I’ve been dreading this since the day I joined the Listserve – that fateful day when the email would come telling me I was selected. I’ve been wracking my brain thinking about anything to write and I hope I’m writing something that will benefit someone – anyone, really. Even myself.
When I got that email I had two thoughts: The first one was, “oh, two listserves in one day? Weird!” then, upon figuring out what the email actually was, I said out loud (and in the middle of a meeting, mind you), “Oh! No way!!”
I guess that kind of brings me to the theme of what I wanted to talk about – but first! – a quick shout out to my “bestie” Julia - the Juice - who introduced me to the ListServe a while back and we’ve been addicted to it ever since.
So why was I looking at my email during a meeting? Because I hate my job. Well, not really my job as much as my career path. I’ve always been in Management Consulting but I’ve never ACTUALLY liked it. I enjoyed the concept of traveling, talking to people, and (through several experiences in Africa) helping people towards a larger purpose. I constantly read about stories of people on the Listserve who’ve taken action to DO something with their lives and even have PASSIONS about/towards things. Julia and I talk about this on a regular basis – we’re always complaining to each other about how much we hate our jobs and how we should ACTUALLY do something about it but we never actually do.
So, I read somewhere that the most successful people in life have become that way by taking life-altering risks. From your Jobs to your Gates to your Zuckerberg; they’ve all taken incredible risks to get to where they want to be. I don’t know about you, but when I walked out of the Social Network I was kicking and screaming because I was quite jealous (read: hating). I felt like I needed to do SOMETHING to make a fundamental change in my life and I got all passionate and excited about it on the drive home. One bowl of cereal and an episode of Entourage later, I had forgotten it. It still gnaws at the back of my mind and every day the desire to be independent and self-sufficient grows more and more. But then I think of something else – were those individuals ACTUALLY passionate about what they invested/risked everything for? Or was it just a good idea that they decided to implement in the hopes of it being a money-making endeavor? Or, in the words of Butch Warren, did they just have the “best of luck”?
So I guess this is my invitation to you – I would be thrilled if you could send me your stories/experiences of getting off your butts to ACTUALLY do something that helped you take control of your life. I’m asking for the advice of 21,000+ people of how you discovered your passions and how you got yourself to do something about them. That would be bitchin’.
A quick shout-out to my wife, Dina, the love of my life. Without her, I’d be a mess of a man with no direction in life. Throughout all my doubts and fears, she’s been nothing but a loving and supportive partner.
Omar Khedr
[email protected]
Saginaw, MI (for work) - Washington, DC (home)
Ps. How many have EVER or WOULD ever cook in their hotel room? Settle an argument between me and Julia and email me back to let me know how RIDICULOUS it is…
Pps – I hate Ryan Gosling…21,000+ people needed to know…