Get Off Your Ass

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We’re The Ones We’re Waiting For
~Tom Kemmer

My studiomate scrawled that on the walls of our studio. I’m not sure where it came from, or what he was referring to. I am struck by it’s truthfulness and pointedness.

I managed to get get through college. I got exceptional grades, studied a wide range of topics and overall was the picture of success. When I got done with school I waited tables, sold coffee, and did random menial jobs. There was a disconnect for me. Even though my collegiate career had been a success, I for some reason was convinced that other people were supposed to get the cool jobs and lives, and I was supposed to grumble about how other people got the cool jobs and lives. I hit the mid-twenties rut and I wallowed in it. I wish that I remembered what it was that turned it around for me, but at some point I remember thinking, “Someone out there gets to do all this cool shit during the day. They wake up, go to a cool job, work on fascinating creative things, and then go home to happy, interesting, and fulfilling lives. They ride vintage Vespas and travel to exotic locales. They are valued for the merit of their ideas, and not just their ability to show up for work.” What does that dude have that I don’t? Actually as it turns out, quite a bit. But it was all attainable through our good friend the internet, and Barnes & Nobles.

So, I downloaded free software trials. I bought books. I hacked my way through tutorials. I learned the skills that I knew those happy dudes had. I got 2 internships, and worked my ass of for free, while waiting tables at night and on the weekends. I made projects for imaginary companies to build a portfolio. This is not the most efficient way to achieve your goals. In hindsight – I should have asked more people for help. They’re out there waiting for you to ask. But regardless – brute force and persistence is all you really need to get to where you want to go. Brute Force Creates Momentum.

How does this translate? I was reading Seth Godin’s blog the other day, and happened on this post called Graduate School for the Unemployed. He proposes a list of things that unemployed college grads could be doing with their time to give them the additional experience they need to succeed in the work force. I’d take it a step further. Picture not the kind of career you’d like to have – but the kind of life you’d like to have and make this same kind of list. Then… and here’s the rub… here’s what people forget to do…. do those things. Every single day, work on something that is on that list. Momentum will follow.