Joy

Welcome Stumblers, Thanks for visiting.

This is one of my favorite pictures.  I’m quite surpised it has taken me this long to upload it.  I took this picture for a college photography class that I was taking.  This is actually around picture 5 in a series of 10, that involved the subject admiring balloons and eventually just walking away (unscripted).  The title of this post is joy because of the emotional charge of a child and handful of balloons.  I don’t have any hidden meanings, history, or symbolism in this picture, it just speaks for itself.

I come and I go, but where is that?

I travel a good bit, probably about 8-10 weeks per year. So it is very often that I am either coming home, or I am going away from it. Being alone much of the time, I often dwell on what it means to be isolated and a wonderer.

So, what exactly does this mean: “home”? To me “home” is family and friends, and not a physical place. So, If my family and friends were in North Korea, then that would be home. To some this may make sense, but in a nationalistic country like the USA, this often is seen as treason of some sort. To say that I live in North Korea would make me an enemy, despite the fact that it is just a geographical entity. Aren’t North Koreans or Iranians or Iraqis or Afghanis just people with family and friends who live in a geographical region? Why do we have to hate people just because of this fact? It makes no sense to me.

I guess this is why I often have trouble feeling/being proud to be an American. I don’t feel some kind of great, proud, nationalistic identity. In fact, our history of warfare, slavery, and ethnic genocide of the native peoples really disturbs me. Fellow Americans, I hope some of this disturbs you too. So why do some of you think we are so great and our cause always so just? Why are so many of you blind to your hatred?

I really wish I understood this. Because, I think it is human nature to be territorial. But maybe there are laws and limitations to this. I mean really, is afghanistan or Iraq going to invade our country? Yes, there were the terroristic attacks of 9/11, and I think that is all part of the strife here. That modern technology has blurred the line between human nature (being territorial) and over aggression. Perhaps, it is just a self correcting system and Karma will eventually bite us in the ass.

Maybe it already has.

“The 4 Hour Work Week” by Timothy Ferriss: Part I – opinions

I’m on my second/third reading of the book, the 4 hour work week by Tim Ferriss. I have a few comments on the book but before I get to far I want to issue a quick disclaimer:

• I’m not a Tim Ferriss wannabe fan-boy
• I think this is an excellent book
• Take all “self-help” kind of books and advice with a healthy bit of skepticism. I.E. grain-of-salt mentality.

So, first, for the curious who have already read the book:

• well, I’ve read and applied several of the lessons from the book to my own life. I filled out a dream line, only to realize I didn’t need to quit my current job to fulfill many of dreams (wow, that was an awakening).
• My dreamline was pretty bland, but then I don’t covet valuable things very much (more on this later). However, I really wish I had more un-interruptable time in the form of complete days with no work-related responsibilities.
• I also filled out a chart on what my fears are, in which I realized that the benefit far outweighs the risk. In my case the risk should be high considering I’m a single bread-winner in my household. But I have a special skill that is highly coveted, which is my reserve parachute so to speak.
• I have not found my muse or special profitable calling, but I have some ideas. But many of my ideas are already taken or just don’t motivate me enough to take them past second base.

Next, here is a summary of some of my thoughts on the book. Both praise and criticism.

• The book is disguised as self-help, as it is to a point, but it is not your typical “work smarter not harder” type book. Tim encourages people to just let go. “The 4 hour work week” is often compared to 2 other books – “The 7 habits of highly effective people”, and “Getting Things Done”. Whereas the 7 habits is about being effective and principle centered, and GTD is all about efficiency, 4HWW is all about letting-go and being free and Carpe-diem type attitude.
• Read the book if only because Tim thinks outside the box and presents you with ideas and challenges that you’ve probably never read in a mass-market paperback before.
• The book is actually kind of funny. Tim is a unique “down-to earth” but still a serious kind of go-getter gen-X’er.
• Tim often comes across as very materialistic. I felt that the book espoused too much on materialistic enterprise. My point is that life is not about destinations, it is about journeys. The book focuses so much on going places and doing things or what I think of as the jet-setter lifestyle. However, this does not bring happiness. What do you do when you’ve checked off all of the items on your list? I don’t think Tim is this kind of person, but I do think that the book seems to focus to heavily on being a life-is-a-list type of person.

With that said, put the book down, put the “to-do” lists away, forget about tomorrow, and call someone you love and tell them that.