Another Day, Another Dollar

Woke this morning thinking about the transfer of experience from older to younger people... and to some extent what is involved in the harnessing of youthful energy toward productive ends. More specifically, as it pertains to business or career.

As an "idea person" it has always seemed to me that the ideas exceed the time frame allotted to accomplish them. Ideas for articles gurgle up from the subconscious pretty regularly, as well as ideas for businesses and art projects, aong other things. Ideas are also triggered through encounters with daily readings or daily conversation.

I had lunch with a young person yesterday who seems to be taking life by the horns. He is not passively waiting for life to happen to him. He has began mapping the terrain as regards local career options, to see where the good places are to dig a hole and start mining or, to use a garden metaphor, sow seeds.

Simultaneously, there are many young people who see the end of their college experience with trepidation. Uncertainty await all of us, but the one who unflinchingly moves forward into the future with expectation will go further than the one who shrinks back.

Getting fitted for life doesn't happen in four years anyways. It is a lifetime process, with the first stage being, "Who am I, really? What are my strengths? How can I minimize the impact of my liabilities?" And if you are lucky, maybe you will find a mentor, or friend, who can help you through the muddle into the next level of issues with questions like, "How can I best contribute to the success of my company, or community?"

To some extent deadlines and responsibilities dictate how we fill many, if not most, of our hours. But in the free hours outside the confines of these boundaries, what is your passion? Is it cars? Self-improvement? Solving the world's problems? Becoming a virtuoso musician? Becoming a writer? You will not get there simply by drifting.