9-20-08 What is success?
by admin on Sep.20, 2008, under Main
Society likes to measure success through financial gain. The more I observe, the more I ask, why? I see a majority of people working 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week. Gone are the days of working a 40 hour a week, 9-5 job. We’ve all become slaves to our nice cars, fancy homes and other things we use as signs of our “success”. The auto industry changes body styles on their vehicles every few years to take advantage of this mentality. I mean, you have to keep up with the Jones’ to be successful, right?
So, we end up spending most of our lives working in hopes that one day, in the “golden years” we can enjoy it…..all that work for the end result, hopefully, of being happy.
Do the ends justify the means? What if you can be happy without buying into all of the bullshit? Shouldn’t happiness be the ultimate definition of success?
Isn’t it funny how so many in life don’t understand those who give up the capitalistic pursuit in search of powder? They don’t understand that we’ve found happiness. We don’t need to be millionaires to be content. In fact, we’re much more fortunate than the rich. We’ve found real happiness. Something very fulfilling. Skiing 3 feet of fresh powder with your friends all day, and having a few beers afterward is infinitely more rewarding than upgrading your TV or buying the latest model vehicle.
Even after skiing for 25+ years, I still feel like a 5 year old on Christmas morning waiting in the liftline on a powder day for first chair. It’s more than a sport to me, it is who I am. Skiing is in my soul, it completes me.
So, these last days of Summer and early Fall are bittersweet. I know ski season is right around the corner, but at the same time, it’s been a while since I last made turns, and I feel like part of me is missing. I’m really looking forward to skiing artificial snow on opening day at Loveland in a few more weeks.
There, I will make turns with the most successful people in the world. I can’t wait.
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September 21st, 2008 on 8:16 am
great!
every one has his attitude about happy life.
in a word, money is not everything,
there are much more things more important than money
September 21st, 2008 on 12:20 pm
Thanks for the perspective Brett.
I’m thinking about changing jobs up here in Idaho to have more opportunity to persue those powder days. There would be absolutely no “on call” bullshit for me to have to cover and I’d be infinitely happier
I think your statements above say it all. Everyone else that I work with right now is in that persuit of happiness with financial and socieital gain. I’ve never been one to buy into that and I’m pretty much sick of it with the seeming “mission” that the hospital I work for now has put forth.
Hope to see you this winter either back in Idaho or if I make it down to Colorado
November 11th, 2008 on 2:23 am
I would just like to let you know I grew up in Indiana I am now going to college in IL both of which have nothing along the lines of the powder but I have been skiing a lot on the west. I think that what I have been trying to figure out for the past couple weeks about where i want to live and what I want live you summed up in a couple paragraphs. I guess it is just a love to ski but i would be content living in Lake Tahoe for the rest of my life even if it means having a shack and having my current peice of shit car for the rest of my life dont get me wrong i desire nice things but it all comes back to being content.
Thank you that post ment a lot to me
November 13th, 2008 on 7:45 pm
nice. wonderful post, especially when things are crazy it’s fun to know other people are so in love with skiing too!
only 1 more day until copper opens… tick, tick, tick, come on!!