“The trouble is that, as modern people, we have too much to live with and too little to live for.”
Enough. Too many quotes are being displayed without anything to back them up. There’s nothing but a bunch of wannabe entrepreneurs, religious zealots, political activists, and unique teenagers who do little more than serve in society as disseminators of other people’s words. These other people are usually the ones who have actually done something with their life, which is why their words are well-known and easily findable on thinkexist.com. Insert a pissed-off quote at the church, political leader, or public figure of your choice, and you will soon have an accurate representation of the image many are trying to project, including myself. Enough is enough.
No more quotes without action. Our Founding Fathers gave their very lives and well-being to secure a lifestyle of freedom that began with “No taxation without representation” ending with the signing of their effective death sentences, which we know as the Declaration of Independence. Sometimes it seems like it would be nice to have an opportunity to so readily devote yourself to a cause capable of taking your very life. However, I really don’t think we’d have the guts to pursue it. That would require getting off the couch, shutting off our DVR, and getting a little uncomfortable.
This blog post is not about others. It is far too easy to point at the lives of others to cover the inadequacies of oneself, or to try and apply their success on your own life. It’s much easier to use the words of others, milking off of their accomplishments, than it is to go and accomplish something on your own. My words mean nothing until I have actually done something with my life. And I am completely ok with this fact. If there is ever a day where my words have substance and meaning that can be garnished with credibility, I would use that credibility to advise those reading them to stop reading and go accomplish something with their life, rather than being caught in the past of others.
That was a very long introduction for a post that needed to be written.
There are many moments in life where I’ve audibly asked “What is going on?” either to those around me or in the comfort of driving alone. Some of the best conversations happen when there is nobody around to converse with. And it is from this question that I’ve come to a working conclusion about the state of my life.
For quite some time, I have pondered the value between ambition and success. Ambition is the road map leading to success. Unfortunately, many who claim to follow this map will never reach their destination. Ambition is not to be discounted, because true success is often sparked by ambition. However, ambition – in and of itself – does not have any substantial value, unless it has been used as a tool to reach the destination of success.
To state ambition is without value may seem like a harsh statement. However, I’d like to liken it to the idea of an idea; a single idea can create a company worth billions. However, the idea is worthless if it is not executed. Same thing applies for ambition; unless it has been executed into its final goal, it is utterly worthless to the one who possesses it.
Ambition or success — what is more important? I asked this question on Facebook, with my brother, Mark Plaat, posting an excellent response, stating:
“Ambition is often wasted behind a multitude of meaningless words, as so many ambitious people fail to live the way they speak, and even think. I’ll take success.”
Thoughts? Assuming you are still reading this post, as it’s quite long, I will also assume that you are following the thought process behind this question.
Here we are. This is where we are at. In doing a lot of thinking about what it is that the human mind and body is capable of, I’ve realized those who are gifted with the ability to do great things are also held with the consequences of failing to execute these grand purposes. A man would be executed for murder if he was convicted of the crime. However, what do we do with the life who was capable of developing the cure for cancer but didn’t feel the need to work hard enough in their research? Good question.
I’ve grown quite tired of the startup/entrepreneurial scene, as many within it are interested only in the surface level rewards; money, respect, fast cars, faster women, and the adoration of many who they honestly believe care; the entrepreneurial groupies who can’t pry their fingers off of their Twitter account long enough to work on their outlandish business plan. The ones with a chip on their shoulder because they feel they are the “next Google”….if only they had $3.3M of seed funding to pursue their idea. The idiots who loudly proclaim to a room full of investors that their marketing plan will exist solely off of social media, stating “We’ll be using Social Media to the hilt….” These are the individuals with a set of black-rimmed glasses, ill-fitted dress shirt from Express Men, dress jeans, and shiny dress shoes, showing up to every entrepreneurial meetup they can find. These are the little bastards with custom shirts, big ideas, and hair gel to cover up their own inability to create something of substance. These are the people who wave around their financial projections…”If we only capture a .04% section of US Market share, we will have over $100M in annual revenue…”
You fools! You honestly think you’ll capture that 0.04% without increasing your employee costs? Are you retarded?
There is a reason that companies like Google have come to the position they are at. Listen closely…
They did something. They improved on it. And they’ve shown true value that the mass market is willing to adopt.
Google, by far, is the most successful company to ever grace us with its presence. They did something that was truly great and they deserve every cent they have ever earned.
My first and final conclusion.
I’m tired of being nothing more than a wannabe who throws on the “uniform” for every meeting I have, without actually having any substance behind what I do. I am ambitious but count it all as a loss if it does not amount to anything. In the course of my life, I would like to develop a company that is on-par with the Google’s of the world. I would like it to be successful because it has true, sustainable substance that improves the lives of those who have been introduced to it. It will not be loosely thrown together with a flimsy business plan, dependent upon seed capital and obscene marketing practices, but by real substance and feasibility.
If there’s something out there that I can throw my entire life into, with the breaths of my existence being used to develop it into a successful operation, I gladly accept the challenge. Things like this don’t happen overnight. And I’ve realized it will take many years for anything like this to ever become a possibility. Whatever the cost, I’m willing to pay it.
No more quotes.
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