Oct. 2nd, 2010
Quick update: We got the glass fixed on the RV today… again! We are finally ready to finish our last 60 mile little drive into NYC, where I will officially begin my 3000 mile skate across America on Monday, October 4th, 2010.
This is the final post of my three post series meant to fully answer the question of why I am skating across America.
Reason #3: Life Should Be Free
We covered some pretty heavy stuff in the last two posts: Why anything should matter at all and why we should care about anyone but ourselves. With the last post in this series, I want to tackle a slightly more exciting topic: I believe we are heading into a brave new world, and no, I am not talking about the one described in the 1932 novel by Aldous Huxley. Hopefully, this will be a much more positive new world. 😉
What I’m referring to is a world in which people do not make life choices out of submission to forces they believe are out of their control. This is a world in which people have the courage and the opportunity to choose a direction and walk passionately in it. Such a message is timely, as we are moving out of what we have understood as the “information age” and into what we will soon be calling “the creative age.” For most of us, manning a machine in a factory for eight hours a day is a relic of a different age. Most of the jobs that are being created now exist in a digital environment, but even more importantly, more and more tedious and repetitive tasks are being taken over by machines and increasingly intelligent software. Thus, what was valuable and needed in the old age may not be valuable and needed in the new age. No longer is a regimented, obedient, and docile attitude of great value in the world of work and business. Instead, independence, passion, and creativity separate the great from the mediocre.
If we are moving into a creative and independent age, we are also moving into an age which shall allow us more freedom than we ever knew before. Make no mistake: This freedom shall be rejected by many, because it requires more of them, not less. Freedom requires that we think autonomously and take action without anyone saying that we should. Entrepreneurs, trailblazers, and pioneers have always thrived on such a mindset, but now it is time for many more people to begin to think like autonomous human beings.
Business and social shifts aside, there is more to this. In my life, I’ve discovered that I am the most fulfilled and alive when I am moving passionately in a direction of my choosing. When I have the courage to be the driver in my own life, everything begins to take on so much more meaning, because I own it. Interestingly, my direction and my passion are found in inspiring others to find and create theirs. Too many people watch their lives pass them by and never truly experience or do anything powerful. That should never be. Do this: Stand outside on some cool and clear night, look up at the stars, and say this to yourself: “I only get one shot at this life.” Regardless of your religious leanings, you must understand that you only have one shot at life on this earth. Shouldn’t that be enough motivation to drive you to do incredible things? Shouldn’t you leap out of bed everyday with the intention of experiencing more and waiting less? One shot. One. This is freedom: to live as greatly outwardly as you dream inwardly.
Your one shot is far too short to spend it in misery or servitude. You owe it yourself to be brave, to be bold, to be free. I won’t settle for anything less than your total emancipation from fear. I’m skating 3000 miles across this country to show you that anything is possible. I’m also skating to prove it to myself. All we need is intention and the courage and conviction necessary to act on that intention. I also skate to learn and to show you that true meaning and joy are not found in the destination; they are found in the journey itself. I skate because I want to create more into your life. I skate because I have committed myself to something: Life – bold, great, and free.
