The case for possession.
We all have stuff. Things, objects, possessions. Some have much, while others have little. The size of your possession collection is usually irrelevant because over time, no matter what we own, an interesting phenomenon begins to occur between us and our things: the things we own slowly begin to own us.
You see, we have a growing collection of stuff in our home, a mobile collection of stuff in our vehicle, and even a portable collection of stuff in our bags. The idea of traveling without luggage, being on the other side of town without your car, or even forgetting…
The case for achievement.
Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov won his first world-championship chess match in 1985 and went on to dominate the chess world for several decades. In his book he shares this thought:
A Grandmaster makes the best moves because they are based on what he wants the board to look like ten or twenty moves in the future.
I was challenged by this idea in an essay by Mark Batterson on setting life goals. As Batterson correctly points out, so many of us spend more time planning our next vacation than we do planning our lives. …
The case for branching out.
We all have our wild card. We keep them in our back pocket as a backup plan just in case our typical conservative plans don’t work out.
“All I have to do is build an app that takes off and then I’ll earn some real money.”
“I’ll write my book when I have more time.”
“I’m just working here till I get my big break and then I’ll be set.”
“I’ll go back to school when it makes more sense.”
We stick with the life path that has predictable cost and equally predictable return because we’re scared to play the…
The case for adventure.
On September 22, 2012, I was introduced to a whole new world. After a lifetime of unrivaled support for LSU Tiger football, I watched the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the University of Michigan Wolverines on an electric night at Notre Dame Stadium. I loved it, and I wasn’t sure why.
Between the ages of 2 and 5 my family lived less than 1000 feet from LSU’s Tiger Stadium and Alex Box Stadium. That meant more trips with mom and dad to baseball and football games than the average kid was afforded. …
The case for iteration.
While shopping around for the perfect pair of Wayfarers recently, I noticed a few pairs marked with the label “New Wayfarer”, ever so subtly. I like to make informed purchases, so I decided to try to determine the difference between the Wayfarers I was initially shopping for and these New Wayfarers. Because obviously, new is better.
Here’s what I found, straight from the horses mouth:
Ray-Ban New Wayfarer sunglasses are a slightly smaller interpretation on the most famous style in sunwear. The iconic Ray-Ban Wayfarer is immediately recognizable anywhere in the world. The Ray-Ban signature logo is displayed on both…
The case for introspection.
It’s the ultimate accessory. We don’t leave home without it, and yet, somehow, very few of us really pay much attention to it. Like a watch with a dead battery that still gets worn because it’s in style, we waltz through life with an identity that seldom gets paid any direct attention. We wear our identity with pride, typically without much real regard as to how it’s formed.
Visit any major city in the world and you won’t have to search long before you find a bar or pub where displaced LSU alumni gather on Saturday nights every fall to…
The case for learning.
Gifted. Talented. Ahead of the curve. Over-achiever. Genius. I’ve grown up hearing these words used in reference to me, and it’s time to set the record straight.
I was homeschooled. My mom, a former special education teacher, was often required to design a custom curriculum for her students. Needless to say, I was privileged to a learning experience that was crafted around my learning style. Thankfully, I embraced it.
I started school younger than most, completed 1st and 2nd grade in one school year, skipped most typical 8th grade courses, and by the time I was 16 years old I…
The case for determination.
It’s not a matter of if, but rather when your life will meet with adversity. Laid off at work. Family drama. A passing relative. Financial strains. Lack of direction. The list goes on and on, and no one is safe from the experience. It’s not a bad thing, it’s life.
If there is no avoiding the pitfall themselves, it follows that your focus should remain on your response when the pitfalls do indeed come. Your reaction can mean the difference between a good day or a bad one.
As I examine my life, I realize that the success I seek…
The case for innovation.
In light of recent changes in the Twitter app climate, developers the world over are up in arms. As a result, internet pundits have begun to rally forces behind Dalton Caldwell and his remade app.net service.
It’s hard to dislike the concept of a network with complete favor toward developers, but I’m having trouble looking to app.net as a Twitter replacement.
The first reason is that despite what it means for my favorite twitter apps, or how bad the current line-up of official Twitter apps is, I think Twitter is trying to do what is best for Twitter as a…
The case for moving forward.
It’s wonderful idea, right? The concept that new innovations should still support past methods. We’ve seen it touted in video game consoles and computer systems for years, always to the praise of consumers. If I had to guess, at sometime in your life have heard or said something along the lines of this:
“I’m so glad [SOME NEW TECHNOLOGY] supports [FAVORITE OLD TECHNOLOGY].”
You may have been talking about Game Boy Color supporting original Game Boy games. Maybe it was BluRay players accepting standard DVDs. Either way, it always seemed like a good idea. Until someone challenged it.
Apple, or…
Josh Ferrara
Aspiring polymath.
