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College student hoping to expose people to thoughts and ideas they might not necessarily come across on a regular basis.

Twenty Years From Now...

If I told you, right now, that you'd be working the same job in twenty years as you are now, how would you feel? How do you feel just thinking about that?

"If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes." --Andrew Carnegie

People always say that if the best thing you can do in your life is to get a job that you love, because for most people, if we're honest, the chances of suddenly getting rich or winning the lottery are practically nil. So if we get real about this, the best way to live your life is to find the thing that you love, whether it's playing baseball, crunching numbers, cooking burgers, or chasing butterflies. I'm serious.

I know that there are skeptics out there. There are people who say that only a small percentage of people can ever really do what they love. That those people get lucky that they have the time, energy and money to invest in such an endeavor. To those people I say, I'm sorry you've given up on your dreams.

I understand, truly, that there are times and situations where a person has no choice but to continue the work they do, even if they hate it. They can't quit for fear of losing their house. They need to put food on the table. But how many of us out there have the time? How many of us simply choose to come home from a hard day at work, and instead of thinking of ways to turn our passion into our life, we plop down on the couch and watch tv, we think of ways to avoid doing anymore work than we want to. Maybe we even indulge in the activity that gives us the most joy.

Maybe you spend the evening gardening. Maybe you spend your time writing little stories in a notebook. Maybe you fix up a boat in your backyard. If you set yourself a plan, spend an evening or two figuring out your options, you would be amazed at what you can accomplish.

You want to learn a language? Is that something you've always wanted to do but never had the time? I guarantee you you can learn a lot in 1 year. Seriously, all it takes is 1 hour a day. 2 if you're a real go getter. Learn 10 to 15 words each session, and do that every day if you can. Write those words down, use them in sentences, say them a million times in your head, whatever it takes to get them to stick. If you do 10 words a day, for 365 days a year, that's 3650 words, and that's a damn lot. That's a working vocabulary. Mix in some reading. Find a paper in that language, and even if you don't know the words at first, your eyes need to become accustomed to seeing that language. I know working on it every single day isn't possible, but don't let yourself skip because you're tired, or you don't feel like it. If you're passionate about it, tell yourself what's good for you is to do this, so the future will be yours for the taking. This is what I did. Maybe you like something different, though.

What about cars? You like working on those? There are exams to get your mechanics license. No money for school? Thank god for the internet! I am telling you now, your best friend in any self education adventure is the internet. There are websites with information about everything you can imagine, and if you just take the time, a little bit of time each day, or any day that you can, you will absolutely reach your goal. There are guys like Tony Robbins who make millions of dollars saying this same thing.
I'm telling you for free. You can have what you want. It's not going to happen without a little sacrifice and maybe, if you're unlucky, pain. But you know what they say.

No pain, no gain. You gotta give a little to get a little.

Don't tell yourself it's too late now. Don't think that just because you've passed a certain age, you should be ready to just flop over and die. I mean, if you want to, go for it. But don't ever complain that you couldn't do what you always wanted. That power lies solely in your own hands. And if anyone, and I MEAN ANYONE, ever, eeeeever tries to tell you you're not good enough, that you can't do it, you should look them square in the eyes, and tell them to fuck off.

You have one chance to live your life. One chance. Whether you believe in an afterlife makes no difference to me or not. This life is unique. It is special, and you will never have the opportunity to do it over again. The average life span for most cultures around the world is eighty something years. That's average, though. That's not guaranteed. If you intend to enjoy your life, get started now.

If you're in college, or high school, or middle school, it's never too early to start doing what you enjoy. Find people who enjoy the same things as you. Take classes that interest you. Do not, and I mean do NOT, choose the degree that is most convenient. Don't choose the degree your parents want you to choose because it's more practical. To hell with that. Stand firm in your desire to do what you want with your life. Your decisions are your own, and if people want to keep you from achieving your dreams, they are petty and foolish and not worth your time.

I'll end with another great quote I heard that I love. You're an individual, and you should embrace that, even if you're a little strange, because "the people who matter, don't care, and the people who care, don't matter."

Make the decision, right now, to do it. To live it. Whatever it is that you can imagine for yourself. Whatever it is you want to achieve, now's the time.

20 Responses so far.

  1. Sam says:

    Amazing post, very inspiring....have a great Thursday night!

  2. Unknown says:

    if i work in the same job 20 years from now i prolly gonna kill my self

  3. Patti D. says:

    I'd be depressed if I 'd be stuck doing exactly this twenty years from now.
    Last quote is awesome!!

  4. AhDiu says:

    wow 20 years . amazing .

    Followed ,
    http://ahdiu.blogspot.com/

  5. Drivebot says:

    TAKE LIKE BY THE BALLS. lol yeah, agree with 99% of what's in this post. cheer mate :) following

  6. noone says:

    wow. very deep. great post!

  7. xmeesx says:

    I'm depressed now, thnx alot!
    Nah kidding, but I've been wondering this myself aswell..

    "Money doesn't make happy.
    Why work for something that doesn't make you happy?"

  8. Nate says:

    beautifully inspiring post. one love!

  9. Anonymous says:

    So inspiring!! I love this blog!

  10. Thank you all greatly for the kind words. It's really inspiring to me, and I'm just glad that you can take something away from this experience.

  11. That quote by Carnegie was actually kinda helpful. Thanks!

  12. This is the philosophy I'm trying to live by.

  13. Lazer says:

    My god I hope I'm not flipping burgers 27 years from now...

  14. J L says:

    just followed you, hit me back. very cool blog!
    http://tinyurl.com/4nbjnaa

  15. -- says:

    Im a student right now with no job, so I'd be pissed...

  16. Absolutely understandable, Ben. But at least now you've got a lot of possible ways to go, so make sure you make the most of it!

  17. LunaSihne says:

    You really are great at inspiring, I have to say. I know how this can be so true and I tell myself the kind of things you just said, but I just can't do it. I really want to figure out what it is that I could enjoy doing for the rest of my life, even if i never got paid to do it.
    I might have to reread this every week or so just to get myself up early and do things.

  18. Do it! Write it down somewhere and read it when you need to. Do whatever it takes to convince yourself that you can do what you dream of doing. Just believe.

  19. Very true and wise words. There is no good reason not to put up with the struggle to do what you truly want to do. I am technically unemployed now, but if I kept doing what I am doing with astronomy; discussing topics, working with kids, raising awareness; then I would be very happy indeed.

  20. Tessa says:

    Love this! I originally majored in art education because I could 'always fall back on teaching" if the art didn't work out, but I realized that if I did get that degree, I never would pursue my art and just take the easier route of being a teacher.

    So put all my eggs into one basket and went for a BFA in art. I'm now working my MFA in studio art, which is exciting. I still would love to teach, but on the collegiate level (which is a tough field to get a job in these days), however I'm glad I didn't take the easy path.

    Life is just too short.

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