My intention in creating this blog was to provide a source of information and inspiration so that others might be moved to action. I didn't want to make a million dollars off this blog, or get famous off this blog (both of which I am definitely NOT doing, so there are two successes, I guess). Since I started the blog, I've pretty much used it as a way to centralize news items that connect to the recession, how it's affecting people, and how some people are doing well in spite of it. Then, one day I realized that I wasn't really bringing myself to the blog, and I think that good blogs connect the writer to the audience.
It would be easy to think that I'm writing this blog as some kind of expert. That's usually what people do, right? They pick a topic and write everything they know about it for others to consume. That's not what I am trying to do. For me, this blog is a constant reminder of my own weakness; a lack of hustle. This blog is my chance to role model what I know I need to do, and what I think millions of other people need to do.
We all get afraid on a daily basis. Fear is a natural part of life. My biggest fear, the one that comes to me on an almost daily basis, is that I am wasting time. Each day that goes by, I am reminded of something that I didn't get done, something that may have taken me one step closer to being the better version of me that I wish to be. The time that could have been spent taking that step is lost. Gone forever.
Your life is just time. It's all about how much you can get done before the time runs out. I'm 35 years old, but I think I've probably only lived about 20 years worth of good living, and that's nobody's fault but mine. I've watched WAY too much TV. I've said "no" too many times when I should have taken the opportunity. If I died today, I wouldn't complain because I've had a really nice, easy life, but I certainly would feel disappointed because my life could have had a lot more substance to it than it's had so far.
In this regard, I don't think I'm much different from the average American. I believe we are a good people, but a spoiled people. I believe that we have all the resources to be the greatest society the Earth has ever known, but we definitely are not headed in that direction. Too many of us are not maximizing our time, this one life that we are given.
I can't be responsible for others, but I am responsible for myself, and that is my greatest freedom. If I am going to make this blog a thing of substance, then I must challenge myself as I challenge others. I have to make the time I have matter, and the only way to do that is to hustle.