10 Lessons Learned in 2008
Filed Under: My Writing, Top Post, personal
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I’m not going to do New Years resolutions. I’m going to reflect back on what I learned, and allow that to guide my progress forward.
In no particular order of importance:
- Cyberfunded Creativity Does Not Work
For me, that is. At least at the level I would like (breaking even on expenses). I think you stand the best chance of making money online if you have popularity for something other than what you’re doing. It’s damned near impossible to build an audience for something like Dr. Roundbottom. For one, it’s too much of a niche interest (steampunk photo fiction). Second, I don’t have the profile of a BNA (Big Name Author). I’ll keep doing it in 2009, but not with the same level of dedication. - I Love Photography But it Won’t Make Me Rich
I do. I really love being behind the camera, shooting just about anything. Sure, it’s frustrating and the pictures rarely turn out the way I pictured them, but I feel like there’s a ton left to learn. In 2009, I will be expanding my forays into professional photography by doing some live band shoots I hope. I will be making more and more trips into the Rockies to shoot wildlife. I may open a print store to sell prints of something other than Dr. Roundbottom images. But unless I give up everything else, go back to art school, and pursue photography as a full time profession, I can’t make a living from it. Even then, jobs are scarce compared to the number of people who want to be doing it. Like many of my interests, I got in at a time where the barriers to entry were lower than ever. - The World Doesn’t End if You Lose Your Job
One of my greatest fears prior to this summer was losing a job. I take a great amount of pride in my job, and I also have a lot of school debt, so the two factors combined create a lot of stress for me. When I was laid off from my last job, I felt good, then depressed, and then 3 days later, I threw myself into looking for any kind of work I could get. I picked up great new clients (Thanks, Jeff! Sarah! Jay!) and I learned a lot about the business. Which leads to number 4. And by the way, heading into this economy, this is an important lesson to remind myself of. - I Can Run My Own Business
Thanks to my layoff. I learned that I do have what it takes to make it on my own, and if our health care problem in this country ever gets solved I will not hesitate to start my own business. Or if Sarah has a job with great benefits. I really love working for myself, even if it means 12 hour days. The freedom makes me so happy. And I have no trouble focusing on work while working from home. - I Still Want to be a Writer (Whatever That Means)
I spent much of 2008 pretty sure that my urge to write had gone down the tubes, despite putting out quite a lot of work related to #1 above. I didn’t write stories, I stopped following SF news and blogs, and I stopped reading much SF. But as I find myself growing increasingly angry at the future and how it has been robbed from us by greedy bastards, I find once again that I have a few things I want to say. I wrote 2 stories this year, one within the last couple of days (which I really need to edit and mail off tonight). I’m hoping to at least double that output next year, and maybe, just maybe, finally start a novel. I’m 31 years old and I have my whole career ahead of me. - I Am Still in Love
Sarah and I have had some rough times. My mental instability brought on by the death of many family members all at once nearly ruined everything. But with each passing year, I feel closer to her, and my love deepens surprisingly more. Each time I think it doesn’t get any better, it does. There are two different kinds of love, and the first one is superficial, but more intense. I think a lot of people get tied up in that love, in looking for it, and they miss out on the much more fulfilling kind that only comes with time. - I Am Loved
I look at Twitter, I look at Livejournal, and I look at Facebook and I realize that I am a very lucky man to have the friends and family that I do. I wake up each morning and see an amazing person who anyone would say is way, way out of my league. There are times when I feel isolated and alone, just a chemical imbalance really, but I think I have learned more in 2008 than any year before just how much people care for me, and how much I care about them in return. I am looking to deepen my friendships and understanding of people in the coming year. It will make me a better person in return. - Change Can Happen
I lost 70 pounds, and am mostly succeeding at keeping the weight off. We elected someone truly new and fresh to the President of the United States. Change does happen, both within and in the world. I can control some of that. Like our new President, I have the audacity to hope for a better tomorrow. Not only that, but the determination to work for it in whatever way I can. - I Do Want to Have A Child
I’ve been thinking a lot about the meaning of life, and I think from a biological standpoint, this is it. Raising another life, another person into being. That’s the point, and it should be denied to no one. I don’t know when will be the right time, but my doubts about it have faded. I want to be a father. I think I’ll be a damned good one. I’ve learned from some of the best; My father, my stepfather, and my father-in-law. Three great men. I can’t go wrong. - I Am Probably Not Going to Live Forever–But Who Cares?
I’m slowly coming to terms with my own mortality at age 31. Maybe it’s my realization at #9 that has begun to ease my fears which were brought on sharply by deaths in the family. I still long for successful life extension drugs. I still want more time. But I’m going to try and make the best of the time that I do have. I’m not going to live each day like it’s my last, because that would probably mean laying in bed and wheezing a lot and clutching at my chest. I’m not ready to go yet, but maybe in another 100 years or so, I will be ready. I’ll do what I can, and I’ll leave a mark on this world in ways that are almost as good as real immortality.
I hope that next year is better than the last for all of you. I wish you all the best. Times are hard right now, but we can make it through this together. We need to pull together as a community now more than ever before. Look for those in need, and help them. Share your prosperity and it will grow in ways you never expected. That’s what I will be trying to do in 2009, and I hope you will too.
