For A Fan

You only go around this big marble once so you better do your best to suck every ounce of juice from it that you can. My life hasn’t been without excitement. I would say I’ve lived well. I haven’t always done the right thing but I’ve tried to keep my moral compass pointed north for the most part. I haven’t always lived well though. I spent 14 years of my life working the same job and the last 7 of those years hating every minute of it. In this day and age that type of longevity on a job can be seen as a good thing: dedication to a company full of devotion and a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t matter in the real world.

When that chapter of my life closed, I made a decision to make a fundamental change in my life. I chose to do something hard. I moved. I moved as far away from where I was as I could without leaving the country. I came to Oregon and man have I changed. I came to a place of singular beauty and unlike anyplace I have ever seen. I have met people that are so much different than I am I still can’t get my head all the way around it. I’ve learned to not judge and to embrace the bizarre. I’ve learned to be accepting of other people’s culture and celebrate their difference as well as be enriched by their personalities. I have brought my family to a place that will enable them to reach their full potential. I want to reach my full potential as well. It takes a shit-ton of hard work and truck loads of guts. You should reach yours too.

What is the one thing you always wanted to do or be? That’s the first question you should be asking yourself. That was a hard one for me. I find it’s difficult for a lot of people so I don’t sweat it. I like to fix things, all kinds of things, machines of every shape and size. I love the way electricity smells in the air. The way metal smells when it’s being melted, grinded, or filed. Creating something out of a pile of parts…something from nothing. I love computers and electronics: the merger of art and science. I guess that is the stuff of Engineering but when I think of it I see myself looking at a pile of used things and re-purposing them to be useful again. It’s my way of reclaiming things that have been discarded and using them for good once more.

My dream is to create machines that take dirty laundry to the washer. To make a way for elder people to remain independent for as long as they want. Creating machines and technologies for the rest of us. Making things and not being concerned with the bottom line. To pay people that work on my stuff a wage they can support their families on. To train people off the street to do highly skilled jobs. To help them kick their addictions and give them a roof, food, and a purpose. I’m not interested in being rich. If I woke up rich tomorrow it wouldn’t change a whole lot about my life though I would like to own my airplane and that’s just because I hate to fly. Having my own bird would take a lot of the anxiety out of the equation. Other than that, I don’t need a fancy car, a big house, or a bunch of people kissing my ass. It’s just not who I am.

We all need a purpose in this life. I believe we were all created with a purpose in mind. Unfortunately a good many of us never realize what that purpose is. We spend our time living grey lives and hoping our day will end as soon as possible so we can have a break until our next bleak moment. Then it’s over. Your light goes out and you have nothing to show for the time you were given on this earth. Spend your time wisely. It’s the only commodity on this planet that has any real value. It’s finite and not replenishable. Use it well; use it to its fullest. Doing hard things is hard but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be done. You will fail. It will happen. It’s how you handle the failure that defines your character. Always be true to your calling and never EVER quit.