I met a guy tonight that’s spent a bunch of money (more than I’ve ever spent on a new car) on his dream. His dream? To combat apathy and empower people. Pretty cool, eh?
I’ve always had this wild distrust of money, like it’s some unbroken horse that’s going to throw you the moment it gets a chance. Maybe it’s from the way I grew up, I don’t know. But, as I’ve spent the last several years in different businesses, I’ve come to see money as just another tool to get you where you want to go. Nothing scary, just practical, like a pair of channel locks. Not good for everything, but when you need it, nothing else will do.
My dream is not unlike his. To spin a story that axes the frozen sea inside all of us (thank Kafka for that line). But, I’ve never really brought all my talents and tools to bear on that problem. I’ve done part of it here, part of it there. I do some of it every single day.
This really came up because of another email I got this week from a domain name registering service. You know, those people that you pay to get things like www.isntthiscool.com or whateveryouwant.org. About ten years ago, I registered cmtalbert.com. In ten years, I’ve never done a thing with it. Ten years. It was quite a blast from the past. I remember registering for it and spending a few minutes trying to imagine what I’d be doing in 2008.
I didn’t think I’d be working for an incredible Open Source movement, living right above the Pacific Ocean, and still not have a published credit to my name.
But I think the time has come to really look at this entire enterprise the way I’d approach something at work. Let’s spend money where it helps, let’s do what it takes, and climb after my dreams without keeping one hand on the rope at all times.
I would normally write this sort of thing in a journal, and all four of my regular readers (thank you! 😉 ) would never see it. But, this time, I thought it made sense to pledge myself to this publicly.
What would you spend a ton of money on if you had to? What is it you want to do in your heart of hearts?
I’m very happy to see you back to blogging. Believe it or not but we’ve missed you out here in blogland. I attended a writer’s group tonight. It was awesome cool. Right here in Laguna Beach. I thought about you, your books that need publishing, and wondered if I’d hear from you after your return from Spain. So, yeah, it’s good to see you surface. What an excellent post too. Focusing on our heart-of-hearts can be tough. It just takes inspirational people to remind us that whereas we’ve lots of chances, we’ve only one life. Thanks for passing on the inspiration. 😀 Cheers!