Hey you, that one over there, reading these very words right now, do you feel that emptiness? That unsatisfiable urge to do something different? To change something? In you, in me, and all of us?
I’m not even talking about an existential crisis, not that hollow thought that leads to no where. I’m talking about your passions, your drive, your understanding of how the world works and how you should behave now that you understand all those things. You know what I mean?
I’ve been working for a living for a decade, do what some consider one of the best jobs on the planet (while others no doubt consider it the worst). I’ve had the chance to be part of amazing startups, and also start a few of mine. Ive had the pleasure of meeting some of the most powerful people on the planet and some of the brightest minds in existence and yet it all persists despite the amazing power we all individually now have at our fingertips every second of every day and despite the enormous power we have collaboratively, it’s still all the same.
When I think of it, write these words, my stomach aches. Something’s wrong. We all know it, you know it as much as I do. Some of us have opinions and ideas how to make this better and yet it all persists.
We’re still doing the same things that our parents did a few decades ago despite our entire culture being turned upside down. We still learn the same way, we still survive the same way, and we still prosper very rarely, as individuals and as a collective.
Now with the Internet we see how everything is connected, not just us and our silly little apps, but our neighbors, our pets, our foods, our antibiotics, our robots — it all affects everything on this tiny ball of life that we call Earth, and we’re dumbfounded staring our situation dead in the eyes.
We know this can’t go on for long, but what do we do? How do we do it? Who’s right? Who’s wrong? How do we fix it?
Like I said, some of us have ideas supposedly answering those though questions, and I am one of those with some idea about how to remedy the situation, or at the very least provide for my family when the shot hits the fan.
But those ideas are radical, in the most relevant meaning of the word. They’re different than what we know now, they are a n evolution of everything we’ve learned thus far, and everything I’ve personally experienced.
Sadly, I don’t share those ideas with the world. Sadly I only share those mundane startup ideas, simple apps, easy-to-chew-on concepts with the rest of you.
My excuse is simple — I’ll sort out my life, I’ll build that product/startup that will marginally change the world so I have enough resor ce to build that project. Because after I’ve done the first thing, the easy-to-chew-on concept, you won’t consider me as radical, or at least allow me the benefit of the doubt.
I’m not smarter or better than the average you, I consider myself as average as anyone can get (I think this is a self compliment rather than self loathing as some might take it), I pride myself of being able to do the abnormal things that I do within the averageness that is my existence. As a result I’m pretty sure that this feeling I am describing is not unique to me or my condition. I’m pretty sure that that least 50% have a similar if not exact feeling.
Why are we so afraid then? Why are we not doing those crazy things that some of us have in mind? We all know that this thing can’t go on the way it does, so why are we sitting here just… taking it?
