Finding your lot in life (and I don’t even like calling it your “lot”) is not something that is necessarily easy to do. You have to mix desires, emotions, needs, talents, and other stuff, and somehow, you’re supposed to emerge with a very clear perception of yourself and the path you should walk in life.
I don’t buy it.
For me, I always wanted to be rich. Not just because I wanted a bunch of money, but because I saw early on what a stifling bummer not having enough of it could be. I mean, does anyone else find it ridiculous that “no, you can’t do that” because you simply don’t have enough money to afford it?
That’s my definition of ridiculous.
We live in a society that purports to be all about freedom and democracy, yet the truth is, a vast majority of us are beholden to an economic system that has pretty stringent rules. For the most part, our capitalist society is fair, but I think there is a certain class of people who represent square pegs in a round hole universe.
I believe I am a square peg.
I’d like to illustrate exactly why this economic structure is fucked up by posing a very simple question.
What would Einstein, Ben Franklin, the Curies, Edison, Voltaire, or anyone else whose intellectual contributions have defined their legacies have done if they were tied down to a stifling economic framework?
To be sure, it is harder to hack it nowadays because in our capitalist society, everything has now basically become “capitalized.”
Which is another way of saying that you’re paying for a hell of a lot more for a hell of a lot more shit these days than you would have even 50 years ago.
The great minds that I mentioned above were, for the most part, able to focus on continued learning in their areas of interest. In some cases, such as Franklin’s, these interests spanned a wide range of topics, thus making him one of the great scientific thinkers and contributors of the last 500 years (maybe ever?).
Admittedly, I’m not all that big on admiration and/or respect, but I will say this — the older I get, the more I truly appreciate what somebody like Franklin was able to accomplish through the course of his life.
I can see that we share a kinship that is not so much mental by nature, but more emotional.
Clearly, he suffered from the same afflictions that I do today (and some of my friends as well, as I have discovered). Franklin was a master of many different disciplines, and I have to believe that it’s because he enjoyed — nay, needed — to conquer topic after topic in order to stay sane.
It’s simply how he was wired, and when you combine that with his keen wit, you get somebody whose historical contributions will likely live on forever.
Accomplishing something similar in my lifetime would be the ultimate validation of my very existence.
But, to get back on point here, the bottom line is that Franklin was able to focus on many different subjects throughout the course of his life, and I suppose I feel that this is harder to do in 2006 than it was 1770.
And I also believe that we have capitalism to thank for this.
That aside, I’m really not big on excuses. The bottom line is that excuses simply arise when you haven’t gotten the job done, and I realize that if I’m to live up to my own expectations, not getting the job done is simply not an option.
It’s quite obvious to me that I have to conquer the capitalist realm, all the while trying to establish and extend my legacy in the world of intellectual contribution.
What I really want is to be able to continue to produce things of universal value until I can no longer do so.
What I really need to get there is a lot of damn money.
schmentrepreneur
I think a lot of bulldog entrepreneurial types would look at what I’ve written here and kind of shake their head in disapproval, but I have something to say to them.
You aren’t smart enough to understand…
…yet. Perhaps one day you’ll see the light, and your life’s journey will turn down an unexplored path that will lead to self-validation.
In the meantime, though, please know that the money you extract from the economy will not live on beyond your time here, and I hate to think how empty you will feel as your clock winds down.
I cannot walk that path. I must have more.
It’s not about the metrics that society, capitalism, or Webalizer throw out there. These are not the standards by which you will ultimately judge yourself.
After all, if you cannot serve as the primary filter for your actions, contributions, and life, then who can?
Why does it have to be “god?” Why does it have ot be somebody else? Why can’t it be you?
Are you lazy?
Are you scared?
I’m not scared; hell, I’m on a mission.
bringing it home
So, what is your lot in life? Are you operating on a plane that is above all the metrics, all the distractions, and all the bullshit?
At the end of the day, your character will be defined by how well you are able to conduct your actions in life, and that, my friend, will be your lot in life.
Fuck the metrics. It’s you vs. you.
What’s stopping you?