Our Greatness

“I don’t have time for this, Rick”

            “Of course you do. You, of all people, have time. You just don’t know how to use it.” Ricky said, pulling out a chair from the small table and sitting down to stare at Braddock.

            “I’ve already spent more time here than I wanted to, I need to go.” Braddock turned to leave half-heartedly before Rick chimed in.

            “You can fill you whole life with things to do. But if they aren’t the best things, if they aren’t important, then why do them? And if you don’t know why you do something, there’s no point in doing anything at all, and you’ll end up lost when you’re finished.”

            Braddock paused. Then said, half to himself, half to Rick, without turning,

            “I know what I’m doing, Rick, and I know why I’m doing it”

            Rick pushed the chair back slowly and stood up to look out the window, placing a hand softly on the windowsill.

            “Ah, but do you? You might know what actions you will take, but do you know what will happen as a result of your actions? What I mean to say is: what are you really doing to the symphony that is the universe?” He turned again to look at Braddock more seriously. “I know what notes you are meant to play, but what happens when you tear the sheet music of the musicians next to you? What are you doing then, really? Can you predict how the rest of the piece will play out?”

            “Obviously I’ll be making the galaxy a better place. Ridding it of the filth and evil that I’m called to destroy.”

            “How so?”

            Braddock lifted his arms and pressed against the frame of the door, the muscles in his neck and shoulders bulging with frustration.

            “It doesn’t matter, as long as they’re gone nobody will care how.”

            At this, Rick’s voice rose in intensity, something that Braddock rarely saw. It was obvious this discussion meant almost as much to Rick as Rick thought it should to Marcos.

            “You’re right, in part, Marcus. Few will know how you did it, and even fewer will care. But many will weep or rejoice based solely on the decisions you make.”

            “You can’t be serious. There are millions, if not billions, of people: citizens, populi, criminals, and more uncounted beyond our borders who live the most vile, depraved, dishonorable, disgusting lives. You cannot say that the unholy, unnatural things those people do have no effect…”

            “No.” Rick’s interruption was soft-spoken, but firm. “No I don’t. Every choice made on and in-between every planet in the great expanse of the universe holds sway on its direction and its beauty. But small men lead small lives, and small lives are like a raindrop in the ocean. Nobody sees it, nobody cares, and their effect is negligible. Others, Marcus, live great lives; they were chosen to do great things. Others make themselves great from the dust of nothingness. Great men, Marcus, make decisions that have unfathomable consequences. Great men, Marcus, make great decisions. You chose to live a life of greatness, you cannot choose the size of the consequences.” Rick pointed at Braddock’s chest. “You know in your heart you are destined for greatness, the only question that remains is: will your greatness be a reason to rejoice, or a cause of mourning and suffering?”

            Braddock paused, staring at the finger pointed at him. Clearly thinking about those last words. “I don’t…” He stopped. He took a long breath as he started to realize the meaning of what was being said. “I mean, it doesn’t really matter…”

            “Because it’s your job?” Ricky interrupted. “You’re a soldier, so you’re not paid to think or feel? Only make decisions based on fact and instinct, right?”

            Suddenly, emotions erupted from somewhere deep in Braddock, something from a past forgotten by everybody but him. “Thousands of brave men and women have died because their commander was too worried about what might be instead of what is!” Braddock’s face grew more serious and his eyes glistened. “That ship out there might be a merchant trader, but the fact is that it’s on an intercept course and not responding to transmissions. It might have damaged communications systems and want repairs, but it will destroy our ship if it’s anything else and isn’t stopped.”

            His voice was heavy with emotion, it was obvious this story was not hypothetical.

            “Tucker, Swinehouse, Big Jim, they might be helping people, they might be good people cast in a bad light, they might have the best intentions. But the fact is that they are criminals, the fact is that I have sworn to uphold the law until my last dying breath, and the fact is that I am the only one capable and willing to bring them to justice!”

            He took a breath. “And so I must do so.”

            Silence filled the room for what must have been several seconds, but it felt like hours. Each man chewing over his next words.

            Rick was the first to break the silence. “So the ends justify the means?”

            “That’s not what I said.”

            “It’s what you meant, though.”

            Braddock let out a sigh. “What would you suggest I do then, Rick? Ignore my conscience?”
            “No, Marcus.” Rick said, sounding exhausted. “I feel that you’ve heard nothing of what I’m trying to tell you.” He paused. “Perhaps I started in the wrong place, let me start again. Please Marcus, Follow me.” Rick turned around, walked to the opposite side of where Marcus stood and opened the big wooden door. Bright sunlight poured into the room accompanied by the hot, dry air of Delphine. Without looking at Marcus, Rick walked out and stood in the sun. Marcus knew he had no choice but to follow.

So You Want to Retire by Twenty-Five?

Where I work, I am often exposed to the sort of people I never thought I would ever meet, or even wanted to meet. You know the type: young, think they know everything about anything, successful because of some big break, or lucky deal, cocky, lazy, loud, and patronizing.

By far, however, one of the most annoying things I hear at least once a week, either by mouth or in an article is a version of the phrase:

"I retired at twenty-five. And how you can do it too."

We've all seen or heard things like this before. There are innumerable articles about this "topic" online. Written by gurus who spent six months in India for some reason, and only drink natural root tea from the Amazon because they go back every year to pick their own roots. A few variations of the same topic are:

"Top ten tricks to do to retire before 30"

"I left the rat-race, retired at 27, and I've never been happier."

"Why retiring at 32 was the best thing I ever did."

"The five things all millionaires do to help you retire by 25!"

And on, and on.

Before I move on to the main point of this post, let's get a few things out of the way first.

1. If the article states that it is a list, it's going to be garbage. It won't help you learn, it won't help you grow. Writers like these understand that people love lists. They're easy, they're quick. But the purpose of the list isn't to help you, it's to help the publication, they only want you to click on the link, because they know you only care about the items on the list, not the content in between.

2. If the article says that EVERY millionaire does something, or there is ONE THING they all have in common, the article is garbage. This is basic statistics. Get enough millionaires in a room together, and a blind goat could find a handful that have five things in common. Do they brush their teeth before 6:00AM? Do they keep a planner? Did they start saving as a kid? Etc. This is what I like to call the "Drop out of college fallacy." It is the assumption that because SOME successful billionaires dropped out of college, it must be the easiest and quickest path to billionaire-hood. It is not. For various reasons. And if you're too lazy to find out what those reasons are, you're too lazy to be a billionaire.

3. If these "five tricks" or "ten secrets" were really so effective, why isn't the author a millionaire? Surely it must be because they are an altruistic soul who wants to help other be successful, right? No. They're not a millionaire because tricks don't make you rich. Hard work (and luck) does. And because writing articles like this isn't hard work, they're not a millionaire. 

Which brings me to the main point of my post.

So what?

Am I supposed to be impressed you quit working a regular job in your mid-twenties? Is that the cool thing to do now? Is retirement suddenly a goal the rest of us can't reach? I really don't understand the point of these articles, when they really just boil down to some nobody stroking their ego for six pages. If the article is really meant to inspire others to join them in early retirement, then what, we have millions of twenty-somethings traveling the world with no jobs flaunting their "success", their "eastern enlightenment" and "open-mindedness" at anyone who will listen? Oh wait... we already have that.

If the authors of these articles were as smart, clever, and intelligent as they brag, you'd think they'd be able to find a job they would WANT to work at until 65. You'd think they'd be smart enough to figure out what they actually enjoy and make that a career they enjoy.  But they're not (surprise!) Why is that? Probably because actual smart people realized a long time ago that real happiness, real joy, is found in family and relationships.  And you can't raise a family on your natural açaí berries you picked yourself in the Amazon in your twenties. (Go watch any Hallmark, or family Christmas movie)

So why do they do this? There's probably a number of reasons, here a few of my guesses:

1. They don't want to knuckle down to actually have a family (which is totally fine), and are finding some way to make themselves happy and validate that decision to their "followers"

2. They're expressing the age-old frustration with Western values and capitalism by traveling the world and bringing back enlightenment for the rest of us cavemen. It's really just the typical journey of young people trying to "discover themselves" and do so by being as controversial, and counter-culture, as possible.

3. They're lazy, and writing an article like this makes it look like they're not.

So, if in the end your life's goal is to laze around on a beach every day, 24/7/365, for the next sixty years of your life, then you're not the kind of person I want to be following. Imagine having a conversation with this person during a job interview If they ever decide to come back down off the mountaintop to join the rest of us unwashed masses.

"So, tell me about your aspirations, your goals. Where do you see yourself in, say, twenty years?"

"I want to work this job for five years, save a couple thousand dollars, and make that small sum stretch for the rest of my life as I sip rain water from the navel of a Hindu guru on top of the Himalayas."

"....we're done here."

But all of this is ignoring the simple truth that we all ignore, or seem to forget when we see or read these articles:

If something looks too good to be true, it probably is.

To quote something I read recently (I apologize I don't know who the original author is):

"Social media has created jealous behavior over illusions. Sadly, some are envious of things, relationships & lifestyles that don't even exist." -Unknown

If the author you follow on these blogs only makes you feel bad about your life. If they make you jealous, or depressed about what you have. If you look up at the end of the article and wish you weren't who you are now. Then these articles are doing you no good. They are selfish "mental masturbation" for whoever wrote them, and were never intended to help you at all. Want some proof?

Where are all the articles from these people five, ten, or thirty years down the line? Where are all the amazing benefits from their early retirement? Could it be this lifestyle of laziness and greed has only seeded the fruits of divorce, poverty, and depression?

Color me shocked.

Smart people find value in what they have. And if there is no value, they create it. Only cowards and idiots run away and seek happiness on the other side of the world.