The excellent writing blog Confident Writing recently issued a group writing challenge, addressing the always fascinating topic “My Love Affair With Writing.” My entry is as follows, please enjoy.

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        I actually tried to deny the crush at first.

        I didn’t think that I had the time, didn’t think that I had the skill, didn’t think that it was in my future, so I did everything I could to shelve the thoughts and ignore the butterflies that flitted about in my stomach whenever the idea crossed my mind.

        As the months passed however, and my feelings refused to change, I finally accepted that what I really wanted was a relationship. Still, I was nervous, cautiously toying with ideas up in my head but never committing, only half-heartedly pursuing a few false starts.

        I would probably still be scared to take the plunge today had I not been fortunate enough to meet the right sort of people who offered me the right sort of encouragement. They demanded the best from me, they expected passion, they wouldn’t be pleased until I gave it my all and made the relationship happen.

        So one morning I woke before my usual hour, fixed my coffee, sat down at my computer, and began to write.

        And I have been writing ever since.

        Even before I began writing, I was a voracious reader, and learned far more from books than school. Nevertheless, despite my tendency to juggle multiple books at a time and an inordinate pride in my book collection, my love affair with writing has redefined the manner in which I process the written word. I still consume more than I produce, but to me, reading and writing exist in harmony; for every article I review, and all the pages I peruse, I read beyond the surface and into the rhetoric, the style, figuring out what succeeds and what does not and how I can incorporate it all into my own work. If anything, this very public affair has pushed me into bookstores and libraries even more often, led me to new genres and authors, and introduced me to the countless blogs that I track in spare, fleeting moments.

        When I write, I stretch beyond what I already know; I delve into new topics, track new trends, examine issues from different viewpoints and biases. I enter a different world, where my words and words alone represent me, where I can reach out and connect and network with people I could never meet in real life. I reflect on my life, on the state of the world, and analyze problems and rationalize solutions. Or, if it has been a particularly gnarly day, I sit down to write and create a whole other reality, where my troubles can’t reach me and I alone control the ending.

        I do not expect my love affair with writing to end anytime soon, as I envision only a bright future ahead. So may this serve as a thank-you to all of those who have supported me this far, and I extend only my best wishes for many writing-filled years ahead.

This is an update of sorts to an earlier post I made about being inspired to set ‘networking’ goals.

Almost a year ago, Ryan Holiday wrote a piece about finding a mentor, and Tim Ferriss did an article about the five people he would like to meet in 2008 (and how to otherwise go about establishing such contacts) last December.  In response, I made a similar list and resolved to become more active in networking throughout 2008, and though I have definitely pursued making connections with folks throughout the year, it was Tiffany Monhollon’s ‘7 Insider Tips for Befriending Top Bloggers (Or Anyone Online)‘ which prompted me to reflect on the past few months.

I’m rather pleased, and pleasantly surprised, to say that I have been relatively successful thus far. The exchanges I have had have not been terribly deep, and I realize that most of the people I am contacting will hardly remember my email next week, but the feedback is helpful and the advice is legitimate. It’s not a matter of superficially boosting my address book, nor is it attention-seeking just for kicks. I’m in no position to offer to write a guest blog, and save for the mentor I found during my internship, I’m not willing to impose myself on others to beg them to give me a leg up.

No, it’s simply a matter of realizing the lack of boundaries the internet offers and doing enough research to send an intelligent email or leave a coherent comment. Read a great book and looking to expand on that topic, or are you trying to figure out how a particular author decided to delve into that field? They are accessible for a reason; it’s that easy. And the best part is that it really works.

National Geographic has recently done a couple of television spots on the city of Dubai, and evidence continues mounting in favor of the notion that the emirate is rapidly becoming one of the most prominent cities in the world.

It is capitalism on steroids, oil money funding investments gone wild. As the The Guardian reports:

“The biggest shopping mall in the world is already here. Another, bigger, the world’s largest retail development, is under construction.

There’s to be an underwater hotel ($500m). One indoor ski resort, with real snow and its own black run, exists already, a weird, looming presence on the city’s southern skyline. There is to be a second, with a revolving mountain. Plans are mooted for a Chess City, with 32 tower blocks of 64 floors, each in the form of a chess piece. There’s to be a 60-floor apartment block in the shape of Big Ben. One company selling flats is giving away a free Jag with each one. There will be a pyramid and a building called Atlantis that will cost $600m and include a “swim-with-the- dolphins encounter programme”. An Aviation City and a Cargo Village, an Aid City and a Humanitarian Free Zone, an Exhibition City and a Festival City, a Healthcare City and a Flower City….”

And let’s not forget the plethora of other hotels being built (Armani and Versace, just to name two), along with the world’s tallest building. Then there are The Palms, three massive man made islands stretching out to sea.

And yes, as often noted, Dubai is reconstructing The World.

Why the investment and construction? Why the obsession with the opulence, with being the biggest and the best? Why now?

Because Dubai has no other choice. Oil prices are up, which is great news for the countries which produce petroleum. Unfortunately, oil is also a nonrenewable energy source, and with oil consumption at an all time high, the wells of the United Arab Emirates will eventually run dry.

The Emir of Dubai, however, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, isn’t just sitting around waiting for the emirate to crumble into poverty. He is the force behind the explosive growth of the city, the man who has assembled the international dream team of engineers, architects, designers, and investors who are making the bigger-than-life goals of Dubai a reality. Should everything go as planned in the coming decade, the oil industry will me a mere blip on the economic radar of Dubai; tourism and real estate will become the driving industries.

What does this mean for the folks who are not wealthy Emirati investors? For starters, no city in the history of mankind will conceivably compare to what Dubai is fast becoming. Ten years ago most people had never heard of the United Arab Emirates, soon its largest state will dominate international trade and investments. The leaders in Dubai saw a problem, and moved to resolve it, taking such dramatic action as to propel the emirate to the forefront of international development, forcing and overhaul of the entire economy from reliance on primary industries to a consumer, information, and service industry powerhouse.

When faced with a challenge, especially in the hyper-competitive markets of today, being reactive simply does not cut it – one must be proactive, willing to take a risk and give it his or her all. This is a lesson applicable to governments, businesses, individuals, any entity capable of rising to the occasion and decidedly taking advantage of available opportunities. Such action is not without forethought – a tremendous amount of evaluating, analysis, and strategy has obviously factored into the explosive growth of Dubai, and those moves which set everything else into action stemmed from very deliberate, self-aware inquiries. It was very clear what Dubai had to lose, even if not initially clear what was to be gained; adaptability and a willingness for action, however, has driven the emirate to success.

(Hat tip to TEDBlog for providing some information which made this article possible)

The Fire Fetched Down

by George Bradley

When they knew what he had given them,

This florid colossus with the sunrise in his eyes

And skin the color of perfectly ripened fruit,

Understood what he had done in the name of freedom,

Of self-esteem, their first thought was to give it back,

Who had been happy in their miserable condition,

Had been content each hour to kill or cringe,

Pleased to end their days in the detached mercy

Of stupent sense, the sweet shock that flesh is air to;

When they saw what he intended, this monstrous

Avatar wrapped in conceits of agony, of honor,

Their every instinct (before such brute reflex

Was blunted by the dull weight of the abstract)

Was to spurn the bounty, slay the bearer, to destroy

The visiting light, its unwanted complication.

After all, his differences had not been theirs,

His absurd dispute with the divine, his squabble

About a sacred ox and some celestial secret;

His ambition for their state was nothing they could grasp,

And they wished only to be as they had been, dying

To extinguish the rooted mazy rays that floated

Like gleaming locks on his titanic head, to blot out

The subtle moonbeams that shone so as he smiled. . . .

But the fire he brought was beautiful, a jewel

Of countless facets, a spectrum infinitely broad,

An aetherial motion they never tired of looking on;

The flame was gorgeous, and they were human,

And they took that gift, reaching to accept

The ember of ideas, the conflagration of tongues,

And then his name was their name (Forethought,

Premonition, how the word had frightened them!),

And his pain became theirs, too,

Chained in the rational abyss and torn

Time and again by cruel and busy claws, raked

By the razor bill of what they could conclude.

Sometimes the greatest burden that we carry is simply understanding. Ignorance can be indeed be blissful, but our ability to rationalize situations and approach them with logic makes us terribly responsible for our actions. A stagnant life is safe, secure – certain, but we owe it to ourselves and others to accomplish so much more. Our capacity for knowledge conditions our lives to have a purpose, and though realizing our potential and pursuing that path is rarely an easy task, I like to think the successes are well worth the efforts.

 What is your drive?  What motivates you to push through it all?  The gift – the fire, the knowledge – was it a curse or a blessing?

Daniel J. Solove, of the blog Concurring Opinions, has recently published his book, The Future of Reputation, and made it available for free download as a .PDF file. I have only read the first chapter, but am so far intrigued by it; the basic premise is critical for anyone involved in blogging or an on-line community to consider: information spreads far too quickly, and is far too easily accessed, for anyone to consider their reputation ’safe’ once they begin interacting with others over the Internet. I have not delved too deeply into the book, but it is far less of a work of fear-mongering than one might expect. Solove never claims to know the solutions to the problems we will face in an ‘overexposed world,’ but he is addressing the issue in an efficient manner, making the book (for me at least) worthy of a quick read-through.

Solove has fully embraced the idea of the ubiquitousness of information across the Internet — so much so that his book is accessible, right from your computer. This is hardly the first time a book has been published as a free download — Seth Godin enjoyed remarkable success with The Ideavirus — but it does bring into question of the future of the publishing industry. I for one love holding a tangible book, being able to take notes in the margins, highlight passages and dog-ear pages to my heart’s content, then shelve it until I’m struck with a sudden desire to pick it up again. But at the same time, some works, such as Solove’s and Godin’s, really appeal to me as being the type to load to my thumb drive and carry with me at all times, no worries about the added weight.

The potential of the blogging community, and Web 2.0 at large, to turn an aspiring writer with a few good ideas into well-known and respected commentator is something I want to continue addressing, because such a trend is beginning to play a tremendous role in the diffusion of information. Because for so many people, when the total investment is a computer, an internet connection, and some spare time, what is there to lose?

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An unrelated note: I have read about Godwin’s law in the past, but the adage never fails to elicit a chuckle from me. Cheers!

Last night, I once again had my recurring dream about being chased by velociraptors. Perhaps my parents never should have allowed me to watch “Jurassic Park” as a child. Perhaps these dreams are why I love xkcd so much.

Anyways, now on to the intended post…

Almost a year has passed since the publication of Pearls Before Breakfast, but the article remains one of the most fascinating examinations of social behavior that I have ever read.

Imagine this: You’re on your way to work, or school, or wherever your daily, mundane routine takes you at 8 AM on a cold weekday morning. The weekend is near, but you still need to survive another nine-to-five session of trudging through email, reviewing budgets, making unpopular decisions, answering telephones, faking sincerity, creativity, and enthusiasm, and generally punching in the hours until you reach temporary freedom. You’re running late, or your stocks aren’t doing so hot, or you forget breakfast, or you’re facing some other daily hassle, and you look up and see a man, standing off in a corner of the public transportation plaza playing a violin, case open, some loose change already dropped in as an act of charity.

Do you stop and listen? Do you glare and keep walking? Do you pass by, oblivious to such minor distractions as a street musician squalling away on his instrument?

What if the young man is in fact one of the most accomplished classical violinists alive today, playing the greatest achievements in musical composition on a centuries-old, three and a half-million dollar Stradivari violin?

If you’re like most of the 1,097 people who walked by as Joshua Bell gave an unannounced public concert at L’Enfant Plaza on the DC Metro, you still would not take notice. I know I probably would have failed to appreciate the moment, and the music, for what it truly was.

Every time I re-read Pearls Before Breakfast, I find myself agreeing with the general conclusion of the article – beauty is not simply in the eyes of the beholder, beauty is in the setting – the time and place; beauty is in the moment. I am not proud of my near-philistine tastes in music and art, but I am also fully aware that, as a general rule, my mornings are too rushed to allow for beauty to pervade its way into my routine.

Now, had a sign been up – nothing garish, just a simple note that the man performing for pocket cash was in fact a world-renowned musician, I would have made time to listen. I am not so unsophisticated to actively avoid culture – and I believe that few other people would have pushed on without giving Bell at least the slightest bit of consideration. Anonymity, of course, was the key to the Washington Post, but in a theoretical sense, I am certain that any indication to who the man was or what he was actually playing would have produced vastly different results.

The article always leaves me asking myself, though, what other sorts of beauty I miss as I hurry through life? Gene Weingarten, the author of this article, refers to it as “art without a frame” — and the frame, that is, the obvious realization and validation of talent, is so often the source of public recognition and appreciation. I wish I noticed such “beauty” more often, but I believe one simply has to make time to be more observant.

In the article, Weingarten includes a quote from W.H. Davies:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

So, as we rush through life, what else do we so often miss? If these beautiful things fail to reach out and force our us to notice them, should we feel that bad? Do the underlying reasons for our daily routines – being able to enjoy activities we truly enjoy, surviving the chaos until brief periods of rest and relaxation, ultimately making it back home to see our loved ones – make missing other aspects of life worthwhile? Could we possibly make room for both?

I used to be a hesitant person. Commitment scared me, the opinions of others swayed me, what-ifs clouded my judgment, and I was plagued by constant indecision.

Last year, however, I realized that nothing would be more damaging to my future than allowing my life to be ruled by self-doubt. I began pushing myself beyond my “safety zone” – I spoke out more often, I tried new activities, I formed new relationships with new people. Who I was three years ago would hardly recognize who I am today, and nothing but good has come out of these adjustments.

Above all other changes in my life, however, I have forced myself to become more decisive. And what have I learned in the process?

Most people don’t like leading. Being the voice of authority isn’t easy, advocating reason isn’t necessarily fun. Leadership entails responsibility, and though everyone loves to claim presidency of a club on their college applications, the majority of my peers simply are not cut out to lead effectively. Decisions are rarely made by group consensus – someone, somewhere, will be unhappy with the results, but when they don’t bother to propose an alternate solution, their only achievement is usually delayed progress.

To avoid trivial and time-consuming conflicts, I usually make my decisions independently. Of course, I am influenced by what I read, by the actions of my parents, by taking how I might impact or inconvenience others into consideration. But by and large, when I see how I can improve something, where I recognize that change is needed and know that I am capable of resolving (or preventing) the problem, I take action.

I keep Thomas Paine’s advice – “lead, follow, or get out the way” – at the forefront of my mind whenever I face a difficult situation. And some call it being assertive, and others call it being an ass-hole, but I act. I act within reason, I act rationally, but while everyone else sits around and hems and haws, I do what I can to get the wheels turning. And I credit much of my success to this, from the respect I have earned from my teachers to, most recently, a grant to fund the implementation of “green technology” I won for my school.

What do I know about environmental science? Next to nothing. What did it take to win the grant? Making the decision to put everything I had into writing the proposal, approaching students with the slightest bit of interest in the project and delegating tasks to them, and refusing to take no for an answer until I found the resources to assist me. Hesitating would have gotten me nowhere, and I refuse to sit around and wait for someone else to be motivated enough to start advocating for change. In the big scheme of things, the funding is a small step, insignificant in terms of affecting budgets and bettering the world. But every action I have taken so far has been more than most people will ever do, and if decisiveness is the one trait that carries me to success, then so be it.

Edit: Zen Habits has an great article, written by the author of Copyblogger, which discusses the emergence of key players in the 1980’s music scene — all of them ostensibly inspired to ascend to greatness after realizing an emerging trend and doing something about controlling their future. They weren’t high and mighty music executives, they weren’t burned-out rock stars looking for a come-back album — they were a group of young people who simply did what they could to the best of their abilities. And they succeeded, because all the talk in the world is meaningless until you take action.

Despite the enormous load of homework which perpetually hangs over my head, I have a number of books checked out from the library setting on my bookshelf just waiting to be read. I have pulled from numerous genres and authors – everything from Plato’s The Republic to Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene, Between the Lines: Master the Subtle Elements of Writing Fiction to The Little Book of Big Ideas: Economics to Bill Bryson’s A Short History of Nearly Everything.

What can I say? I like to keep busy, keep my mind stretched between a number of topics. Most of my peers read nothing but what is assigned to them (and even then, they usually hit up Sparknotes), and even my friends who are more avid readers tend to lean towards works of fiction. Non-fiction has been my focus lately, though, as I try to expand my knowledge base, to broaden my horizons and understanding beyond the classroom. I have come to realize that I don’t just want to merely succeed academically, but I want to leave a lasting impression on people whenever they read my writing or hold a conversation with me. I am realizing that I thrive on learning, making connections, finding and exploring new subjects; the opportunity to do all of this in greater depth is probably what excites me the most about college.

Of course, even as I have begun to embrace these rather typical plans for the future, I am finding out that people close to me are continuing to defy normal responsibilities and forge their own path. For the second or third time, my cousin out west has quit his “normal” job in an attempt to establish a successful photography career… but if anyone can make it work, I believe that he will. I remember years and years ago watching him pull out the first few samples of his concert shots and showing them off at the family Christmas dinner – they were amused, I was fascinated. Since then, I believe that he has steadily broken the hearts of everyone else, because he just can’t find his place in the tight-knit, conservative expectations of the family. Everything he has achieved, however, has been of his own accord, his own force of will, and I respect that so much more than any of my relatives will ever realize. He doesn’t sit in a cubicle 8 to 5, he doesn’t make a miserable rush-hour commute, and he isn’t addressed as “Mr. So and so from accounting,” but his successes are just as legitimate, if not more so, than so many other people. He is completely self-taught, and he has a dream, a passion that he is dedicating his life to pursuing.

And how many people can ever lay claim to doing that?

His latest endeavor can be found at www.glasnoststudios.com

I haven’t abandoned writing, but free time to dedicate to the blog is rare and my typing is currently slowed by a fractured wrist. Bones are on the mend, however, and I am forcing my life back in order — the coming weeks and months are looking bright.

I have a whole slew of books laid out before me to read (and plenty of suggestions after I finish those), my internship is demonstrating the potential to be a life-changing experience, and I have a kick-ass summer job lined up that will offer me plenty of opportunities and challenges, the likes of which I have never seen before.

I also met one of my goals yesterday: I have now managed to work my way into a mentor position at teen court; no longer am I working by myself on cases, but I am training and coaching future volunteers, making the time I spend there even more rewarding.

And to top it all off, the weekend is two days away.