CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE, IS NOT JUST A MISHEARD ARETHA FRANKLIN LYRIC…

Love it, or ultimately despise it, change is a reality we all deal with. Obviously it can have good or negative connotations like everything else on the planet, but depending where you are in life details exactly how we deal with it.

Recently, I heard Dave Grohl (the former drummer of Nirvana & now front-man of Foo Fighters) explain his perception on this topic, “When you’re young you’re not afraid of what comes next. You’re excited by it.”  If you’re older than 35, you’ll know exactly what that means. If you’re younger than 35, well, be patient Grasshoppa! It will make more sense later, long after you’ve forgotten this article.

At 40 years old, looking at the world through a windshield or an airplane window, leaving everything else behind, limited funds in the bank, fear of change is more real than most of us in the western world can fathom.  When we are young, we don’t fear failure, we instead still cling to those loose childhood ideologies that our daydreams can come true, if we just try.  As we get older, and inevitably have fallen face first into a pile crap a few times, we become more cautious about how our lives begin to unfold.

When I was 15, a friend’s father (he was the CEO of ACL in the 80’s before his untimely death) said something to me that I have never forgotten. “If you want something, you need to be willing to risk something in exchange. If you want something bad enough, you need to be willing to risk everything, and that will yield the greatest reward.” I’ve tried to follow that advice the majority of my life. Although admittedly, the older we become, the less willing we are to risk everything. It may seem like a gamble, but in reality I just personally doubled down, and if I win this next opportunity (which starts tomorrow), I get exactly what I’ve always wanted occupationally.

From the east coast, via Costa Rica, I came to San Francisco with the intent on changing the world. While my lofty ideas spin around inside my head, I can’t change anything without risk, but alas I have opportunity on my side due to having an insane passion for wanting to change how the world sees things. I work in the A/V world now, and we have that exact ability­– Every presentation, event, or you name it, occupationally vision can look differently in a myriad of ways.  However, I don’t want to completely focus on work in this article.  Life is less about work, and more about living out the greatest lottery ever won.  Let me explain…

You sitting or standing there reading this are the aggregate of what Professor Dawkins would call “climbing Mount Improbable”. The number of events that had to occur for you just to exist in the first place, mathematically, is mind-boggling. Forget for a moment what it would be like to win the Powerball (a 1 in a 100 million chance) for example, and think of the improbability it took just for your parents to meet, court, mate, and then out of millions of semen, thousands of eggs, and you’re the one that made it.  You have already won the greatest lottery in existence.

Everything we do with this life, no matter the change we encounter, every step should be one of gratitude. When we were children, our parents asked us, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The truth, behind each answer we gave, be it garbage man, fireman, or like mom & dad, etc. The real answer is happy.

I’ve been fortunate enough in my life to see many places around the globe and one of the things completely universal across the board, is everyone has a goal, or a place they would rather be in their life to achieve the position of happy. If you’re not happy in your current position in life, change it. Start today. Make a plan based on your means, and execute it.  90% of us, including myself, were not born into unlimited resources. If you desire something else, somewhere else, what can you do today to get there?

For those of you in the midst of change, it can be a daunting task to swallow the little things we used to take for granted in our old stations in life. Hold on tight, the world is still spinning. As much as you really want to punch the guy in the face who said, “Patience is a virtue”, buck up buttercup, because once you find your stride; take a moment to look at the positive things you have around you.

Since I have a goal I need to search out today myself, I am going to leave you with a quote I shared before, but incase you missed it:

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something…almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” ~Steve Jobs

I’m not saying enthusiasm fixes everything, but moping around because something sucks, does for a fact make things worse psychologically. I can make you a profound and certain promise; It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are… Not a single person on this planet is getting out alive.

Accept love. Accept peace, and above ALL else be grateful. Change is a fact of life, point your arrow toward “happy”.

~Christian