There's this show that just finished its short summer run on NBC called Better Late Than Never. It's about four aging celebrities -- William Shatner, George Foreman, Terry Bradshaw, and Henry Winkler -- who take a world tour to several different cities so they can experience different cultures. Watching the exploits of men their ages as they try to climb hundreds of stairs so they can look at Mount Fujiyama, sleep in a capsule hotel, or be part of a Japanese talk show, among other things, is quite hilarious.
But did you know what's really awesome about what they did on this trip? The fact that they actually did it.
They decided to go out and do something they'd wanted to do, but had never done before, either due to schedules, work, family business, et cetera. Whatever the reason, no matter how legitimate it was, they simply never took the time. They were never deliberate in making it happen until they decided one day to pull the trigger and go for it (of course, input from producers notwithstanding).
One thing I find interesting about this show is that these four men have another guy going with them, comedian and actor Jeff Dye, a man significantly younger than the rest of the entourage. He's the one that actually planned the trip, took the time to research where they would stay and what activities were available. He's the one that put the plan down on paper so that they trip could happen. All of that star power, spread over decades of television, movies, sports, music, and marketing, and it took a fifth guy to help make the trip happen.
I firmly believe this is because he had a plan. If he hadn't had a plan, they never would have gone on the trip. So, what's the equivalent of planning for a major worldwide trip in our normal, everyday lives?
Setting goals.
When you have a goal to aim for, you have something worth achieving, especially if that goal is tied to a dream. Dreams don't happen on their own, and just one goal being met isn't going to fulfill one's dream in its entirety.
But what good is a dream without goals? And what good are your goals if you don't make them tangible?
WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS.
Statistics (I don't know from where . . . it's late, and I don't feel like looking up anything significant, so let's just go with "Statistics") show that people who write down their goals have a much higher chance of attaining them that people who do not. The reason you've never paid off that debt, written that novel, or made your marriage better? They're all the same -- you probably didn't have a written goal that you could work towards.
In my life, there are plenty of things I haven't done . . . YET . . . for various reasons. No matter how legitimate those reasons are, they pale in comparison to the fact that if I write down goals that help lead, bit by bit, to the fruition of my dream, I will begin to see my dream take shape. And since dreams start with ideas, I decided to make my ideas public.
NOTE: this is pre-writing down. As I type this, I realize that I haven't actually put pen to paper and written these things down yet, so I will still have to eat my own words by the time I'm done writing this.
1. RECORD THE ALBUM I'VE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE BEFORE I GOT A CALL FROM A PRODUCER SAYING THAT HE WANTED TO WORK WITH ME BECAUSE HE LIKED MY SONGS. This will require a lot of steps, a lot of little goals, but let's just say the weapon's been cocked and loaded for a long time, and I've been somewhat scared to pull the trigger.
2. PLAYTEST & PUBLISH THE ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM I DEVELOPED.
This will take time, because of my inability to get together to game with people on a regular basis. But with 3 playtests already under my belt, I know what direction I want this to go in.
3. PLAYTEST & PUBLISH THE CARD GAME WHOSE PROTOTYPE I JUST FINISHED.
I had A TON of fun playtesting a loose solo variant of this game, much more fun than I thought I would have had while I was actually putting it together. I think I have something really worthwhile here, and I don't know of any other games that use the theme in quite the same way I've developed.
4. Put the 2 RPG setting ideas and 3 other board game ideas that I've had into some kind of practice, actually coming up with an overall theme, mechanics, and specific elements to make the game work. I know that one of these ideas has a unique combination mechanic that I don't think any other game has, at least that I'm aware of. So I could be sitting on a really great idea, so long as I don't keep sitting on it.
Like the title of the program said, it's better late than never. Just because I'm 40 doesn't mean I can't still conquer the world.
There Is No Box.
Zach
But did you know what's really awesome about what they did on this trip? The fact that they actually did it.
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| William Shatner, Henry Winkler, Terry Bradshaw, Jeff Dye, George Foreman |
One thing I find interesting about this show is that these four men have another guy going with them, comedian and actor Jeff Dye, a man significantly younger than the rest of the entourage. He's the one that actually planned the trip, took the time to research where they would stay and what activities were available. He's the one that put the plan down on paper so that they trip could happen. All of that star power, spread over decades of television, movies, sports, music, and marketing, and it took a fifth guy to help make the trip happen.
I firmly believe this is because he had a plan. If he hadn't had a plan, they never would have gone on the trip. So, what's the equivalent of planning for a major worldwide trip in our normal, everyday lives?
Setting goals.
When you have a goal to aim for, you have something worth achieving, especially if that goal is tied to a dream. Dreams don't happen on their own, and just one goal being met isn't going to fulfill one's dream in its entirety.
But what good is a dream without goals? And what good are your goals if you don't make them tangible?
WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS.
Statistics (I don't know from where . . . it's late, and I don't feel like looking up anything significant, so let's just go with "Statistics") show that people who write down their goals have a much higher chance of attaining them that people who do not. The reason you've never paid off that debt, written that novel, or made your marriage better? They're all the same -- you probably didn't have a written goal that you could work towards.
In my life, there are plenty of things I haven't done . . . YET . . . for various reasons. No matter how legitimate those reasons are, they pale in comparison to the fact that if I write down goals that help lead, bit by bit, to the fruition of my dream, I will begin to see my dream take shape. And since dreams start with ideas, I decided to make my ideas public.
NOTE: this is pre-writing down. As I type this, I realize that I haven't actually put pen to paper and written these things down yet, so I will still have to eat my own words by the time I'm done writing this.
1. RECORD THE ALBUM I'VE BEEN WORKING ON SINCE BEFORE I GOT A CALL FROM A PRODUCER SAYING THAT HE WANTED TO WORK WITH ME BECAUSE HE LIKED MY SONGS. This will require a lot of steps, a lot of little goals, but let's just say the weapon's been cocked and loaded for a long time, and I've been somewhat scared to pull the trigger.
2. PLAYTEST & PUBLISH THE ROLEPLAYING GAME SYSTEM I DEVELOPED.
This will take time, because of my inability to get together to game with people on a regular basis. But with 3 playtests already under my belt, I know what direction I want this to go in.
3. PLAYTEST & PUBLISH THE CARD GAME WHOSE PROTOTYPE I JUST FINISHED.
I had A TON of fun playtesting a loose solo variant of this game, much more fun than I thought I would have had while I was actually putting it together. I think I have something really worthwhile here, and I don't know of any other games that use the theme in quite the same way I've developed.
4. Put the 2 RPG setting ideas and 3 other board game ideas that I've had into some kind of practice, actually coming up with an overall theme, mechanics, and specific elements to make the game work. I know that one of these ideas has a unique combination mechanic that I don't think any other game has, at least that I'm aware of. So I could be sitting on a really great idea, so long as I don't keep sitting on it.
Like the title of the program said, it's better late than never. Just because I'm 40 doesn't mean I can't still conquer the world.
There Is No Box.
Zach
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