Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Greatness

     Have you noticed that no one has ever done anything truly great by staying at home? Risk takers, gamblers, movers and shakers are the variety of people who are traditionally restless and ambitious. They take risks that no one else dares to venture. Often they would rather be out where action seems to be in high gear than take quiet, solitary and routine paths. They don't see life as something to conserve but rather more like a bank account which needs to be spent. You will never hear them grumble about a loss but you will probably always hear about their latest scheme or plan- and they always have a plan.
    I will grant you this much- this type of attitude can be taken to extremes. We don't have Gamblers Anonymous without a good reason. On the whole, however, I personally would rather live to achieve great accomplishments than shuffle around and try to act busy while making someone else rich. I'd rather really be busy and take my chances with living.
    Now, if someone looks at life with this "mega" drive and zeal there are negative aspects which need to be in check or just about anything can go wrong. Basically, a person like this may spend too much money. It is only when a true fortune has been made ( i.e. at least $1,000.000 !) that one can truly forget about money and even then, so much money may be going out that a budget is the only thing that saves the fortune. Obviously someone has to be watching the bottom line and the person with the "mega" drive will most likely need someone else to take care of finances.
    This type of person will almost always be outspoken and have outlandish ideas which go against the grain of conventional thinking and action. Often they are unique in their approach to a chosen profession. This person may even be an inventor without fully realizing it. In the early days of patents many people were mislead to believe that patenting was a sensible approach to making lots of money and they wasted manufacturers time because they didn't have this unique way of thinking which produces new products or better-made devices and products. (There are legendary jokes about zany contraptions which did nothing but make a mess or worse!) Call them what you will- geniuses, prodigies or just plain gifted- the real movers and shakers see everything from a different angle and may not fully realize their potential. They just know a good idea when they see it and know how to make it work.
    The "mega" drive types aren't the only geniuses in the world but they do have the initiative that people who don't possess such boldness often sorely need. In short, there are more sheep than rams in this world and we need to be sensitive even to these people. Often they don't come in this exact mold and quietly go about the business of what they do and know. 
    I count myself among the "mega" types although I don't fit the description exactly to a tee. For one, I am very careful with money and very value-conscious when it comes to making purchases. I don't buy junk- ever! I took the risk of going into business- the storefront variety- by myself, with no investors and without a loan just before I turned thirty! My business was successful for seven years. Did I crash and burn, you ask? No. I liquidated my business and did very well even though my business was service related. I continued in the service but unloaded the equipment. This is much more savvy than the average Mom and Pop business venture which normally folds within three years.
    To conclude, I would say that I am definitely a risk-taker but I make calculated risks and I never overextend my spending ability, no matter the situation. There is no good reason for someone to be tens of thousands of dollars in debt today and if a person is in that kind of dilemma they need to take a good look at their priorities along with the situation. Is there merely a spending-consciousness here or a real drive to excel? Do you bring something to the world market which improves the world or to make the world a better place to live?
    Greatness comes to the person who finds how to solve real problems or finds how to serve mankind well and with more humility than heroics. Heroics are great for the movies but becoming a real life hero means to take a backseat on the laudits and learn how to enjoy another's happiness. Adding character to any service to the public in general is the true path to greatness. That's something we can all believe in and strive for today.
    Great big hugs and kisses from The Castle Lady !
     
      

Saturday, September 06, 2008

Birthdays

     Having recently celebrated a birthday myself I decided to pay particular attention to how people treated me if they knew it was my birthday as opposed to those who didn't and I came up with some startling conclusions based just upon this day in question. Birthdays are a bit of a curiosity when you really deeply contemplate the way we celebrate them. Just the fact that we celebrate them at all is an oddity in and of itself although because we as human beings are steeped in all our traditions they seem quite natural and we nearly take them for granted. In the books by J.R.R. Tolkien, " Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" they had a tradition for birthdays that for us would seem quite reprehensible. For all Hobbits the tradition was that the person celebrating the birthday gave everyone else a present and not the other way around. Now Tolkien may have been playing with our heads a little bit but I think, on the whole he made an excellent argument without making one.  
     Here's a bit of a curiosity: Why do we make a special cake that says 'Happy Birthday' on it and serve it with ice cream? Why don't we always serve ice cream on cake? There are other traditions from foreign countries which have made it to our shores. How about the Mexican tradition of children being given pinatas, which are filled with candy and toys, then are strung up in a tree? They give the child celebrating the birthday a pole or stick and they set them about hitting and striking it until it bursts open and all the children who have attended and the birthday boy or girl scramble around trying to gather up as much as they can for themselves. Rather curious isn't it? I don't know if this is an American tradition but I can't tell you how many birthday parties I attended as a child where we always played "pin the tail on the donkey". I don't know if they still play this game.
     The final item is a particular puzzle in and of itself. Why do we have to wait until a birthday to make someone feel special ? If this person in question really is so special why don't we demonstrate this in more spontaneous ways. Do we really need to wait until someone has waited about 365 days to let them know they are thought about and deserve recognition? I am reminded of the Alice in Wonderland books. We may only have one birthday a year but we have many more un-birthdays. Maybe we should concentrate on those and not make such a big deal out of the one day. Okay, for those who would never give up the tradition- have a blowout on your next birthday but consider what I just said. There's a lot of people out there who feel unloved, unnecessarily.
 
Just The Castle Lady with lots of kisses and hugs !