A Word On POTENTIAL

Have you ever felt that you haven't reached your potential? To prove what you can really do? How you could reach the heights of your profession or hobby?

This has been my sentiment for a very long time and I say ENOUGH WITH IT!! Life is short and you don't know if you'll get into a car accident the next day and die--life is precious--gotta make the time wise to DO WHAT YOUR SUPPOSE TO DO.

Any one feel this?

I mean...why the hell should we be subjected to a boring desk job, handling mundane, mentaly draining paperwork, phone calls, deadlines, projects that don't give us an once of motivation and so on? What sucks is this:

You have to do that sort of job becuase were' all so scared of being destitute and subject as an outcast in society. So, we take the mundane, boring job. We're miserable as hell--but you keep asking yourself: "God, there has to be something BETTER than this!"

Well folks--I don't know about you... but I want to reach greatness. Yes, greatness. I want to be a household name--even BEFORE I pass on.

THAT'S WHAT I WANT

The people who make it big have the balls to put it all on the line. A gambler can not care about money, A business man has to risk everyday all he has. If you go down this road only 5% make it the rest fail but you tried.

I understand taking risks James--but what if YOU DO takes risks and never succeed? That ULTIMATELY sucks.

Sloane - Why do you wish to be a household name?

This is a really good post (and question). I suspect 80% of us are not in the profession we'd prefer. If I didn't "need" money.. (i.e. not needed or was provided, etc.) I suppose we would feel free to explore and find ourselves (career wise, "all wise"..) Also, our things .. our possessions tie us down to one spot. As for my job.. it's not perfect, but I am getting better at deciding what I want to do. (and even that changes.) I really think I want basically, food, shelter, warmth, and someone I care for.. to be with and do with. I've never had "all the good stuff" for so long now.. I'm doing fine without it, now.

Hey Sloane,

I worked toward an end. I worked for a company that had educational reimbursement. I got a degree. I worked for a company that had dental insurance, I got beautiful teeth!
I saved my money. I did not like my jobs, but they were an end to a mean. Now I am a freelance writer and holding my own, waiting for my first book to come out, which should be soon. Of course one book won't do it either, but life is a series of steping stones. We don't get hit by buses and die, mostly we get hit and recover to have to figure out what to do next.
Don't suffer so much, people keep saying look at the big picture, I say, look at today, we will probably get about 80 years on this good earth. Maybe you are a late bloomer.

We learn by our failures if you fall get up and tri agian.

Well, go for it! Sloane, i have been feeling exactly the same way. I don't want the household name, but i want to do what i am 'supposed' to do and just lately things have been falling into place. It's like i can't not do what i want to do. At first i was scared, but then one day i realised that true destitution is to live in fear. Life is too short to not do what you want.

James has got a good point. It's like Achilles. He has a choice of either being glorious or living a long mundane life in obscurity. He chooses greatness. I think i would rather be the 5% . It's definately a more difficult path to take, but being the other 95% , you would always be wondering. Don't you think?

yes, i feel the same. I've always wanted fame. But the question is the cost. I say go for it. Better to have loved and lost then to have never loved at all. What i mean is Go! and if u fail at least u got there and maybe by fate u will succed when u feel u may never will.
Don't give up.

Maybe I haven't made myself clear...I sometimes do this...

I just want to say that, for several years, (too long), I haven't been able to reach my potential becasue mainly, the thing I want to do cost money and a lot of it. To create my art isn't cheap--it's not like painting or acting. And because of the lack of funding in the past due to job layoffs, freelancing, wages not high enough, living expenses, etc, it has been impossible. This lead to TOTAL FRUSTRATION. So do you get what I'm explaining? I know EXECTLY what I want to do and to not get exposed, to not reach my goals over the years has been ingratiating explicably! When? When? When? I keep asking myself.

So do you understand?? Do you relate to this??

I relate to this completely. I'm my own biggest obstacle, though, because as a teacher once told me: Potential is what could happen, if some work is done. (That was the physics teacher, and it was about something totally off-topic: energy.) Anyway, I wrote a book once. It's the one thing I've consistently wanted to do with my life: write multiple books, as many as I can, really, and influence popular opinion with my own probably less popular opinions and maybe grow into a crusty old man like Hemmingway or die early from overwork like London. It didn't get published, 2 of the 3 agents I sent it to rejected it flatly and the 3rd didn't respond. I'm touching it up, and writing another one, because I've been told I have potential, and up to now, I haven't done much real work on anything (minus stopping short of Eagle Scout and black belt, but those were both over the course of 7 or 8 years). I ask myself the same questions you're asking yourself almost daily. Potential is a vicious thing, is it not? It's the biggest tease in the world, and usually I like teases.

Nonetheless, work must be done on such things to improve, using the potential to ease up on the financial and give myself some breathing room later on, hoping that'll get some energy-flow into my lazy brain.

YESSSSS!! Potential is the ultimate tease. Thank you Josh for understanding.

On another note, I can't beleive my eyes and ears when I turn on a TV show like ET and they show these 20 something and thirty somethings that seem to have little to no talent --hell, let's call it PO-TEN-TIAL!! And yet they make gazzillions of cash.

I'm not exactly a religious person, but there is this wonderful part in the bible that goes like this (I think Jesus said it):

"Those who are the greatest on earth will be the least in Heaven, and those who are the least on earth will be the greatest in Heaven".

Sloane...one day....these people will pay a karmic debt for their undeserved success, while the rest of us toil away like mules for next to nothing, reaping little to moderate success.

That was supposed to be uplifting, but I'm not sure it actually was...lol

No... i love those sayings. "The meek shall rise and inherit the earth"... is another one.

Life is a paradox. You will never get what you want, it will always be this elusive 'thing' at the top of the hill, which you can never seem to grasp. People call it "character building", i call it a freakin' rip off. Lol.

I see everyone's variety of postings.. and I've not much to add. I'm not doing "the thing" yet, (talent/the calling / etc) .. I wish I did know, I'll grant you that.. (regarding talent and no positive exposure, that would bite, I understand & agree.) I don't want fame however, and I don't seek to influence a large mass with my opinions.. I think I'd resent getting fame and losing my freedom of movement, etc. (think Paparazzi).

The least on earth, The meek , the sayings of shaboom they will probubly get there asses kicked.

I'm not so sure that I like or agree with that..I think that meekness is a sign of virtue..the strongest links are those who are soldiers in holding off on the vices..
I want to lend the utmost respect for anyone who is capable of doing that.. i think that it would be well deserved..but it's only one opinion among a strong current of voices..

I think it's all a question of how you define meek. I don't like meek people. Most meek people are probably only as saintly as you or me. The difference between the meek and us is, I just killed one yesterday when I farted. They need some grit and they ain't got none.

By the way, this was posted entirely to rile up any meek on this board and get opinions.

I just read something today that was a light bulb going off: It said that "success is based on timing, not just effort"

Of course...how could I miss this affirmation? In some cases, timing is luck. But what if you give all your effort into something and it still evolves as fruitless. THAT STILL SUCKS!!!! I wish I had my own personal wizard--my own "Merlin" who could see innto the future and tell me, "No Sloane, don't go there right now..."

josh..grit is what it takes to not respond rudely to a harsh comment, or perhaps a wrong doing of some other sort.. they, the meek, have the strongest will power to do good..
I wish had more of it in my own personality..could use more of it me thinks..

no, one has asked what is ur art.
may have no talent but they have no life. but these people will not be the Katherlien of our lifes after there death or Shanter or any of the bettles. i mean we rember good people. only people who thtought they has some substance will rember them and others won't.
u will get somewhere. Just understand that even though timeing is everything. That life has opned up a window. Can't u draw or in some cheap way design such art. and josh, send it into every publisher on alist. look at book writing mag or poterty mag. where they want short stories or a novel compations. and entery ur items.

sloane: have u been to an art gallery and asked for there backing?

That's not what I do. My meidulm is filmmaking. The "rich man's sport"

I think you have to be rich to do just about anything that'll get recognition. I'm not saying that's what either of us are solely out to get, but in either case, that's often what results from success: recognition and "connecting" with others. I only found a handful of agents who would look at a first novel without pay other than shipping for the package the manuscript would be in, and the lowest agent next to that I found demanded $ 95 for his time investment in reading a submission to say whether or not it's marketable. I would assume it's much the same in the filmmaking business, and that it's very nearly impossible to do much of anything without an agent.

However, sloane, in your search for a way to express your art, never fail to underestimate the power and reach of search engines. =)

Thank you Josh! :-)

hmm. that does make it hard. unless u could do commericals localy for people who want it.

I've thought of that James and I just may have to take that route.

You are a filmmaker right? Do you do documentries or shorts? What is your expertise? If someone has the story and ideas, do you film them or do you have the story and ideas yourself? I'm just curious Sloane.

Documetaries and commercials. Wrote a couple of screenplays too that I'd like to sell and/or direct. That's the great thing about screenwriting--it doesn't cost much to do.

have u ever thought of working at local schools with the jounerlasim class. u know get hired by the schools to teach tenichinque of videoing and phrogtophy. Some schools that have a good jounerlisam program may want some help. U could do that.

Are f***ing kidding me James? I don't wanna teach some snot-nosed high schoolers! I won't take thier 'tudes..

i understand i guess not all people i know are like that. but there are few people i know who are not like in the jounerlisam program but we have good and people who like and are good at and like to do such things for a living. then again that i guess would be hard to find someome school like that.

James....in all due respect, you gotta check your grammer. Your last statement doesn't make much sense. (Just a freindly reminder)

I don't think you have the teacher gene Sloane!!! Much to creative.

you got that right..thankyou cg