The reason being that it seems that now more than ever that our individual views and opinions on how we plan to live our lives are starting to show and become more important to each of us. I think that is a great thing. I can definetely feel each of us defining our own reality better than ever before. This may sound strange, but life is starting for all of us. As individuals.

It is becoming more and more obvious that each of us are constructing our own realities. That, I think, is the core issue of Amon’s post and the reason why there are differing opinions. Personally I feel that this progression can only lead to stronger and more challenging (and interesting) circle of friendship.

Compare us when we first met to where we are now. When we all started hanging out and becoming friends, even through to the end of university we were dependent primarily on a group dynamic. This was perpetuated by basketball, uni games, music, drugs etc. Slowly changes became to creep in, we started hanging out individually or in subsets of that group, we started chasing different goals whether they be career, relationship, sporting and so on. As we started to branch out the friendships haven’t changed but each individual has started to define their own life in terms of how they want to live, what they want to achieve and how they think that should be done. Gone are the times when our goals were all the same. We’re not all students anymore. We don’t all work in casual job anymore. All of us are living as individuals and have the capability, by intellect or hard work, to get where we want to be.

The point of that was for me to explain where my point of view is coming from, so I can justify my response.

Amon, my opinion of some of the comments you have made (and this is only my opinion), is that you often generalise the way you feel and then expect others to apply it to their lives. This is why I think you’ve got the response you have. I do admit and concede that in your next post that you have admitted that you are not making judgement on other people’s choices, only your own. However, you then go on to judge their choices anyway. Not that point is important but just remember that any points raised here are purely individual.

I think the notion of the ‘dream’, which in this case equates to what your dream job is, is not a static thing. When you’re 8 years old you want to be an fireman. When you’re 15 you want to be a rock star. When you’re 25 you want to be ??? My point is that dreams change. If you’re living to a static dream you will never be happy. If you don’t change your dream as you evolve as a person then you’ll always be chasing the ideals of the person you used to be. I’m sure we all have dreams whether it be work, relationships or whatever. My personal opinion is that the dream should be enjoying life. My view is that the way to achieve that is through setting goals.

I’ll use myself as an example. One of my career goals in advertising was to become a copywriter in a creative department. Since I decided that was what I wanted to do and did everything I could to make it happen. i applied and was selected to the best creative course in the industry. I worked my into the top agency in town and did extra work out of hours so I would keep improving. As of wednesday I have been offered a fulltime role as a creative. One goal down. Now I move onto the next one. My dream however has not changed but my piece of it just got a little bigger.

How you get there is part of the fun. If you’re always looking in the sky you won’t notice when there’s a hundred dollar note on the footpath or when a hippo is charging at you outside woolworths.

If you’re worried about looking back on life and thinking ‘fuck, fuck, fuck’, then don’t let it happen. But at the same time don’t judge people by your timeline. Some people like the feeling of crossing the line, others prefer the thrill of the race. Either way we’re all going to be sweet. Because I said so

The whole premise of my argument was based on an existential attitude – the idea that what drives us day in and day out is the knowledge that this could be the last one we know. I really don’t think you’ve understood any of my points. You think I live this way because its easier to accept the status quo and just survive??? You think I’m just hanging in there, day after day looking forward to my next sketchy experience or basketball game because those are the only things I enjoy??? It is healthy respect for the scarcity of our lives that drives me to apply myself to each and every one of life challenges every day – that is what living your life as if each day is your last is about. Its about accepting the challenges in front of you how ever they present themselves and getting good at living life. Have wonderful relationships, apply yourself in everything you do to the best of your ability – how can you go wrong with this sort of attitude? I don’t love my job, but what keeps my energy up is a desire to it better and better every week I go in. If you haven’t found this yet, its not yours to criticise. If you haven’t found this yet, then I suspect you have know idea what I or Craig was even on about.

Here’s an idea: Wake up each day and work your butt off at whatever it is you do. Make the most of your free time at nights and pursue this with as much vigour as you can muster. Fill it with relationships and enjoyment. When it becomes time for extended leisure – enjoy that to because its the fruit of your endeavours. Embrace change wholeheartedly when it comes and re-apply this entire attitude. I guarantee you each and every day you choose to live in this rich way you can held your head high and be satisfied with what you’ve accomplished. I guarantee that 20 years later you won’t feel as if you’ve wasted anything.

Movie quotes are great mate, and I’m sure they provide you with an epiphanatic well of motivation that will last you until the credits are over. I liked Shawshank as well, it doesn’t mean I carry it and every other motivational quote I come across close to me at all times. In the end its just that, a useful piece of clarity that does you noone any favours whatsoever.

Here’s a quote for you:

As an adult , there is no reward without sacrifice.

To begin generally, you are absolutely correct Al that my reply would be along the lines of living each day as if it were your last, as corny as that sounds. If no one dared to dream then so much would never be created. You can live and propogate someone elses dream, or you can go and make yours a reality.

I look at my life and I break down into 3 parts, work, sleep and play. These 3 things break down into almost perfect thirds (about 56-58hrs/ week). Sleep I have no choice, so that leaves me with 50% split with work and play, based on a 40-45hr week. I’d like to note, that mid-week free time is an indian gift, as by the time I get home, shower and eat, I have maybe an hour to myslef and it’s back to sleep again. So this leaves me with 50% of my time in this life to be dedicated to ‘work’ in whatever form that is. That seems like a lot of time to be devoting to something that I only have a ‘passing interest’ in?

- Why is there a growing trend of people changing thier career from something that gives them security to something they enjoy as they get older?
- Why is it always older people who talk about following you dream? Is it because with years behind them, they see what is most important?

‘I just don’t think they’re realistic for the vast majority’
Without sounding harsh, that is an absolute defeatist attitude! You also talk a lot about ‘acceptance’ Al. Again I find that very defeatist in its self. I appreciate your attitude to life about addressing challenges and I think it has a lot of merit, but the fact that you both willingly accept situations that are less than ideal suggests that you are not addressing these challenges, rather accepting that this is your lot in life and dealing with it?

‘I’d love to sit back, smoke weed most of the day and ponder the universe’
‘I love sitting on my arse playing games and watching movies’
You are both missing the point if you think that a dream job is based around hobbies. These form part of your ‘play’ time and we can all agree that these are not professions. Finding a job that more closely aligns with what you love still needs to make financial sense. Every project that I have been involved and will be invoved with in the future, have a sound financial plan and execution. The point is to find something that more closely alligns with what you enjoy doing…

‘Do not what you love; do what you are’
I don’t see how these can be different? Or maybe it’s just that I refuse to draw a line between the two. I know in myself that I will never be happy doing a job as ‘a means to achieve something else in life’, no matter how challenging. I see what you mean about still deriving value from a job, we can find enjoyment in most things, but I just can’t accept that we aren’t capable of more. Craig, if you wanted to be a critic you could, all of us are smart enough to apply ourselves to almost anything. I would also counter that you will find far greater motivation when applying yourself to something that you enjoy…

‘What makes me get up every day is just trying to do what I’m doing to the best of my ability’
Following from the last point, what is to stop you applying some of the wonderful skills you both have at a personal and professional level to other things? What stops you from changing?
I’m not assuming that this applies to you, but often it is the fear of change and uncertainty that keeps people locked in a secure position. We all like our comfort zones and if things are going well enough then we will just put up with some things being wrong. This again is ‘acceptance’ and the thought that I could just relax into what I’m doing and go along with it…but then I wake up in 20 years and wonder why I didn’t go out and do all the things I had dreamed about doing when I was younger?

Without taking this conversation down too far, I think the reason I disagree with you both quite strongly is due to a well found respect for death. I’m not afraid of it, but I have a health respect for it. In a positive way, it is the firecracker under my ass that does say ‘get busy living or get busy dying’. Life is short, there is so much I want to do and see and if I don’t get busy making the things I love a reality then my nightmare may come true. Live day-to-day is my philosophy Al, because you don’t wanna be sitting up there on a cloud going ‘fuck, fuck, fuck’.

I’ll leave it at that so I don’t ramble too much and pass the floor back to you both

I think doing something you’re good at is far more important than doing something you love. I love sitting on my arse playing games and watching movies, but my writing skills aren’t good enough for me to become a critic or something similar. In contrast, I’m a damn good programmer – and I don’t love it, but I enjoy it enough to make a career from it.

Additionally, choosing a job with a high barrier to entry is arguably going to serve you better in the long term than with a low barrier. Higher salary, better job security, and more challenging work will leave me more satisfied than competing with everyone else.

Coincidentally there’s been a few blog posts about this come up in my feed over the last week or so:
– http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/01/11/ask-the-readers-how-to-find-work-that-you-love/
– http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2008/01/11/some-final-thoughts-on-work-education-and-fulfillment/
– http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2007/12/18/bad-career-advice-do-what-you-love/

A small snippet from that last link:

“Here’s some practical advice: Do not what you love; do what you are. It’s how I chose my career. I bought the book with that title – maybe my favorite career book of all time – and I took the quickie version of the Myers-Briggs test. The book gave me a list of my strengths, and a list of jobs where I would likely succeed based on those strengths.”

“Relationships make your life great, not jobs. But a job can ruin your life – make you feel out of control in terms of your time or your ability to accomplish goals – but no job will make your life complete. It’s a myth mostly propagated by people who tell you to do what you love. Doing what you love will make you feel fulfilled. But you don’t need to get paid for it.”

That last line’s important – you need to do what you love, but it doesn’t need to be that you do it in your job.

Unfortunately Woulfe I don’t even consider your questions to be relevant – I just don’t think they’re realistic for the vast majority. I know you’ll counter this with some indulgently philosophical rhetoric emphasising that true success can only come from something you love doing, how important it is to live each day as if its your last etc etc. However, what makes me get up every day is just trying to do what I’m doing to the best of my ability. Working hard pays off, and the added responsibilities that come with success and hard work make me relish the position. In the wash it comes down to something even more strategic – i only ever view my job as a means to achieve something else in life. I realise thats a significantly morose label to put on something that my life is quite literally built around, but thats honestly the way i see it. Couple this with a desire to be dilligent and wholeheartedly accept the challenges put in front of you each and every day, and you can’t go wrong. Sometimes this motivation falls out of focus, but its only ever a polished lens away from becoming clear again.

Find something with a passing interest (thats all it will ever be at a tertiary level!), then work your butt off in the real world to make it your area of expertise. I realise you can’t apply this rationale as easily to a data entry occupation as you can to say, being a doctor, but the point is fairly clear.

This isn’t about cash either – its about living richly, not living to be rich. Accept the challenges each day as they come and you’ll do well. You talk about the need to feel satisfied in 20 years time, not wanting to feel as though any aspect of our scarce and precious lives has gone to waste. I can’t see how its possible to feel like this if you’ve chinned up, accepted the challenge that is life, and lived it.

In answer to your questions:

Who has a divide in their job? Only those who create it themselves.

Who thinks their dream job is lined up? Its there in any job whenever I go looking for it.

Who has considered a career change? People our age these days will change career as a matter of habit, not necessity. Am sure it will happen, and the answers to 1 & 2 above apply once again.

Its funny this past year has actually seen a big influx of current, NBA prospects into the league. I’ve never seen it like this before – you always had guys at the backends of their careers coming to Oz (Bobby ‘Zanetrain’ Brannen comes to mind, Leon Trimmingham, D-Mac), but now legitimate NA players, some of whom will break into the league at some point, are coming down under. Orien Greene for the Breakers, Julius Hodge for the 36ers, Dontaye Draper for the Kings, Darnell Hinson for the Razorbacks. The Australian $ has brought parity to the contracts in a way, the 250,000 on offer for an NBL season stacks up better against Euro and other offers. Having said that, the standard is also appealing as well. Australia is getting a good reputation for being a tough basketball league – our bigs are shite but thats ok, the way the game istrneding is toward smaller, quicker lineups now that hand checking is illegal.

Lastly – I think this is truly basketball’s best chance to gain a bigger foot in the Australian domestic sport scene. I shit you not, this kid could be the Yao Ming ( from both an ability and philosophical marketing perspective) of Australia. He is, an absolute beast.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23035493-10914,00.html

Matt, Dave and I are going to be watching his first and last appearance in the Brisbane Convention Centre tomorrow night (assuming Brisbane doesn’t run into them in the finals). Can’t wait.

I can’t dribble though…

I agree with your points and would note that unless you win the battle in the juniors, then you will likely lose the battle overall. Money can indeed by you a championship, but it’s not much good if no one came to watch you win it

P.S. Australia version of And-1? Would prob be crap as none of us can dunk lol!

Ball is unique in that the sport’s not big enough to really have a formal system for young players to get into the league – ie a draft. The college system is the best finishing scool once you gte past 16/17 when the AIS is available. Some players take the Newley/Ingles rout and go straight to NBL, but College is usually the best way to get into the NBL.

Most players under 25 in the NBL have gone through college – just playing ABA definitely is not enough, although you do get the occassional player such as Kelvin Robertson/Dwayne Vale in Cairns who bypass both AIS and college and play through their NBL teams ABA/NBL development program. Perhaps the Cairns/Townsville model is an guide, although I suspect it works well in these areas because of their regionality (“bogan factor”). Ball is the clear number 2 sport behind league in these centres – makes it easier to have such a comprehensive junior development program – less distractions.

This has been a bit of a ramble but I guess my point is still to have a strong junior program backed up with an entertaining men’s game. That’s all you can really do, aside form hoping all NBL owners run an IPO that jumps 500% in 5 years alah Mr Groves. On another note – who said money doesn’t buy you a championship and everlasting happiness???