The temptation is great to write a year end summary, going over all the important events of 2006 and pondering their meaning. But this year was one of the few in my life where I was not really living but surviving. Yea, it sounds kinda whiny, I can appreciate that part of that statement is just the artsy side of me playing up the melancholy of life. I mean I have my health, my family and friends which when you get right down to it is the important, necessary things in life.

But I was on such a roll there for awhile that, well, coming down ain't as much fun as going up. So my focus now is to find another hill to climb that will not only challenge but bring meaning and money back into my life. I have some ideas, but something I'm finding is that todays specialized world doesn't value a Renaissance Man like it used to.

In St. Louis there are ad people that work have worked for years on just on the Anheuser/Busch account. And not just A/B, but Bud Light, and not just Bud Light, but Bud-Light point of purchase displays, and not just Bud Light point of purchase displays, but Bud Light point of purchase displays for ethnic markets. Year in and year out.

Every time you turn on the news or read an article they are interviewing a scientist who has spent his whole life studying the mating habits of earthworms or a specialist on silver spoons from 1750 or a doctor who only operates on fingers. And while I find those things interesting too (well maybe not spoons), there are so many things to learn about that it seems unbalanced to neglect everything else. My friend David once said that to read the same book twice is a slap in the face to every other book calling out to be read. Even though I've read my favorite books several times (The Lion of Ireland at least five) I totally appreciate where he's coming from.

But in looking for a job this last year, employers don't want just a corporate trainer, they want a corporate trainer with a degree in earthworm biology, 5 years of FDA earthworm regulation experience, and 2 years working with the Lumbricus terrestris species in particular.

I can build a website, build a house from scratch, navigate and sail across a large body of water, give a speech, compose/produce/market a rock opera, manage a staff in a Fortune 500 company, keep a long term relationship, cook a gourmet meal, run a business, climb a mountain, shoot and edit a video, train a dog, teach a class, write a market plan, write a book, direct a photoshoot, compare the major religions, sew a button on, draw plans for a house, do a competitive analysis, install a car stereo, understand basic concepts in quantum mechanics, do tai chi, survive in the woods (with a good backpack), race a motorcycle, jump from an airplane, tell a joke, and keep a blog for several years.

But I have only a passing knowledge of earthworms. I guess the Renaissance is over and it's time to specialize.

posted by bluematrix at 12/21/06 09:44 | link | comments (4)