Wednesday, April 8, 2009

What would you do?

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

This question has been repeating itself like a skipping record through my head for the last few hours. While I ran tonight I began making a mental list - a benefit to running I hadn't thought of previously - time to think!

I began with selfish things I wish I could do, sing, dance, write a novel, compose music, play an instrument. Then I moved on to career choices - and came up a little empty there...maybe something to do with my self-diagnosed career ADD. Can't commit for fear I'll get bored within a year. Anyhow, then I began to think - maybe the question is supposed to be bigger - like feed all the starving children in Africa, create world peace etc. So I am beginning to come to the decision that the list has to be broken up into segments - personal, career, global etc.

Here's the beginning of mine - I think it'll be a work in progress for a while. And keep in mind, this is what I would do if I could not fail - not what I have skills to do or anything so real as that.

Personal things I'd do if I knew I could not fail:
1. Learn to play piano and guitar - because one is portable and one is not. I think it's useful to play an instrument.
2. Learn to speak Spanish fluently. There's absolutely no reason I should not do this already, you'd think after 3 years of it in high school I would have retained some right?
3. Sing. Well. Now - not so much. I don't want to be on American Idol or anything, but singing a line or two of a song in my head in the shower is about as far as I'll go now.
4. Act. Like - I wanna be in a movie. Wouldn't that be fun? I have ZERO talent in this area - but this is if I knew I couldn't fail right? :)
5. Write a book. A total fiction novel that people would be scrambling for - something that'd be made into a movie someday.
6. Get a PhD. I have NO idea what the subject would be - I just want the fancy letters after my name.
7. Run a marathon.

Career things I'd do if I knew I couldn't fail:
(this list is a little harder - it's not that I'm afraid of failure - it's that I'm afraid of boredom. It's not the same thing is it?)
1. Be a doctor - which would of course require accomplishing #6 above.
2. Run a non-profit organization with a multi-million dollar budget. One that does amazing things with children.
3. Direct a movie. this would of course be in line with #4 above - maybe if I don't have the talent to act myself, I could tell other people how to do it?
4. Be a graphic designer or marketing person.... My favorite people in the world do this for a living and I am often jealous of the things they do daily. Or - at least what I think they do daily.
5. Be a photographer - this might fall into the personal category...
Ya - I think that's it. I just come up empty when it comes to careers. That's not good.

Globally - what I'd do if I could not fail:
1. Teach women in 3rd world countries how to operate businesses that would be profitable for them and would take them out of poverty.
2. Join the Peace Corp and go somewhere I've never heard of - make a difference in the future of an entire village, community or city.

This is a good start. I like to think that there are about 500 other things I'd add here. Maybe some of it will turn into a to do before I die list. Some of it will continue to live in the fantasy land that is my head. Some things are meant to live there forever - it's a good place to be. :)

What's on your list?

1 comment:

Julie Sayre said...

Fun list! I'll give it some thought myself. Have you ever heard of http://www.punjammies.com ? It goes with one of your "what I would do for the world if I couldn't fail" I saw a presentation at our church recently, very moving and very worthwhile. :) Julie Sayre