Or, if you really wanted to change you would.
It takes guts and courage to forge through midlife. I know. I'm there. Midlife crisis at 30, men rounding the curve at 40, career transition at 50? Doesn't matter. If you're not having fun, then stay in your mediocre job complaining the day away. Why so harsh? Because I just read an astounding piece on how to fill the gaping void, at www.gapingvoid.com written by Hugh Macleod.
The tips here, On How to Be Creative, will force you out of your lethargy, if you want out. I've handpicked a few of my favorites:
1) Ignore everybody. You don't know if your idea is any good the moment it's created. Neither does anyone else. The most you can hope for is a strong gut feeling that it is. And trusting your feelings is not as easy as the optimists say it is. There's a reason why feelings scare us.
2) The idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to change the world. Your idea doesn't have to be big. It just has to be yours alone. The more the idea is yours alone, the more freedom you have to do something really amazing.
The more amazing, the more people will click with your idea. The more people click with your idea, the more it will change the world.
3) Put in the hours. Doing anything worthwhile takes forever. 90% of what separates successful people and failed people is time, effort, and stamina.
4) Keep your day job. He's not just saying that for the usual reason i.e. because he thinks your idea will fail. He's saying it because to suddenly quit one's job in a big ol' creative drama-queen moment is always, always, always in direct conflict with what he calls "The Sex & Cash Theory".
"THE SEX & CASH THEORY: The creative person basically has two kinds of jobs: One is the sexy, creative kind. Second is the kind that pays the bills. Sometimes the task in hand covers both bases, but not often. This tense duality will always play center stage. It will never be transcended.
"As soon as we accept this," he writes, "I mean really accept this, [then] for some reason your career starts moving ahead faster. I don't know why this happens. It's the people who refuse to cleave their lives this way - who just want to start Day One by quitting their current crappy day job and moving straight on over to best-selling author... Well, they never make it.
"It's balancing the need to make a good living while still maintaining one's creative sovereignty. My M.O. is gapingvoid ("Sex"), coupled with my day job ("Cash")."
It takes guts to read Hugh McLeod's long post, but if you really want to express yourself creatively and live a life with meaning, I encourage you to take his words to heart. The world will be a better place.
This is one man who's living his life on purpose and definitely following the life as as Plutonius did: To thine own self be true. Visit my new site, Search For Meaning, when you click the link.
