Ethics

I found the most amazing thing in the parking lot of a gas station yesterday.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve found some pretty amazing things on the ground– mostly money, a few tens, a few twenties, things that people lose but don’t usually go back for or can’t claim at a lost and found.

Yesterday, I found a Nintendo DS.

I have to admit, my first thought was something along the lines of “Holy– sweet!” but as I turned the thing over in my hands and looked at it, realizing what a prize I’d found, it also struck me as what a prize someone else had lost. I’ve seen DS’s in the store– they’re not cheap, and they’re certainly out of my spending range. “Should I keep it?” I wondered. It was a sure bet that I probably wouldn’t get a chance to hold one in my hands again until Nintendo came out with something better and slashed the price on the DS to somewhere near reasonable, and by then it might not even matter anymore. I stood there in the rain just looking at it for probably five seconds, torn.

And then my ethics kicked in.

I’m not a religious person, but I live by one singular rule, a code that I think is valid in any situation where one is presented with a moral dilemma: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

So I took it into the gas station and gave it to the attendant, hoping that the person who lost it would come back looking for it and ask the attendant those hopeful words: “Has anyone turned in a...”

Because if it was my DS, I’d hope, even expect someone else to do the same for me.

It’s not a perfect world, there are plenty of unethical things going on everyday that we cannot change, but what we can do is teach by example. We can live ethically, simply because to do otherwise is to be a douchebag, and if enough of us do it, we can change the world.

Why is it so difficult to get noticed online?

I mean, I know I write good stuff. I’m ahead of the curve, I’m dedicated, I’m interesting, I’m on Stumbleupon, Digg, Reddit, you name it, but no joy. I feel like I’m doing the equivalent of jumping up and down, waving my arms around and screaming, but I’m one voice on one rock in the middle of a massive ocean of humanity that moves in huge, ten-million man strong waves, surging toward everything but what I’m doing or what I’m interested in.

I know I’m not the only person out there who’s having this experience, and I know that I’m not the worthless excuse for a human being that the occasional person out there tries to convince me that I am (heck, read the other entries of my blog– you’ll see. It’s all me here) but right now I feel like even if I suddenly plastered every page I could get my hands on with pictures of my backside, the only person who would notice would be some guy back at Google who wouldn’t really care, but would be obligated to respond by casually (in a very sterile, detached manner) clicking some magic button that would disable my adsense account and send me the form letter equivalent of a coup-de-grace, effectively obliterating the meager fistful of ad revenue I’ve garnered (but of course have no access to– got to wait until it hits the $100 mark!) for attracting almost 100,000 people to my collective pages over the last couple of years.

I know writing isn’t about money, but it shouldn’t be about starving or taking a second job while you bust your butt trying to find that one magic topic that the world will fall upon in its fickle way either. With as many people as there are out there on the internet, is it really so much to ask to be heard?

21 Tips for living a successful life

1. Stop watching T.V.

2. Read books that take opposing points of view and then draw your own conclusions based on the information provided. Never just assume that any one side is right.

3. Think before you buy. Ask yourself “Do I really need this?” I’m not advocating a minimalist approach– you might need beer or videogames to help you relieve stress, and that’s healthy, but if it’s something you don’t really need, skip it and save the money.

4. Ignore what other people say. Have the ovaries (or the balls) to do what you want regardless of how “normal” or “stupid” people say it is. If you know in your heart that it will work, keep at it, stay strong, and give your naysayers the bird.

5. Recognize fear mongering when you see it. Don’t let fear dictate your actions (or your spending.)

6. Do something creative everyday.

7. Think outside the box as often as you can. Always look for what’s beyond the next frontier.

8. Call people on their issues, but only if they’re hurting themselves or others. Being a jerk just for the sake of it is something everyone should try to avoid.

9. Be friendly. Shake everyone’s hand, and don’t wait to be introduced. Get out there and network, get to know people and forge connections. There really are usually less than six degrees of separation between you and someone who might just be able to save your life (or your butt) when things get tough down the road.

10. Don’t base your self value on how much money you make or what kind of possessions you have. True self worth is measured in how happy you are in the life you’re living. Discover what you really want out of life, then go out and get it. As long as you stay on that path, you are a success.

11. Put happiness first. If you’re unhappy, change.

12. Faith is meant to elevate and guide us, not control or limit us. No matter what you believe (even if you believe in nothing at all) never let it get in the way of doing what’s right.

13. Learn because you want to, not because you have to.

14. Exercise regularly, even if it just means taking a short walk once or twice a day. Even a little bit of exercise can make a world of difference in how happy and how productive you are!

15. Do what is right because it is right, not because others say it's right.

16. Don’t just live each day like it was your last, do everything fully and completely– push yourself for that extra mile and truly live. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

17. Listen to and try to accept everyone’s opinions and perspectives, even if you don’t agree with them. Stay open minded and take the time to research opinions and positions you don’t agree with, even if only to learn what the weak points in their arguments are.

18. Realize and embrace your limits, but try to push them, even if only just a little further.

19. Recognize failures and learn from them. Not everything that goes wrong is a failure, and we don’t always see the places where we’ve made mistakes, but learning to spot them and correct them in our future work is definitely a key to success.

20. Find someone who you see as being successful (according to your own definition) and study them. Don’t measure yourself by their standards, but look for things that they may be doing which could benefit you.

21. Never, ever, under any circumstances, give up on your pursuit of happiness.