The Most Self Indulgent Headline Ever

Maximus: Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in the green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you’re already dead!

Maximus: Brothers, what we do in life… echoes in eternity.
Gladiator

The most self indulgent headline ever is how I think of what I had intended to use for this post. It was going to be called, “The Legend of Jack Steiner” and it was going to be good.

With some hard work and a bit of luck maybe it still will be. Walk with me for a bit and let’s see what we can dig up.

“You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice.
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill;
I will choose a path that’s clear-
I will choose Free Will.”
Free Will– Rush

Some of you might appreciate why “The Legend of Jack Steiner” makes me chuckle and how I have thought about writing a tale about that particular story, but it won’t be today.

That is because the headline isn’t something I came up with to be snarky, sarcastic or silly. It is not me being insouciant, far from it. That is me being serious.

When I die I want people to think of me as a legend and not because my ego needs that kind of stroking or help. Rather it is because I want to make a difference in the world and leave it a better place than I found it.

Here is the deal, I shoot for the moon but will settle for making an impact upon a much smaller crowd.

A Life Of Contradictions

You might wonder if that last sentence isn’t one hell of a contradiction and ask yourself if it sounds like I am working against myself. Why bother to shoot for the moon if you are willing to settle for far less.

I can provide you with a well reasoned and long winded response, could be kind of fun and it would play into my natural battle with brevity.

However I prefer to make it simple.

If I can have a positive impact upon my children the work I have done there will benefit not just them but others. If it goes half as well as I hope we’ll have a viral effect and the end result is that many more will smile because of the work we did before.

Small Victories Can Yield Big Rewards

It is arrogant, but I haven’t any doubt in my ability to make a big splash. I expect it will happen because I will make it happen.

Yet experience has taught me one of the most effective ways to do so is to build upon small victories. It is also a way to not feel overwhelmed when life kicks you in the teeth and having eaten my share of shoe leather I know it can happen.

So this is how we do it. This is how we shoot for the moon but make sure that if our rocket runs out of fuel we still have the ability to say we did something that made a difference.

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4 Comments

  1. Joe November 30, 2012 at 5:50 am

    Shoot for the moon, land in the stars, right? Great goal to have.

    Thanks for the vocabulary schooling. Had to look up “insouciant”. I like the word, may have to use it sometime…

    Have a great weekend, Jack!

    • Jack December 1, 2012 at 12:24 am

      Hi Joe,

      It is like our grandparents taught us, set goals and work hard. Might as well reach as high as possible and see what happens.

      Hope you have a great weekend.

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