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There’s a difference between someone with an asinine passion who is kind to his or her future self and someone with an asinine passion who is cruel to his or her future self. The former is a character; the latter is a loser. Let me explain.
Imagine two dudes: Tom and Harry. Both are rabid Packer fans. Both are season-ticket holders. And both are compelled to adorn foam cheese blocks and Aaron Rogers jerseys whenever the Packers take the field. Yep, both have swallowed the Kool-Aid and believe football is a monumentally important endeavor.
But aside from their addiction to watching burly men in gold tights, Tom and Harry are very different.
Tom, for instance, is a successful lawyer who is thin, has a great wife and family, and devotes 25 percent of his income to saving and investing. Harry, on the other hand, is a mediocre laborer who is overweight, chronically single, and lives paycheck to paycheck.
Being a cheesehead is an asinine passion. But I don’t hold it against Tom for being one. Tom is winning at life, and winners have earned the right to be a little kooky, a little eccentric.
Now let’s turn to Harry. When I look at Harry, I see a loser. This doesn’t mean he’s a bad person, and it doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated poorly. It just means his priorities are screwed up. I want to slap him upside his head and say, “Dude, you’re losing at life. Stop worrying about the Packers and start worrying about yourself. Lose weight, get a freakin’ girlfriend, and start saving for retirement.”
It Doesn’t Take Much to Be a Winner
The good news for Harry is that it doesn’t take much to be a winner. If he would do the following, I would consider him to be a winner, and he would have license to be a cheesehead.
The Road to Thinness
You can’t out-exercise an undisciplined mouth. The best way to get thin is to fix your diet. Harry can get on the road to thinness by making bread an occasional treat and by forgoing all sugary drinks.
The Road to Attractiveness
Be Presentable
If you want to be accepted by others, don’t be a smelly slob. If Harry dedicates himself to be clean, well-groomed, and appropriately dressed, Harry will find the lady-folk more receptive to his company.
Be Strong
Women like muscles. Harry should thus play to nature and hit the gym at least two times a week.
Be Interesting
The best way to become interesting is to do something your tribe doesn’t ordinarily do. If you’re a white-collar person, have a blue-collar hobby. If you’re a blue-collar person, have a white-collar hobby. Harry can be one of the most interesting men in the room by learning Mandarian, ballroom dancing, or the piano.
The Road to Financial Success
The stock market may not have been invented for the working stiff, but it’s the best tool the working stiff has to become rich. Future Harry will be sitting pretty as long as current Harry opens a Roth IRA and contributes $500 a month to a total stock market index fund.
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? I say having an asinine passion isn’t a god-given right. I say it’s something that must be earned, and you earn it by first getting your physical, interpersonal, and financial acts together. Peace.
One thing sports is good at is demonstrating the difference between winning and losing is often a small margin. Though I was invariably a good student, I witnessed a friend flunk out of medical school. His failure was also a matter of a small margin. Life has these tipping points where just a small nudge in the right/wrong direction makes the difference between being the guys the Wide World of Sports every Saturday afternoon exulting “in the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat.”
steve poling recently posted…Dave Ramsey Heresy
Success in life has many facets and you have touched on many of them. We need to start with helping our kids learn what is important in life early on. Buying them too many things they really don’t need only sets a bad example. No one needs a room (or house) full of toys, electronics, clothes, etc. Teaching them to be satisfied with what they need plus an occasional treat will help them develop into successful adults. How many people have successful careers but still end up in bankruptcy because they have to have all of the expensive, time and space consuming things that others have? Having toys like Legos that promote imaginative play is great but no kid needs enough to build a city. Learning that a reliable, used sedan is enough rather than that expensive new import is a good start for older kids. When a child or adult has more clothes than what fits in a standard size dresser and closet, it’s time to consider downsizing. How many shows on HGTV show people loving that new bedroom size closet? I say, why do you need so many clothes, most of which you probably never wear in a year? The most important thing if you want to be successful is to be kind, charitable and respectful of yourself and others. With these, a lot of the rest falls into place. Without these, nothing else matters. Thanks for another thought provoking post!
Nailed it, Pat. And I know it personally. Up until I was nearly 40 years old, I was very similar to Harry. I thought sports and consumption were the keys to happiness. But then with the help of Mrs. Groovy, I woke up. I finally realized that being “kind, charitable and respectful of [myself] and others” was the true path to happiness. As you so eloquently put it, “Without these, nothing else matters.” Bravo, my friend. Great comment.