What Have You Created Today?

 

 

At the end of each day, what are you most proud of that you’ve created? It could be anything from an order of fries to an amazing customer experience at a high-end resort. They all count as things we create.

 

It's good to think about how we impact the world and the people around us. Many things we do in our daily lives might seem insignificant to us. But, in fact, every action that we take has a ripple effect that often goes unseen.

 

I've written many pieces that get a good number of views. When something does well, I wonder if it may have sparked something in the minds of others. Sometimes I overthink how valuable a piece that I've written might be to someone else. Other times, I’ve likely seriously undervalued something I’ve written. But, what’s important in the end is that I created it and shared it with others.

 

So, what if you create things, but don’t share them? You still created it, right? Perhaps, you created a painting that no one comes across until many years after you're gone. Hopefully, whoever finds it will have an appreciation for it and not just toss it in the trash.

 

What’s special to one person likely won’t be to another. But the very fact you created it meant that you put your heart and soul into something, and that made it worth the effort. Who knows who it may impact later in life, or even after you’re gone?

 

Don’t overlook the seemingly mundane things in Life, because you never know what will spark Creativity. Sometimes, the most impactful things in our lives are seemingly mundane things.  For example, an order of fries may not seem like much. But, to someone with their last dollar, those fries may be all of someone's dinner. So, you might think it's just another order of fries, but to someone it could be the meal that keeps them going for another day.

 

I also mentioned great customer experiences. Those don't have to happen at a resort. Even a convenience store clerk going above and beyond to be helpful can change the course of someone's day. I'm not sure who said it, but an ounce of kindness can become a pound of gratitude. That’s very good advice.

 

Sometimes, I feel like I can't do enough to get where I feel that I need to be in life. Perhaps, it's because I underestimate the impact of the things I create through my work. Whether it be writing an article, building someone's social media community, or updating a website, I have to remember that an ounce of my effort can become a pound or more of impact on someone else.

 

More of us need to start thinking this way, because we’ll likely be a lot more productive with that mindset. If we remember the ripple effects of our actions are much more powerful than we often realize, we will all be better off in understanding just what every single one of us is truly capable of doing.

 

So, what have you created today?

 

~ Amelia Desertsong

What is Understanding and What is Understood?

 

        

                                   

Creativity involves a great deal of understanding of the things that already exist. It needs to be understood that we live in an always expanding universe. We can say that we know that. But, do we truly conceive of what that actually means?

 

If human beings allow themselves to stop understanding new things, then mankind will wither away into degeneration. The greatest thing to address in our society is teaching our children the meanings of creativity and genius. We need to teach kids that every human being can be creative in his or her own way. Genius is not a relative concept; it is universal. We just need to broaden our understanding of these concepts.

 

People in education seem to think they are so enlightened these days. Sure, letting kids “learn in their own way” as an idea seems like a great idea. But helpful, conscious guidance is still very important. Otherwise, you’re essentially putting a kid out on the city streets with a few bucks and a rather useless pamphlet of “popular attractions.” In many ways, I feel like that’s all our school systems do for kids these days.

 

There is this obsession in schools essentially existing only for “college-preparatory” purposes. But, college should not, I repeat, should not be something that is for everyone. There are some people that are simply not academics. That is a fact. What I am getting at is it seems that public schools only hold kids over with only the most barebones skills to get by. Schools seem less interested in actually equipping our youth to succeed in real life, only in boosting test scores and college admissions.

 

It is incredibly frustrating for true professional educators and academics to see this happen. But the system seems to have passed them by. Many students today seem to have little real interest in anything important. It has come down to the point even the textbook companies have watered everything down to make even going to college an absolute joke.

 

Try putting textbooks from even twenty years ago to College Seniors today! They would be befuddled beyond belief. “I don’t get it,” too many of them will say. This is not an inherent fault in the students themselves. The education which they were required to receive has failed them horribly. Only those that have truly worked very, very hard for their education seem to truly understand what there is to understand. It’s hard to say what they have gotten out of their “higher” education, either.

 

I have many issues with the American educational system. But perhaps the greatest I have is the more general sentiment I have that schools are far underperforming what politicians would like us to believe from their bogus test results. You can teach a monkey to take a test and pass relatively well. Essentially, we treat our kids like chimps. So, magically, they become chimps! Now, how did that happen? (Sorry, if I offended any chimps out there.)

 

As someone who wasted too much time and money on a “higher” education that was supposed to benefit me, I warn those who are looking to drop tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars on a “valuable” college education. If you’re not planning on being a doctor or some other field that absolutely requires a degree, I’d stick to taking community college or technical courses that offer practical knowledge you can apply directly to a vocation. Anything else at this point, honestly, is pretty much just a money grab.

 

If you really want to understand something, read as many books as you can on the subject and related subjects. Then, sit down and work through any difficulties or inconsistencies you find in your reading. You learn far more that way that researching any old term paper.

 

It’s too long it took me nearly a hundred thousand dollars and over four years to understand that truth. Hopefully I save you and/or someone among your friends and family from making that same mistake.

Learning the Delicate Balance of Challenging the Reader

 

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my career as a writer—aside from the grim reality that nobody really cares about how clever you think you are—it’s that there’s an art to making people feel just smart enough to keep reading. It’s a very delicate balance, though. As the wordsmith, I must double as a choreographer, leading my hapless reader through an intricate series of pirouettes and dips. Sometimes I sprinkle in a vocabulary word that might require a quick Google search, but not so obscure that it sends them into a linguistic abyss from which there’s no return. I like to think of each essay I write as a literary scavenger hunt, with just enough breadcrumbs to keep the reader following along.

 

In my philosophy, I believe that it’s perfectly reasonable to challenge the reader—just not to the point where they’re huddled in the fetal position, questioning their entire education. You must find that sweet spot between "Ah, I see what she did there," and "What in the name of Merriam-Webster is this nonsense?" Of course, honestly, nobody enjoys feeling like an idiot while reading for leisure.

 

But, yes, I actually care about my readers. I want them to understand me, to grasp at least some of what I’m saying without having to hire a translator or sacrifice their afternoon for an interpretive study. Neither writer nor reader should be stretching so far that we risk pulling a muscle just to meet in the middle of a thought. I may enjoy a good sesquipedalian word now and then (I’ll give you this one: it means “user of long words”), but I’m not here to lead my readers into an intellectual minefield with no map. After all, I’m not a sadist—at least not intentionally.

 

For me, writing is a bizarre sort of symbiosis. As some sort of ever-benevolent guide, I must lead the reader through my tangled thoughts, hoping we both come out the other side relatively unscathed. I do want there to be some intellectual challenge, like a firm but friendly shove in the ribs, but not so much that the poor reader stumbles, gasping, into the darkness of befuddlement. I figure if I can keep the reader teetering on the edge of "intrigued but not overwhelmed," I’ve done my job.

 

While I’m not much of a dancer, writing does involve a sort of choreography. I must carefully craft each step and each turn the narrative takes, while my reader, willingly or otherwise, follows along. Occasionally, I’ll throw in a little twirl—a word or idea that might make them blink twice—but it’s all a calculated part of the experience. The reader must trust me to get them through it, and in return, I promise not to completely abandon them in a sea of convoluted metaphors.

 

Now, I don’t want to imply that I’m always nice about it. Sure, I’ll toss in a ten-dollar word now and then just to see who’s paying attention. But I like to think of it as an educational opportunity. Who doesn’t love the thrill of learning something new? Ideally, my readers have a dictionary, thesaurus, or some semblance of curiosity at hand when they dive into my work. If they don’t, well, there’s always the internet—a handy crutch for the linguistically unprepared.

 

Of course, not everyone is on board with this. Some people, it turns out, would prefer to read something they don’t have to work at all to understand. Okay, that’s fine. There are plenty of books out there for people who like to be spoon-fed ideas. Admittedly, my style isn’t for everybody, especially the faint of heart or for those allergic to intellectual aerobics. But for those willing to meet me in the middle, there’s a certain satisfaction in the journey, like solving a puzzle or untangling a particularly gnarly knot. It’s not always easy, but it’s worth the effort. At least, that’s what I tell myself when people complain they had to keep a thesaurus open while reading my latest essay.

 

So, this strange pas de deux of writer and reader is all about balance. Sure, I might lead with a flourish now and then, expecting my reader to rise to the occasion, but I always extend a hand. After all, we’re in this together, and the goal is for both of us to make it to the final page without collapsing in a heap of confused frustration.

 

~ Amelia Desertsong

How Do You Give Your Content More Power?

 

 

Tim Taylor on the 90's sitcom Home Improvement really liked to give things more power. One of the main running gags of that sitcom was that Tim Allen's character was always finding things around the house to give more power. He always succeeded in providing the power. Unfortunately, it also usually blew up in his face in rather comical ways.

 

While I always enjoyed that show, it never really occurred to me to write about it. I’m not sure why I suddenly have the desire to now. But, recently, I’ve wanted to give a lot of things in my life more power.

 

Specifically, I’ve always wanted to give my words all the power they can possibly have. But, I become frustrated when I try to power my words out there. It seems like endless social media promotion is the only way to do that. Then again, is it about powering your words out there? Shouldn't it be the power of the words themselves that matters the most?

 

What does it mean to actually give something more power?

Giving something ‘more power’ isn’t always about being “bigger” or “better.” It's about giving something a better function, the most perfect function it can have, as a philosopher may put it. Sure, it's possible to overpower things. Actually, it's done far too often with today’s media. There are too many examples to list.

 

Popular culture is often shoved down our throats day in and day out if we deal with any mass media at all. The last thing I want to do is just try to force something out there. I want people to organically consume it. But, of course, this isn’t good enough for a lot of people. Who wants to sit there and wait to have their content enjoyed?

 

In my opinion, it’s better to have a handful of dedicated readers or viewers than a whole mess of merely curious ones. Of course, I want as many eyeballs as possible on my work. But, it’s incredibly common to see people over-stuff and overpower their websites with all sorts of affiliations and advertisements. Then, they overwhelm people with more content than they can realistically consume in one day. It all depends on the audience, of course.

 

Still, the last thing I want to do is just get thousands of views, just because a post went viral on some social media site. Then, I get nothing ever again. I’m more interested in providing lasting value. "Evergreen” content is good, but I want to have something more than that.

 

Staying Power is Everything with Content

The sort of power that I seek to infuse into my content is staying power. In today’s world, it seems that people are going by a strategy of live fast and die hard. Tim Taylor sort of did this by just shoving as much power as you possibly could into an ordinary device. Of course, that most often led to some hilarious mishaps. Certain things have been set to particular power levels for good reason, of course.

 

But, some people are going to tweak, and that’s not a bad thing, of course. Innovation is good. But, giving something “more power” for the sake of making it have an immediate explosive impact is not always the best idea. Eventually, this sort of strategy is going to burn out.

 

So, how does one gain staying power? Just do what you do best, and do it the best way you can. In my case, I will give my own writing staying power just by writing it. Then, I'll softly promote it to my various social channels and link to it when I feel there’s a timely need for it. I don't see the benefit of pushing things out hard and fast unless there’s a desperate need at that moment.

 

Many of us as writers put all our strength and energy behind pushing content out and pulling hard to reel in visitors. I’m just going to write my piece and let those come that will. Come whatever may, my words have the power that they have. You, my lovely readers, can decide for yourselves what power they have for you.

 

In the end, the most important thing is to share what you have in a way that benefits others. Actions taken to help others go a long way. I want my words to help others think and grow. That's how I will give them more lasting power.

 

~ Amelia <3

Blogging for Business VS Blogging for Pleasure

There’s nothing wrong with blogging just for fun. For some, blogging is just a hobby. But these days, for many, blogging has become a business. Whether your own blogging is a hobby or for a business, or something in between, it’s fine. If it’s what you want to be doing, then whatever your reasons may be for doing it are valid.

 

That being said, as someone who has written professionally in the past, doing some casual web writing on the side is appealing. I don’t want to really plan anything. It’s almost like I just want to have a blog about nothing, but everything, at the same time. I don’t want to be bothered with optimizing search engines or any of that. I just want people to occasionally take a peek and say hello.

 

But, what do I really mean by “casual” blogging? How should you treat blogging for pleasure VS blogging for business?

 

From my personal experience, you sort of have to do both. Let me explain.

 

Once you’re a blogger, you want to have some sort of direction. Now, if you’re not really blogging primarily as a business, you don’t have to have as strict of a plan. However, even when you’re not blogging with compensation in mind, you still want to have a general theme. When you’re blogging with pleasure, you don’t have to necessarily try and carve a new niche and be strict with your topics. You can allow yourself to be more open-ended.

 

As someone who has been web writing for business for over a decade, it’s nice to just step back and use my blogging to just help other bloggers and aspiring content creators. I just want to share some thoughts, discuss some ideas with fellow content creators, and just have fun with writing again. I got burnt out trying to figure out how to make money with it. That’s why I tend to blog more “for pleasure” or “casually” at this point.

 

But if you’re blogging for business, what exactly do you have to do to turn a “casual” blog into a money maker?

 

Even when you blog for pleasure, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t monetize your content if you can. It’s just that the pennies are a bonus. When you’re trying to make it a living, though, what steps should you take?

 

 

Take it Easy and Don’t Stress With Your Blogging

 

This is where I think a lot of bloggers get burnt out really quickly when turning a blog into a business. As I’ve written before, you don’t have to post daily to get great results. That doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t, though. You really just do what works for you. Really, don’t just take the “tried and true” methods of blogging success because that’s what 99 percent of people are going to try. And sometimes it works. Most of the time, it doesn’t.

 

I see people who blog once a week and do extremely well. Others can write multiple posts a day and do well. For me, my sweet spot seems to be three to five posts a week. That’s how I keep my thoughtfulness and purpose in each of my posts. I started to find the quality of my content fluctuated after that. Really, you have to find the point where you feel the burnout start coming and stop there.

 

Take it easy. Don’t stress too much how each individual post does. That’s something I only recently started telling myself as I wrote this article. You have to watch the bigger picture, and if things are trending in the right direction, relax and just do your thing.

 

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Go Outside of the Box with Your Blog

 

It’s really enticing to write about trending topics and get brands wanting to share their products with you to review. There’s nothing wrong with these things and people make a living off of them. But it’s also OK to go outside the box once in a while and go a bit off-topic. As long as you can tie everything together in the end back to your blog’s overall purpose, you’re good. And sure, you’re going to have an off-the-rails post once in a while. But we’re all human, and believe it or not, these posts that go off the beaten track often become your best posts.

 

So yeah, it’s OK to be different. Whether you’re blogging for business or pleasure, it’s OK to take some risks. Success doesn’t come from playing it safe, after all.

 

 

Always Be Goal-Oriented with Your Blogging, But Don’t Worry About the Numbers

 

This sort of goes with “taking it easy” but it’s actually a bit different. Goals are great, but in the past, when I put too much of an expectation on a number, I’m almost always disappointed. This is why I am trying not to really care about numbers as much as trends. The goals for your blog should NOT be about numbers.

 

OK, I know this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I find that numbers are extremely misleading. I’m not saying that reaching follower milestones is worthless. Far from it. But what I mean is that people put these goals of reaching 100 followers by this time and 1000 followers by that time. I find that this doesn’t really work for most people. If you’re close to a milestone, sure, that’s great. But always focus on your content and your overall direction. If you’re writing what you really want to write, that alone will bring you followers. Believe me, I’ve started doing that, and it DOES work!

 

Your goals should be about the benefits that your blog brings to yourself and others. If your goal is to write more, that’s a great goal. If your goal is to write more thoughtfully, there you go! If your goal is to have a blog that helps people, that’s awesome! If your goal is to bring more community around your ideas, then, freaking amazing!

 

If you really are going to town on making your blog work as a business, your goal to work with brands you care about is a good one. I wouldn’t set a number in mind. The numbers tend to create these really cut-and-dry expectations that really depend on things completely out of your control. Your goals need to relate directly with things within your OWN control.

 

So, really, whether you’re blogging for business or blogging for pleasure, it’s all the same. You still network, you still promote your content, and you still do the research on what your intended audience wants (or doesn’t know they even want yet). Just when it comes to pleasure, you can be a bit looser about things… but not really. You still have to treat your blog like your baby. Because, believe it or not, most successful bloggers started out as quote “casual bloggers” end quote.

 

Basically, it’s what I always say: have fun. If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Yeah, that’s pretty cliche, but you know what? If you blog for pleasure, then you still blog for business, too. In the end, it’s all the same. It’s just what you want to put into it.

 

~ Amelia <3

The Quest for Immortality Never Ends in Eternal Life

True immortality is a human impossibility, as is eternal youth in life. Even then, for millennia people have sought out the Fountain of Youth or whatever will bring them perpetual youth in the mortal world. But, what purpose does a life without death have?

 

Our own realization of death’s imminence forces us to find a purpose for our lives. Many who devote their lives to a purpose don't expect die as a result of pursuing that purpose as some have. A grand example of dying for a purpose would be Martin Luther King, Jr. Of course, he did not choose to die fighting for civil rights, but knew it was a possibility. In death, King became immortalized. If he had lived a longer life, without a doubt, his life’s termination wouldn't have stood for something so significant. Untimely deaths for the sake of great causes are one such example of glory; self-sacrifices are another.

 

Many ancient epics stress the ideal of finding a purpose in Life to achieve some sort of immortality in Death. Mortals are doomed to die and can never achieve perpetual youth in the mortal realm. Death is something that must not be feared, but accepted as a truth. Since death comes for us all, we should do something in this life worth the glory and immortality in the mortal world.

 

Even then, many heroes of ancient literature went off on journeys seeking immortality. Each immortality quest always involved traveling to the ends of the earth, or even to the Land of the Dead itself. To learn more about life, it has been a long-standing theme that you first need to understand death.

 

Ultimately, those who set off on these quests gain great knowledge. But, they never find what they set off to find in the first place. This is true in many ancient legends. They do, however, gain a sort of immortality through the legends and tales written about them and their journeys. Their adventures also mold them to become better people after their perspective-changing experiences.

 

Immortality Isn’t Just Eternal Life

 

There are many kinds of immortality that can be achieved besides eternal life. In fact, the quest for immortality in literature was not originally a quest for eternal life. In humanity’s earliest literature, the quest was more for greater knowledge. That’s mostly because the characters in many ancient stories were already immortal, as they were gods. Gilgamesh is the first to actually define his own journey as a search for eternal life. Later, the story of Achilles in the Iliad is another example of such an immortality quest. Perhaps, it is a better one, as well.

 

The first known story of a quest for immortality is in the Epic of Gilgamesh. All mortals, as it is said in Gilgamesh, are doomed to die. Gilgamesh is told this twice, first by Siduri the barmaid, “You will never find that life for which you are looking,” Siduri said, “When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping.”

 

Utnapishtim later told Gilgamesh much the same thing, reiterating the meanings of mortality. “There is no permanence. Do we build a house to stand for ever, do we seal a contract to hold for all time? Do brothers divide an inheritance to keep for ever, does the flood-time of rivers endure?” Nothing lasts forever. “Life and death [the gods] allot but the day of death they do not disclose.”

 

It's of the utmost importance that we accept death. In the days we have, it's important to do the best that we can to live this life and leave our respective marks on the world. That is the only true sort of earthly immortality. Tales immortalize folks in a sense, also. Cities are not realistically permanent, but can stand as legacies for countless years afterward. Even after they no longer stand, they live through the tales spoken of them. None of us are truly immortal. Yet, our legacies can succeed us, through our posterity and what we build for others, for many years to come.

 

The quest for immortality will never bring you eternal life, but searching for it can bring great wisdom. Families and cities will live on long after you pass from this life. What you leave behind of yourself for the world, through the building of cities or through your children, is a sort of continuation of your own life, and a kind of immortality.

 

Gilgamesh himself ultimately gains a sort of immortality in building the walls of Uruk. He said,

 

“Urshanabi, climb up on to the wall of Uruk, inspect its foundation terrace, and examine well the brickwork; see if it is not of brunt bricks; and did not the seven wise men lay these foundations? One third of the whole is city, one third is garden, and one third is field, with precinct of the goddess Ishtar. These parts and the precinct are all Uruk” (Davis 90).

 

Gilgamesh’s “children” are the people of Uruk. After his long, great journey he finally becomes a great leader for his people. His story is immortalized, as well, and his legacy survived to today.

 

One’s Quest for Immortality Involves Great Sacrifice

 

A later example of a similar quest for immortality is in Homer’s Iliad. Achilles, or Akhilleus as he is known in the Iliad, embarks on such a quest. However, in the process, he must sacrifice his own humanity to be immortal; as a rule in the context for the story, as long as you are human, you can not be immortal. In the Iliad, Achilles has a choice between eternal immortality in death and mortal immortality through glory.

 

“My mother, Thetis of the silvery feet,” Achilles says in Book Nine of the Iliad, “tells me of two possible destinies carrying me toward death: two ways: if on the one hand I remain to fight around Troy town, I lose all hope of home but gain unfading glory; on the other, if I sail aback to my own land my glory fails – but a long life lies ahead for me.”

 

Achilles finds himself with a choice between two mortal destinies. He contemplates these choices later in Book Nine,

 

“Now I think no riches can compare with being alive… A man may come by cattle and sheep in raids; tripods he buys, and tawny-headed horses; but his life's breath cannot be hunted back or be recaptured once it pass his lips.”

 

Basically, once you die, you can never get life back again. So, what you die for must be important. He had a choice between dying young as a legend in a war or living a long life and dying a relatively anonymous farmer.

 

Achilles, knowing that death in war was inevitable, flees the battlefield in hopes that he will be able to live out a long life elsewhere. After Achilles leaves the battlefield, however, the war begins to go badly for the Greek army. In the meantime, Hektor slays Achilles’ best friend, Patroklos, and takes from him the armor that Achilles had left with him. Patroklos’ death gives Achilles a new perspective on the meaning of life.

 

Achilles would rather die in the glory of battle than live out a relatively unknown, though relatively happy life, away from the field. Enraged by the death of his great friend Patroklos, Achilles goes back to avenge him and kills Hektor. This is even though Achilles knows he is fated to die in the process. “I must reject this life, my heart tells me, reject the world of men, if Hektor does not feel my battering spear tear the life out of him, making him pay in his own blood for the slaughter of Patroklos!” Avenging his greatest friend was worth more to Achilles than keeping his own mortal life, living happily and in peace elsewhere, never having become a legend.

The great Achilles finds that he can be immortal only in Death. “Even as he spoke, the end came, and death hid him; spirit from body fluttered to undergloom, bewailing fate that made him leave his youth and manhood in the world." As he died, Akhilleus spoke again. He said: ‘Die, make an end. I shall accept my own whenever Zeus and the other gods desire.’”

 

When Patroklos died, Achilles came to realize that there is no eternal youth for any man, even a man as great as his friend Patroklos. Achilles gives in to his desire to become immortal, and gains that immortality in the only way that a mortal can, by dying in combat to gain glory and immortality in Death forever. He knows that at least he will have a death honored and glorified for years to come. Both he and Hektor die in glory from their epic battle: Hektor for slaying the greatest of all warriors in Achilles, and Achilles for slaying the killer of many men including his dear old friend Patroklos.

 

Still, in the end, Achilles does achieve a sort of immortality. He never finds the eternal youth that he most sought; however; he realizes that he will never find that in his mortal life anyway. He ends up dying as a legend of war and lives eternally in death among the gods as a glorified man for sacrificing himself to avenge his best friend’s death.

 

In retrospect, Achilles may have been far happier with a long earthly life, but he decided that his fate on the battlefield was the only way to gain immortality which he sought so much. Perhaps, however, he did not gain as much glory in death as he would have liked – Hektor receives the greater funeral in the end. However, by giving in to his fate, Achilles still did indeed gain that mortal immortality, as he is remembered still today.

 

 

What Sort of Immortality Can We Choose to Achieve?

 

Through both of these stories, the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad, it’s clear none of us can cheat our fate of eventual death. It is only when and how we die that we may have some control over. Achilles sacrifices himself for mortal immortality. Eternal youth in life cannot exist; it is simply against the laws of nature. As both stories reiterate, eternal life is reserved only to the gods.

 

Living a long life perhaps is not what people may think it is, either. If that life does not bring one immortal glory and honor to mortal existence, to some it may not seem worth living. Achilles felt that his sacrifice was necessary to give his life and death purpose. He actually had a choice between a long life and dying in great glory. The death of his friend made him realize that even in a lengthy mortal life, there would be an eventual death. So, Achilles wanted his death to stand for something important. Most people do not have that choice to make. For those who would have it, only the most heroic would choose to die in youth, rather than to die solely in the relative anonymity of old age.

 

This is not to say that long life is overrated by any means. It is true, however, that the majority of us are forgotten as we grow older; it is a very rare breed that continues their “glory days” later in life. What we can all learn from the stories of Achilles and Gilgamesh is that we need to discover purpose in our lives much as they did.

 

Our own mortality is what most defines us. We has human beings need to work hard and look at ourselves to find our callings in life, as well as to find our places in the annals of immortal legend and fame. Perhaps not all of us believe that we are destined for any kind of immortality. But, by having children or by doing the best we can to make the world around us a little bit better, we can achieve a small piece of immortality for ourselves with our legacy. 

 

We all have a choice: do we die young a hero or do we die old, having had a relatively fulfilled and happy life? Whatever your choice, although your name may not be among the great heroes, you can hopefully rest assured that a part of you will live on forever.

 

 

Note: The translations of “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and “The Iliad” quoted in this essay are from The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient World, Beginnings - 100 C.E. edited by Paul Davis and published in 2004 by Bedford/St.Martins in New York.

 

 

 

Keywords: gilgamesh quest for immortality, immortality in literature, immortality quest, quest for immortality, the quest for immortality

How I Seek Riches Through Creating Value Over Time

 

 

When I left college to pursue my first full-time job as a marketing assistant, I stood at the precipice of my future. The world was spread out before me with so many fields ripe with possibility. As the question of my ultimate career path loomed, I pondered the nature of my vocational pursuits. Should I chase the glimmering allure of cash and status? Or should I follow my heart and create something meaningful?

 

Various pressures, both inward and outward, urged me relentlessly to prioritize material wealth above all else. Still, well before I took my first step on a college campus, I recognized the traditional university track wasn’t for me. I had a powerful yearning to eschew a degree for a greater cause, to create value for others in a way no one else could.

 

Even at age eighteen, I understood that the glittering temptress of money was merely a reflection of value. If I could manifest abundant value for others, the money would soon follow; at least, that’s what I came to believe even before I ever attended my first college class.

 

How Could I Create Something Extraordinary?

 

I resolved to live my life with both passion and compassion, as well as a desire to create something extraordinary. Of course, the adventure I embarked upon wasn’t without its trials. Life is often full of many storms which test the mettle of even the most stalwart of souls. Yet through all my struggles, I still clung to the belief that if I could create something uniquely valuable, the riches would soon follow. 

 

But, money was never my main focus in seeking earthly riches. In fact, I didn’t want to amass a fortune purely of cash and assets. My dream was to bring forth a treasure trove of hope, inspiration, and joy that others could cherish. Unfortunately, that hope has been dashed more times than I’d care to count.

 

In my darkest hours, as doubts threatened to engulf me, I reminded myself that Life is about more than money,. But, because it was something I was often lacking, too much of my focus was spent acquiring it. My journey as a writer was always about illuminating the world with the radiance of my creation. I sought to author works that would shine as beacons of light in the shadows. I wished to etch my essence into the hearts of others. My mission was to leave my mark on the world through creating value over time.

 

How Long Does it Take to Find Your Purpose?

 

I chose an arduous, winding path to authorship, stumbling countless times along the way. But each time I faltered, somehow I found the strength to rise again. I was fueled by the knowledge that it’s not the pursuit of worldly riches that drives me. My chief motivation is the ongoing quest to create works unparalleled in their beauty and significance, regardless of their commercial value.

 

Any time someone reads my words, my thoughts inevitably become intertwined with the lives of others, even if only for a moment. For me, the true nature of wealth doesn’t come from gold, silver, or diamonds. My satisfaction comes from the knowledge that I’m crafting things that can and have touched the souls of those around me in a way that no one else could.

 

Now, here in my late thirties, I finally understand my purpose. I continue to gaze out into the vast expanse of possibility, and my heart swells with anticipation for the next chapter in my journey. I often wonder about the legacy I’ll leave behind. It’s unfortunate that it took me decades to learn that only by creating value for others in ways can \we find the true measure of our worth.

 

How Do You Create Value Over Time?

 

Your career should not be about how you can make money at, but rather, focused on how you can create value for people. After all, money is just a reflection of the value that you create that people are willing to pay you to acquire. So, how do you create value that compounds over time, like interest from a certificate of deposit?

 

It all starts with being creative every day. Learn how to identify a problem that you have, then find out who else may suffer from the same issues. Once you know these things, work to find solutions, and make a little progress on them every day. As long as you keep working, even if you fail more than you succeed, it only takes one success to attain a lasting victory.

 

Sure, you’ll make many mistakes. I often ponder the many I’ve made until this point. But rather than mull over them at length, it’s far more productive to learn what I can from my failures. Continue to learn and put those lessons to good use, and you’ll find a way to create value for both yourself and those around you.

 

While I could delineate the steps of creating value over time, what I may have to offer won’t necessarily be the steps you should take yourself. Each one of us has our own diverse skillsets, specialized knowledge, and unique circumstances to draw our value from. I have plenty of weaknesses, but I finally learned to acknowledge them, while simultaneously figuring out ways to bolster my strengths.

 

These few pieces of advice are the best I can offer in a singular essay. But, over time, I will share how I’ve learned to create value in my own way, something I will always aim to do in my essays going forward. Hopefully, sharing the lessons I’ve learned will help you to find value in yourself the way I’ve learned to find it within myself.

 

~ Amelia Desertsong