I just read the most awesome story that involved an older man approaching a much younger guy at a coffee shop and striking up a conversation. In the conversation, the older gentleman made some pretty tall claims, such as “I invented the first computer”, and how he created the world’s first digital image.
You should go read this story here.
It brings to mind how we are surrounded by those who have done so much more than we have. Case in point, 20 years ago, my brother decided he would have a party for my dad, who was 75 I believe at the time. For this party, he laid out things that meant something to my dad, from different points in his life, and believe me, it was a LOT. My dad did not let moss grow under his feet.
Dad had served in several branches of the military (including being a glider pilot and a paratrooper) and finally retired from the military after serving 30 years or something crazy, married 3 times, with children from each marriage, raced cars, retired as a police officer(20 years), retired from running a restaurant (23 years), ran a private investigation business, was a Shrine clown, drove his RV all over the country, had been an amateur radio operator and contacted every county in the United States (3077 of them), had traced our family roots way back and helped others, became a webmaster and was very computer savvy, started an organization with thousands of members (11th Airborne Reunion Organization), been the editor of his own newspaper, and the list goes on and on.
The thing I am trying to say here is…. At that point in his life, he had accomplished so much more than I have or likely ever will. And he’s not the only person like that. We encounter them every day and we overlook them.
What is it that we are going to accomplish in the next 20 years? 30 years? Are we going to continue to “consume”, or are we going to invent or create something?
The author of the story mentioned that Mr. Kirsch feels that iPad users don’t CREATE… They USE… or CONSUME. Is that true? Maybe he’s right. I’ve had an iPad for a while now, and the only thing I have created with it was ways to waste more time, or maybe waste time more efficiently I should say!
Let’s go create something…