Are you getting what you want out of life? Are you accomplishing the things you really want to do? Of course there is no reason or way to strive for more until you’ve seen what more (or less) looks like. That’s something worth pondering… what views do you want to see in life and what do you need to do or overcome to get them? Do you want to do more meaningful work? Become a public figure? Save lives? Design something that impacts society in a big, felt way? Maybe you literally just want to travel the world or escape to a beautiful beach or perhaps you want to be the one in the bosses chair. You should take a minute to picture whatever more means to you so you can determine whether or not it is worth chasing (hint: the harder something is to do, the more you should do it). On the other side of the coin, it wouldn’t hurt to look the other way and envision where you DON’T want to be because contentment is found when realize that you have what you need. Only you know what view suits you best.

Just take a look at the first two pictures below which show the differing perspectives around the realm of public speaking. In just this one example we find profound implications: one person is a leader and a group of people are followers, the entire audience knows who the speaker is while the speaker knows probably next to no one in the audience and the speaker probably makes more money than most of the people in the audience (perhaps more than many combined). The list goes on. Browse on to see a few perspectives and counter perspectives that will really make you think about what more (and less) will look like to you to help you decide where you want to be and what you want to do.

I’m nearing my thirties and as I do it is really beginning to set in that I won’t be young forever–and that’s OK. There’s a time for everything including being young and old. I look at people like Steve Jobs and realize that he was arguably most productive during his forties. Look at Richard Branson in his sixties–he’s building a space tourism industry! Age is not a problem to me. What is a big problem is wasting time that you’ll never get back. While you can still be productive in your sixties you can never go back and relive your twenties and make them any more productive. All the more reason to take a stab at something hard–it will pay off and the sooner the better. Taking the obvious a bit further, you can never use lost time to learn and stack that learning on top of more learning. Sure, you can always start learning new things wherever and whenever you are in your life but you could be so much further ahead if you had started sooner. Hey I like to waste time playing video games as much as the next guy, but I also make sure to fit the accomplishments into my life that I want to at this stage. I guess what I’m trying to say is you have to get a head start on what you really want to do with your life. If you wait too long you are going to be putting yourself in a big hole. Thanks captain obvious (me).

Isaac Newton is famous for saying that if he saw further than other people it was because he stood on the shoulders of giants. In his case he was referring to the science foundations laid by those who came before him. You know, you can do the exact same thing. There is no reason why you must do everything on your own. Whatever your industry is, state your goals then go out there and find the giants whose shoulders you can stand on to see further than you could on your own. Whose work/experience/errors/successes can you build off of? It doesn’t have to be a person–it could be a brand or even a movement.

For me, with DailyTekk, I look to the experience of people like Michael Arrington from TechCrunch. I even made a tribute post thanking him for paving the way for me in what I am trying to accomplish. An obvious brand that I, and many other people, connect with is Apple. As a designer I love the simplicity of the products–the focus that Steve Jobs brought is something I strive to incorporate into my own business. I’m also standing on the shoulders of the people involved in the Bauhaus Movement which began in the famous modern art school of the same name in the 20th century. These people all accomplished so much that I am standing on today to see further than were I to stand on my own two feet.

Who are your giants?

I’m beginning to find out that if you want to make things happen in your life, you have to be the one to initiate change. Good change, that is, because you really have no control over bad change. You can’t just sit and wait for life to happen to you and expect to wind up with a promotion or a job your more passionate about.

Example: I recently came up with a killer idea, shared it with my boss who shared it with his bosses boss who is the head of our organization in North America. Now my boss and I have a meeting at the North American headquarters to see if the idea will get funded. I’m excited because I am passionate about the work that could be done (by me and others) if the idea gets the green light. It is what I want to do with my life and I am pursuing it.

If I had never spoken up and shared this idea (which really has nothing to do with my current position) with my boss I would never even have the chance to follow my true passion.

Are you missing out on following your passion? What can you do to create the change you want to see?

There is a reason why some people are more successful than others. Actually, there are many reasons, but I’m convinced that one of them is this: people don’t want to do hard things, as a general rule, so the few that are willing/able/unafraid to endure a bit of hardship are the ones who are going to come out looking like they accomplished something. Respect, money and even fame are most likely going to follow to some degree.

Take Bear Grylls for example. You don’t want to eat nasty insects and drink your own urine for the enjoyment of millions of viewers. You probably wouldn’t even want to go through the special forces training he had to endure before he ever made it on TV. But he did it and look what it got him.

Do you see what I mean? You’ve got to be willing to do something other people aren’t in order to get ahead. This could take many forms. The classic example is being an entrepreneur and trading in the safety of a steady job for the uncertainty of fledging a new company that may or may not make it in the end. It may look like taking more initiative with your boss or learning how to speak up. It could look like starting a blog that nobody reads for 6 months but being sticking with it till it finds an audience. Patience, persistence, the ability to envision the future, optimism and a higher pain tolerance are all hallmarks of successful people.

Many people have given up on doing something respectable to gain attention and they do something terrible that nobody else is willing to do (like give up their dignity by dressing skimpy to sell music). Some people aren’t willing to trample others underfoot to climb to the top. Either way, doing something that hurts you or someone else is not the way to go.

If you are tired of the same old routine in your life or if you have big dreams you want to accomplish, you can’t be afraid to give up a bit of comfort for the short term in order to gain something better for yourself in the long term. It’s not for everybody… that’s why some people are more successful than others.

What do you think?

Sometimes I find inspiration in the craziest places. Recent example: a lightbulb. I recently replaced one of two pot lights in the ceiling over the fireplace so I had one new bulb and one old bulb, obviously. It was quite an ordeal to install this new bulb (involving multiple attempts at standing on an office chair with wheels on a wood floor with nothing to grip onto), so I was pretty excited to see my handy work pay off. I went to turn the bulb on, however, and was a little taken aback when the old bulb lit up immediately and the new bulb dimly came to life. While pondering whether it was truly broken and how much work it would be to replace and return and then install a new bulb, again, I looked back up and saw that new light was shining brighter… and brighter and so on until, yep, it was the brightest bulb of the two. More like I had expected.

This simple activity got me thinking… it’s never to late to replace an old bulb in your personal or business life. Maybe you have a failing or aging strategy and you are behind the competition. Installing something new might not immediately solve the issue. You might need to wait a bit for the true effects to be seen. Even if you start late, you can outshine the old with something new. Lesson? It’s never too late to take the lead. Thanks lightbulb.

Beware though–I’ve now got to replace the other bulb so it matches. Lesson: if you do start late and end up shiniest brightest… the competition will want to catch up.