Are You Really, Though?

Hey everybody! Thanks for the love so far on this little endeavor. Know that if you have taken time to read what I have to say, I could not be more appreciative!

Now, before I start this discussion, I need to reiterate something that I glossed over in my last post “Your Attention Please!” I DO NOT KNOW EVERYTHING NOR DO I CLAIM TO. Everything I put out, say or discuss is simply a result of my experiences and interactions so please take it with a grain of salt and offer critique. I would love nothing more than to hear your side of any part of these! With that said, lets talk about who we are.

Here’s the deal, the internet is a cool thing, right? I mean its endless and empowers us in ways that were not available less than a decade ago. But with great power comes great responsibility, yeah I know my Spider-Man! There are WAY too many people on the interweb claiming to be something they are not and using their keyboard as a smokescreen to their real personality. We all know that kid from high school who posts nothing but pre-made, black and white, so called “motivational” pictures that feature guys in expensive suits wearing Rolexes and holding stacks of cash with quotes like “Hustle Never Quits” superimposed over top of it. You know, like these?

All the while, that kid also happens to be the one who smokes weed and has never worked a day in his life. Yeah, ok “bro”. You mean Faking It Never Quits?

Here is my problem with these people, and its not just those. It’s the guy in the bar who knows everything about every issue ever and was probably the person who solved it. It’s the girl with a blog about the “Beach Life” who sees the ocean MAYBE 4 times a year (you know who you are). My point is the internet has given us a lot of opportunity and, for better or worse, one of those opportunities is to fake our way into an identity that we don’t hold.

There is a HUGE difference between the people who say “I am this…” or “Look at what I’ve done…” and the people who are honest by simply saying “I am becoming this…” or “What do you guys think of this work?” so they can improve and change and EVENTUALLY reach whatever goal they have. That’s what this is about. I get it, we all dream of a life that we want and I’m willing to bet that dream never included a Toyota Corolla, 2 bedroom house and one week of vacation a year, but that’s the life so many end up in when they fake it. When you live for the instant gratification of your “homie” commenting “keep grinding, bro” on your Instagram photo when he knows damn well you were sitting on your couch as you posted that, you sacrifice long term thinking and as a result get stuck in that Corolla. Just imagine if instead of posting that, you could post a picture or a story of the work you are doing. No one expects that work to be perfect or for you to have “made it” so don’t put that expectation on your back, just be who you are and show the world what you are actually doing. We need more of that.

If you are reading this thinking “Who does this guy think he is telling me what to post on Instagram? What has he accomplished? He’s doesn’t know me.” YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. I haven’t accomplished anything, I don’t know your life and I sure as hell don’t have authority over your Instagram. But what I do have is awareness. I am an observer, its what I’m good at and what I observe is more people our age posting ‘cool whips’ that they have never even sat in let alone owned and hardly any of us DOING anything. Our generation is addicted to instant gratification and for whatever reason, I don’t crave that. I crave relationships that will last until I die. I crave a career that I will build myself and will impact as many people as possible. I want my LIFE to be successful not my current situation. Because of that, I can see things big picture and the big picture does not feature Ferraris and Dom Perignon for us 21 year olds, it just doesn’t. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can get to work on happiness for life. The sooner we can start building a future that we are proud of. That doesn’t have to be a mansion with an infinity pool. Whatever your definition of success is, start working on it now! Start doing things that at least have the chance to contribute to your future, because faking it just doesn’t. Here are some examples: If you are an 18 year old who is super passionate about skateboarding, start a Vlog on youtube and share the tricks you do with people who know you! Sure, you may not be the next Tony Hawk, but you know what you will be? Better educated. That’s all it comes down to, friends, is learning. Spend your time and deploy your attention in ways that help you learn and grow.

Again, these are just my observations but my hope is that if even just one person reads this 4 years from now when I get to a place where what I say is substantiated by my work and results, it changes their behavior to start doing and learning instead of faking. Look, I’m not a “blogger” or an expert by any means, but I do have a story and and I am passionate about how people interact so these are my first steps in turning my life into what I want it to be. Last post I talked about using the technology you have at your disposal in a meaningful way but I didn’t really talk about what that looks like. Here’s one way to do that, STOP FAKING IT. There is nothing more attractive on this planet than someone who is being 100% themselves all the time. Do you want more followers so you can act like a hot shot on campus or so you can get better feedback on whatever work you are doing to get to your dream? Being real and authentic will get you the latter. It’s the difference between gratification and lifetime success. You just have to choose which one you want.

Until Next Time, My Friends.

Kyle.

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Email: rohrmannkyle@gmail.com

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