No Application For This Job

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

We’re all pioneers of our own unchartered path. We stumble, trip, fall, crawl, bitch, and argue our way through life’s present conditions every day.

Life is a job for which there’s no application. You are your own boss and that’s all you need to be. It’s a position that requires continual personal growth in order to succeed.

Opportunities knock all the time, but it’s not always easy to know which ones to grab. Right or wrong, every opportunity is a chance to learn.

The more we learn, the better we become. Sometimes, being better requires us to feel worse than ever before.

You’re the Boss, Applesauce

You’ll always hold the top spot in your personal business of being alive. It’s a lifelong position for which you were chosen to sit at the helm.

I can’t tell you much about life, but one thing is clear: Life gets infinitely better when you don’t go out of your way to make other people miserable.

Our minds are terribly complex, and they aren’t horribly difficult to use, but we have an uncanny ability to complicate the simplest things.

We should embrace and encourage a free and fair world as if it’s our collective purpose.

Newsflash! That is our collective purpose.

If you’re capable of leading by example, then lead by example. It’s your only job, after all, and you never know whose life you’ll touch.

First, the Good News

All of us have the ability to inspire others. Inspiration is powerful. We see, hear, touch, taste, feel, and draw inspiration from the people we meet and the passions we pursue.

Life is an adventure worth remembering and there’s a lot to miss. Pay attention to everything around you and notice the puzzle pieces hidden in plain sight every day.

Life is a puzzle without borders. No frame will ever contain the full picture, and you have a lifetime to create your masterpiece.

Remember the past, live in the present, and don't be future blind. Envision your future. Dream about your future. Imagine your potential.

Remember to watch your step. Keep your head up and your mouth closed. Look ahead with your eyes open.

Be aware of your surroundings. Listen carefully to others. Think before you speak. Listen deeply for your truth. Recognize opportunities. Know your options. Make decisions. Die another day. 

Now, the Bad News

Life is no ordinary puzzle. It isn’t built in a day and takes more than a week. Life can, however, fall the fuck apart in an hour.

A word of caution: The sadistic side of life constantly delivers blows of sadness, anger, pain (and others) that have the ability to break you, but only if you let them. 

Generally, we have ideas of what we want and where we’re headed, but it’s not always clear how we’ll get there.

All the while, we’re distracted by self-induced stress (of our own creation) and every other obstacle we cannot control. It’s up to you to know the difference. Detours are inevitable – a lot of them – and it’s easy to get lost.

Everyone gets lost.

It’s not a matter of if, but when. It’s going to happen – if it hasn’t already. When it does, you need to do the finding. Nobody else can do that for you.

Others may support you, but that’s the extent of what they can offer. You’re not their project and they aren’t yours. Care about others, but worry about yourself.

Feeling Alienated?

Communication is the heart of humanity. Bring that to every table when you pull up a chair.

I was pissed off, angry, and pessimistic for a minute. Pessimism has one benefit; it helped me understand how debilitating a bad attitude can be. It didn’t take log to realize I was becoming the type of person who irritates me.

That’s what underrepresented, overlooked, or ignored underdogs eventually realize.

If pessimism got anyone, anywhere, everyone in the world would be on top of the world!

We all have a lot more in common than we think. It just takes a little effort and a few questions, and a willingness to listen and learn.

It pains me when people summarily ignore entire groups – be it age, scene, politics, race, religion, whatever – all because they’re uncomfortable.

Poor things.

Learn to cope with being uncomfortable.

It isn't that hard; we were all twelve at one point.

Heartbreak and hardships are guaranteed in this life, but struggles develop your soul. Pain has a purpose.

Empathy enables us to unite in powerful ways.

Making connections is easier to do when you allow your true self to make first impressions. Anything less is a waste of time.

Show up to your own life and act accordingly.

I’m Feelin’ ’92!

I grew up in Alaska during the culmination of the Cold War. I was born a month after Nixon resigned. By the time I graduated high school, the Berlin Wall was mostly dismantled, and the Soviet Union had collapsed.

Later that year, I began my college experience. Bright eyed and full of hope, my generation was ready to change the world.

Optimism sure is cute until years become decades.

The American Dream halted construction and the crews were sent home.

News, news, words, news, fake news, satire, words, words, Twitter!

Good morning, America! In today’s news, distraction is the main attraction. Now, for our top story, “Politics prove the human capacity for hypocrisy.”

People can develop their most hateful opinions about issues that don’t affect them.

Painful events that remind us that life isn’t fair can be our most valuable teachers. When pain strikes, it’s debilitating, but it’s important to never give up.

Tragic events don’t feel beneficial at the time those events occur, but they help us prioritize what’s important to us, and can often bring clarity.

I’ve done a lot in my life I cannot shout proudly from a mountain top, but I continue learning from the culmination of my mistakes. As well, I can’t say I have any regrets.

Life has a way of correcting your alignment with its course.

I’ve faced, accepted, and owned the crazy things I’ve done. Meeting and getting to know others who open up about the things they’ve done, that society has no business judging, motivates the hell out of me to tell as many stories as I can.

I do what I do because I’m always evolving. I’ve changed my mind countless times about things I thought were true.

Creating a Wake

Life isn’t an accident; life happens on purpose. Some people cause a wake, and others leave an unsettled aftermath.

We crawl before walking, and walk before running. We leave tracks connecting where we’re at, where we’ve been and where we’re from.

Everyone has experience worth sharing. Some won’t, and others will, but nobody can walk a mile in someone else’s shoes until completing a marathon in their own.

You are your #1 priority. Timing is everything and your time is now. Always look after #1. Know how to put yourself first, without being selfish. The more you help yourself, the better you’ll be helping others.

Pay attention to your state of mind. Don’t lose sight of your goals, sacrifice your happiness, or devalue your worth.

Always exercise your mind. Spend your spare time doing things that make you feel something.

Be better than good. Good things happen to good people, but being good is only the beginning.

Actively participate in life. Stay aware of your surroundings. Treat others with kindness. Honesty is the best thing for sleeping well at night. Know yourself by being self aware at all times.

There’s nothing more embarrassing than getting caught up in some bullshit, so stay out of it.

Always ask why. Question everything to understand anything. Curiosity won’t kill you, but lacking it will.

Do everything with confidence. Confidence is sexy. There’s a difference between being confident, and being a dick.

Laugh. Every. Day.

Be someone you’re proud to promote. You have exactly until you die to become the person you’re proud to be.

Travis Garrod, Devilish Smirk

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