Random

i have decided that i fall in love easily

i have also decided that its not a bad thing.

Song of the Day: Bombay Bicycle Club: Always Like This

Skill Set vs. Materialism

I have had a lot of change occur recently and certainly lots of uncertainty ahead of me as a result of my actions. I took my last piece of advice about time rather seriously and decided to act accordingly. So I resigned from my job. At that point in the conversation when the ‘I Quit!’ moment came out of my mouth I immediately felt the unease that comes without the security, certainty and comfort to which I am now accustomed. Immediately following that I felt the energy come back into my skin, the true feeling of being relieved and the realization that in all that uncertainly lay infinite options.

One of the exercises I have been meaning to blog about is something I, and probably others who have an entrepreneurial bug, struggle with constantly. The question of resources or more specifically the scarcity of those resources, do I have enough in order to make things work? More often than not the word resources can be replaced with money. So I decided it would be wise to take on the opposite question of what if I did have the resources. What if I had the following amounts $50K, $100K, $1 Million or even $10 Million?

The answer to the last one is quite simple as it’s high enough a number to justify not having to work anymore and simply live off principal and interest. But the other three amounts result in a similar answer. They differentiate in varying degrees corresponding with each amount. With a million most people would save some spend some and do any number of things with the rest but in this day it’s unlikely that it will last you the rest of your life especially if you’re young. With the other two amounts its pretty much guaranteed that production and income is still required. All of this is relative to the individual depending on spending habits, and decision making but in absolute terms it simply isn’t enough to survive on.

The original point of the exercise, as I believe was intended by the person it was given by, was to discover that money in itself is really not a valuable resource. The more valuable thing is having the experience to make the money work effectively and of course to make it multiply. I on the other hand take a slightly different lesson from this. I fully agree with the latter portion about multiplication, but I have and probably always will have a difficult time accepting that experience is the best teacher, perhaps due to my youth and comparative inexperience. I believe that the real insight is that to a point it is almost irrelevant how much money you have to start pursuing the next steps in life, but that the most valuable resource is the ability to think beyond the obstacles that present themselves and just take that step and the associated risk anyway and push beyond any perceived limitations in resources; whether this be money, lack of faith, or in my case the fear of success.

Song of the Day: Bah Samba-Calma

Timeless

The concept of time is something that I am starting to question more and more. More specifically I question the structure and rigidity it imposes on everyday life. I think that we need to have less reliance on it, only using it for more practical purposes rather than the way we blindly let time dictate our lives. I am not speaking to the more obvious notion that time is necessary to organize our life and set up our days accordingly, I am speaking about a bigger picture one in which time, not the individual, dictates when, where and how things will occur in our life. For instance, at some point most people have put together a thought that resembles 'when I have this then I will get that' both the 'this' and the 'that' are controlled by time in this thought. This implies that time, not the individual, has control of our actions or more importantly creates our inaction. Often we approach life with the mentality of 'Have, Do, then Be' instead of 'Be, Do, then Have'. Time is so embedded in society it is difficult to think how one might cope without it while concealing how enormous an impact it has on the way we live and approach life.

A simple example that I can draw from my own recent experience is something I indicated in my one of my very first blogs. This being my ambition to take more pictures and buy a camera. My thought process to achieve this goal was completely wrong. I thought that when I had enough money I would purchase the camera and then take more pictures. This is the 'Have, Do, Be' approach. In the context of what I believe to be the more correct approach (Be, Do, Have) I started to look up camera's and immediately found that I no longer needed to prolong my purchase as I had no idea what enough money to buy a camera would be and more importantly when that would be. I now have a camera which will allow me to take more pictures, learn more about photography and actually achieve my stated objectives.

However, this is just a minor example. Consider this in the larger picture. What are you putting off for 'when the time is right' that is really something we desire that can be acted on now. I am looking more and more to implement this kind of thinking in my life. Time is just a man made concept (brilliant it may be) that is universally and socially accepted by the masses and consequently forces conformity. Consider the 9-5 the bane of my existence. How did we arbitrarily just decide that this is when the world will work and coordinate all its activities during this time period? I read more and more and now experience more and more that really time is not only irrelevant but the actually prevents the very purpose it is supposed to serve. Creating freedom. It seems more and more that those who do not follow the laws of time often create more freedom for themselves and naturally lead fuller and more fulfilling lives.

This concept and perception of time, and my personal feelings towards time may be argued by many. I would assume mainly by those who 'need' that structure and organization in their lives, those on the fringe of obsessive compulsive certainly 'need' their calendars and appointments to be accurate. But this is the exact proof of my point. This is completely artificial. Look at the reliance on time as a necessary fixture in your life and just for a moment consider evaluating the dominance it has on you.

Act on what is guaranteed not on what may or may not be coming in the future. The most ideal time that we have is right now.

Song of the Day: Gui Boratto-No Turning Back