illusion of creativity for a little while, but anything other than the real deal doesn’t survive in a serious professional environment.
The weirdest thing is, creativity is so rarely found in ‘the norm’. You’re more likely to find it in a homeless shelter or a prison than you are at any given graduating University class. There’s a reason why the hiring managers at Google, Groupon, etc are just as likely to care about your interests and hobbies as they are your ‘formal educational’ background.
(not my site in the link, but a good example of just how much money flows around hiring junior/senior creatives in Chicago)
This post/comments (Shane and L)
Reading this – Was a Refreshing Break for Me Today…
with fresh hot tea… and some quite…
Thanks for Sharing – From Within…
~Patricia – Ohio USA – DomainBELL