When I got home from a 13-hour day last night, I didn't feel that I had anything profound to wax poetic about...essentially my need for sleep overcame my need to pen anything pertinent to life. Much to my chagrin, I find that when I am most tired, I also do my best thinking--a terrible combo. Have you ever dragged yourself to bed only to be kept awake by an active mind and racing thoughts? This happens to me all the time! I'd like to think that this habit will wane as my life settles down, but my parents have assured me that little about life gets easier with age.
So there I am, awake at 1 a.m., with my dog taking up most of my leg room and "what ifs" keeping me from sleep. For some inexplicable reason, the Radiohead Creep cover from The Social Network trailer is stuck in my head; the haunting tune that pipes behind the images of different Facebook features as they flash across the screen.
I'll admit it, I was one of millions that rushed to see "the Facebook movie" the weekend that it landed theaters. While others may have been allured to those plush red seats in front of silver screens by the promise of sex, scandal and billions of dollars, I was drawn to the Zuckerberg expose hoping for just a hint of how this average guy hit it big at such a young age. Little did I know, Mark Zuckerberg was in no way, shape or form, some average guy, but it touched on a subject that I think about all the time...
How the hell did he do that? And, why didn't I think of that?
As I mentioned in my last post, a huge part of society thinks people in their twenties today are superb underachievers. Yet, we're bombarded with stories about "kids" that have accomplished it all by their thirtieth birthday. Does that mean everyone in the quarter-life stage is either a slacker or a billionaire?
What pressure young grads and professionals in their twenties must feel? I know I do! How can I possibly stack up to to those fortunate, driven individuals who have it all figured out, including retirement, by age 25? I made the mistake of reading this MSN article about 30 under 30, 30 Top Young Entrepreneurs, pair that with another MSN article about America's youngest billionaires, and you're sure to feel worthless that all you've done thus far is hold onto a secure job with decent benefits; which, in this economy, should be impressive!
So my question is, how do I get there? I'd love to say that I've been secretly working on the next great invention, comparable to the post-it note, but it's just not true. When it comes to the next great idea, I'm drawing a blank. I can't write complicated html code, and I can't split atoms. I don't have the cure for cancer, and I haven't discovered the next Justin Bieber.
What I do have packed in my arsenal, is a desire to work really, really hard...shouldn't that be enough? I'm learning that ambition, like love, isn't always enough. I still have to figure out who I am, what I want, and how to get there. Tackling all three at once seems virtually impossible, so I'm going to start with number one.
Join me won't you?
Stay tuned as I figure out who I am while still trying and still in my twenties.
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