Monday, March 29, 2010

"Plan with audacity. Execute with vigor" - Requirements of a Soul

"Plan with audacity. Execute with vigor" Christian Neville Bovee

 I fear this is going to be a very weird post so stay with me at your own peril.

I plan to be rich. Extremely rich. So that I can buy the things that I want. Like a house which is so green the garden plants will fight to stay indoors. In case you're wondering, I'm talking environmentally friendly green.

Container homes at The Daily Green


Image from Canada's Bark Design Collective

I also want to be rich so that I can give people - my family and friends and anyone else who could do with some help - things that they want and things that they need, like money, for instance, or a house, or to set them up so they can pursue their passions. 

And I want to be rich so that I can travel to places in the world where I can have experiences that I imagine having. Like walking through temperate forests during spring or fall and gazing at mountains veiled in mist as I lose myself and sitting on soft, fresh grass by cold streams, watching their water gurgle and slide and cuddling up or dancing around  a warm outdoor fire and listening to a haunting medieval flute and the soul-piercing runs and sustains on a guitar played by people whose souls desire to be nowhere else, doing nothing else.

 Image from here

Image from here

Image from here
 
Oh, gosh, I just had an out-of-body experience then, transported to those things I'd described. It was a goose bumps moment.

But this plan of mine. I'll have to be honest. I don't really have one. All I have is an intention. An intention to have all the money I want to do all the things that I want to do. Unless, of course, there is a way of doing all the things I want to do without money.  If so, can someone please show me the way?

So, here I am, a head full of intention and empty of plan. If I keep writing, will someone sign me up for a book deal? Might that be a plan? Would it be good enough? Robust enough?

It seems a very thin plan indeed. Not enough oomph and guts. It seems too, mmm, easy.  Could that be what makes my plan audacious? To make it so easy that it will have everyone telling me what a completely pie-in-the-sky plan it is and that it's got about as much as a snowball's chance in hell?  That even a snowball would have better chances?

Shall I be audaciously simple and simple-minded with my plan?  Would that be enough audacity? Or is there a certain kind of audacity that I must have?  Or more simple-mindedness that I need to bring to my plan to make it audacious?

Does audacity require extremity?  Do I have to be extreme in my simple-mindedness? That can't be too difficult, surely?  And surely that's something I could execute with vigor? No?  I'd be grateful for any suggestions.

Signature Music 2810N Closed 16-hole Flute  Conductor Model 250 Sterling Silver Plated Flute w/ Deluxe Leather Style Case, 1 Year Warranty 


Off The Grid Homes: Case Studies for Sunstainable Living  The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-Grid and Sustainable Living   Living off the Grid: A Simple Guide to Creating and Maintaining a Self-reliant Supply of Energy, Water, Shelter and More  Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition

Performer E in Transparent Power Purple

10 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading your post and looking at those wonderful pictures. The pictures surely elevated and transported me to paradise. Oh yeah, there is noting wrong with having head full of intentions with no plans.

    You do raise a good point - Money. Sad, but true, the world has become very materialistic. Money has become almost everything. I wish there is a way to achieve all the things you mentioned without it...

    Say what....If I find a way I'll share with you, and if you find before I do... let us know :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey NT, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you enjoyed a few moments of paradise here :)

    It's really interesting what you say about money, that it "has become almost everything". Can you actually remember a time when it wasn't in control of most things, whether directly or indirectly? What was that like?

    I can't seem to but would love to be able to recall such a time if there ever was one :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice ideas. specially those pictures it helps me to imagine what you are trying to say "You want to be rich". Like you of course I also want to be rich but you have to have a sound plan and also execution on how your going to reach your goal.
    mattscradle

    ReplyDelete
  4. Glad you liked the pictures. What ideas did you like?

    Care to share your sound plan and execution? I'm all ears, I mean, eyes :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love this quote .... or maybe I hate it?

    "When you make something no one hates, no one loves it."

    — Tibor Kalman

    And money doesn'y bring happiness, it just gives more options.
    [I think that's what you were saying anyway] :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I came across that quote not so long ago and didn't feel like I understood it.

    Does it mean that if something doesn't evoke extreme reactions, it really has no impact? Or does it mean that if you love something, you can be sure someone will hate it?

    I'm curious as it seems to suggest that if you're into any kind of creative work eg writing, design, art, music etc you should aim to provoke. Care to explain/elaborate?

    As for the money thing, like food, it's neither good nor bad. It's how we think about it and use (or abuse)it that determines our happiness.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Well, to me anyway, it suggests that work that displays passion, honesty, and substance true to yourself will always be worthy - no matter what anyone else thinks of it.

    Wealth is how much you have of what you value.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yeah, I agree although I still don't get why your work can't be loved by some if it isn't hated by others. Am I taking it too literally?

    I really like what you say about wealth -

    "Wealth is how much you have of what you value".

    It's absolutely true.

    ReplyDelete
  9. hi thought bubble,
    i am a believer that wealth and money is the means to an end, not the end itself.
    what do i mean by this ?
    well, by altering your goal from money to the things that you described,(looking on the forests, mountains, steams etc), you will find that it is easier to achieve.
    money is the thing that will get you there for sure, but you wont need as much as you think.
    i am curently travelling the world on less than 17 dollars a day.

    ReplyDelete
  10. adventurecyclist, I am in awe and envious of you at the same time! Can I be forgiven (or understood) for wanting to do those things a little more comfortably than you're doing them?

    No, I don't need the 5-star hotels, limousine and personally guided tours. Public transport, low-cost motels with clean showers and toilet (a must) and a companion would do me nicely with car hires when needed and meals that showcase the best of a culture's cuisine every now and again...

    Bit more than $17/day?

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. Your comment continues the conversation this post started. Let's keep talking.