Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Slashes unite



It seems there's yet another term for a "scanner" or a "renaissance soul": a "slash".
It was popularized by Marci Alboher. (Ooh, ain't she pretty.)

At least it's similar, although admittedly somebody with more than one career is not exactly the same as somebody with many interests.

Marci has some interesting columns, including this one about financing a career change.

Here's a radical viewpoint from our Finnish hacker friend, TTL:

Geeesh .... how wussy can these people get?
"financing a career change"? I gotta go puke ... ok, I'm back.

Here's the algorithm (please relay info to Marci Alboher):

Step 1: Ask self, do I love what I am currently doing? Do I find it fun? Would I do it even if no one paid me to do it? If yes, goto end. If not, continue to step 2.

Step 2: Stop immediately what you are doing. If it's an employment relationship, resign immediately.

Step 3: Ask yourself, what would I most want to do in life? Don't question your answer. Not even if its something illegal or immoral.

Step 4: Whatever your answer in #3, start doing it.

Step 5: If you run out of money, stop eating, sell belongings, beg, steal or borrow. But don't stop.

Step 6: When you have lost 20% of your weight, you can no longer see clearly and all your friends have left you, you know you are on the right track. Don't stop!

Step 7: Now living on the streets, health problems, busking to stay alive, DON'T STOP! You are almost there!

Step 8: GREAT SUCCESS! You have more money than you can spend. Everyone wants to know you. Suddenly all your old 'friends' are back (tell them to f*ck off!) People call you "lucky" (tell those to f*ck off, too!)

Step 9: Do whatever you like. Without apology.

Step 10: Go to step 1.

---
I'd say it'd be a good thing to think of all this before starting a family.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Geeesh .... how wussy can these people get?
"financing a career change"? I gotta go puke ... ok, I'm back.

Here's the algorithm (please relay info to Marci Alboher):

Step 1: Ask self, do I love what I am currently doing? Do I find it fun? Would I do it even if no one paid me to do it? If yes, goto end. If not, continue to step 2.

Step 2: Stop immediately what you are doing. If it's an employment relationship, resign immediately.

Step 3: Ask yourself, what would I most want to do in life? Don't question your answer. Not even if its something illegal or immoral.

Step 4: Whatever your answer in #3, start doing it.

Step 5: If you run out of money, stop eating, sell belongings, beg, steal or borrow. But don't stop.

Step 6: When you have lost 20% of your weight, you can no longer see clearly and all your friends have left you, you know you are on the right track. Don't stop!

Step 7: Now living on the streets, health problems, busking to stay alive, DON'T STOP! You are almost there!

Step 8: GREAT SUCCESS! You have more money than you can spend. Everyone wants to know you. Suddenly all your old 'friends' are back (tell them to f*ck off!) People call you "lucky" (tell those to f*ck off, too!)

Step 9: Do whatever you like. Without apology.

Step 10: Go to step 1.

Cliff Prince said...

Interesting ideas, TTL. But of course, it presupposes that there's an ANSWER to the questions in steps 1 and 3. I have a LOT of answers. I have done the "lose weight because you're poor" path to lesser or greater degrees of success. And I DO get your metaphorical point, that the access to doing-what-you-want is actually pretty quick if you're willing to abandon idiotic conformist material securities. But there are other issues:

You're good at a lot of things and hate doing one thing all the time.

You need infrastructure or investment to do your thing.

You're very bad at selling, or other business-oriented things.

Your thing-to-do is only fulfilling in your imagination, not when you actually do it.

You want to attain certain goals and "love" the accomplishment of success in the field, more than you love the field or the work necessary in that field.

You're very bad at inter-relating with people who might give you a leg up, or whose approval is necessary for further performance of your-thing.

Etc.

It's a bit too simple an algorithm. It makes a point -- and a good one, I think. But it doesn't solve most of the problems.

Anonymous said...

"I'd say it'd be a good thing to think of all this before starting a family."

Why? Having a family would help, I think. The wife could help busk and the kids could serve as an emergency food source. It could be a much more efficient and profitable setup if done right. *Nodnod*

Anonymous said...

Actually, the hidden spiritual message in my post above is that if you want something, you got to be willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it, even go way beyond "norm".

BUT! Once you commit to it this deep, you will soon discover that you do not actually have to do all that much. All kinds of synchronistic events start to appear that help you along the way. It is as if the universe was saying: "Ok, this guy is serious, he passed the test, let's give him what he wants."

The "universe" is all of us. We tend to recognise authenticity easily, and are naturally inclined to help those we find authentic. The most purest example being little children.

Faking it, and in particular, trying to hedge it, causes aversion among us. We may even unknowingly punish people who try to play it too safe.

This concept is brilliantly explained in the wonderful little book: The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Everything You Want by Mike Hernacki.

Anonymous said...

BTW, one other author put the same idea thusly:

“Thou hast no right but to do thy will. Do that, and no others shall say nay, for pure will, unassuaged of purpose, delivered from the lust of result, is every way perfect.”