Scott Adams said if Art isn’t dangerous it’s no longer cool. I agree more and more. And Robert Greene said that we don’t really long to feel young. We long for the agility of mind that we had when we were young and unsullied by failure and mistakes. And then–I learn–being bold is the safe choice. Both Godin and Al and Laura Ries say this. Strike out your own path and become indispensable. It’s safer.
Than being one of the people laid off in the financial crisis.
But it takes renewal, and finding renewal is hard for me (and truthfully for everyone). Where do you seek it? Some folks find God, some take a mistress, and some folks buy a shiny red Corvette, the official sports car of aging baby boomer douchebags. The renewal it takes to keep your mind agile when marketers fill every waking moment with as much as they can is not insignificant. Finding time to be still , to clear your head of thoguhts is ferociously difficult.
Everyone battles you when you want to create something cool. Your peers aren’t on the path so they say dismissive and belittling htings and look askance at you. Your parents want you to have a good job. Your spouse and you have baggage if you’ve failed at anything. So how do you stay focused, practiced and sharp? There is resistance, and there ARE ready made excuses for failing.
I remember songs and smells and sites and days from my youth. I love fall because it reminds me of going to Pittsburgh, GW, and Otterbein. Three times of intense and fun renewal–peak experiences for sure. I love midsummer because it’s when I started dating Heather…within weeks it was established that this was the last first date that either of us would have. And I remember winter, mostly being a college guy visiting home, taking a drive on 70 to Piqua,
Those are fine memories, and all of ‘em are part of me. I don’t want to live in the past, really. (Cue Jethro Tull). I want to have the new peak experiences. When I joined the campaign, that was what I was seeking, new things to energize and renew me, and to sustain me. It’s why I gravitate towards finite projects in lieu of long term stability. I get the angst and darkness of George Bailey. Needing to matter, and having wanderlust all at once.
How do you find the renweal/euphoria/excitement/fear…?
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