Are you living in vaporware?

Last fall I realized that I had many goals left to achieve in my life.  I have some pretty big dreams, and those dreams are not going to fulfill themselves without some work on my part.

“An unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates), and honest questioning and self-reflection is essential for personal growth.  It can be hard to pause to look in the mirror and reflect on whether or not you are living the life you imagined.  But it is worth the time.

We were meant for great things.

Kristin Chenoweth has a beautiful anthem called I Was Here about this desire to do something big.  It’s worth a listen.  It pretty much sums up my own feelings.

I Was Here

I wanna do something that matters

Say something different

Something that sets the whole world on its ear

I wanna do something better

With the time I was given

I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life

Leave nothing less than something that says

I was here

I think this desire to leave a mark, to do something big, is universal.

In 1962 at Rice University, President Kennedy announced that we would land a man on the moon years before we knew how to do it.  President Kennedy’s Speech

Alan Turing envisioned a machine that would revolutionize cryptanalysis and computer science long before he was able to actually make it functional.

They had big dreams.

In the world of technology, companies frequently announce spectacular, almost unimaginable, advances long before they have made them a reality.  And some of them never see the light of day.

We call that vaporware.

Last fall I realized that I was living in vaporware.  One of my biggest dreams, publishing a book, was nowhere.  I needed to do something, anything, to take the first step in making it a reality.

Set Goals

I chose blogging as a tangible step.  I decided the goal would be to publish once a week during the school year.

Make a Plan

I set time aside on Saturday mornings to write.  More often, of course, is better, but I always write on Saturday mornings. That gives me 24 hours to reread and revise.  My daughter creates the artwork for the blog every Saturday after I’m done writing.  My husband proofs it and offers feedback.  Then I publish Sunday mornings.

Revise the Goals

I know my next step is to determine how to move from a blog to a book.  That’s the next goal.

Are you living in vaporware?  When you examine your life, are you living your dreams?

None of this is easy.  It is sometimes incredibly hard.  But it is always worth it.

“We choose to do it not because it is easy but because it is hard.” John F. Kennedy, Jr.