Being Awesome

Dude, it is time to be awesome.  I read an interesting article on cracked.com about getting out in the world and doing things rather than expecting them to come to you.  The gist of it is that rather than waiting for a job to show up you should become the sort of person that people want to hire; instead of waiting for a person to show up who recognizes how special you are you should become the sort of person people want to date; instead of waiting for your life to get better you should go out and do things to make it better.

More generally speaking you should strive to be awesome.

Not that I agree with the article in its entirety but it has a very important point.  That is, people care about what you can do.  Relying on innate properties like 'nice guy' is a sure path to nowhere because practically everybody has 'nice guy' going for them.  Yesterday The Doctor couldn't get her car up the driveway because it had crappy tires and the driveway is steep and icy.  My dad lent her his truck to get home (nice guy) and the next day got out the Tree Farmer and pulled her car up the driveway with it.  He could do this because he knows things, and her happiness and gratitude was based on his ability to solve problems.  Nice guy is fine and all, but you are only going to be awesome if you can do things too.

To be attractive to other people you don't even necessarily have to be all that useful in a practical way though.  Being in a band is a sure way to get mobbed by potential dates regardless of the fact that it isn't going to make any money or solve problems.  Just being the sort of person who is passionate about things and who pursues excellence is hugely attractive to others.  We all want to date awesome people, people we can brag about to others, and being awesome doesn't have to mean being rich or powerful.  It usually means being engaged and interested in what you do and working hard at being amazing even if you constantly fail in that pursuit.  You know all those people who really want to hang around folks who don't try anything because they might not succeed?  Me neither.

Note that success and being awesome don't have anything to do with what other people think.  People who write songs and are passionate about playing the guitar can be awesome regardless of their financial status.  People who focus on a particular game or sport in the pursuit of awesome talent can be exactly the same way.  The key to being awesome is to pursue something that you internally know is awesome.  People can see when you are coasting, when you are afraid, when you don't try for worry of not being good enough.  When in your own mind you say "I am doing something AWESOME!" everyone can tell and they will flock to be with you.