The Secret To Life

Busy Busy Busy
I haven't posted for awhile and there are reasons for that--I've been very busy and lately it seems as if something has been going on every weekend, which happens to be when I do most of my writing. My stepdaughter is very involved in dance and we are in the middle of dance competition season and recently I had to go to Houston for a week, attending a conference for work (I wasn't all that impressed with downtown Houston, by the way, not much in the way of character or soul).

Age Catches Up
Work is really the problem right now. I'm an IT manager for a small, international company that supplies chemicals for the semiconductor industry.The dynamics are crazy and it's a busy and stressful job. Now, whenever I was young and energetic I thrived on such work. At 59, I ain't so young these days and my energy guage drops down to zero alarmingly fast. At the end of a workday, I have no energy for anything besides staring at the TV or reading, not even enough left in the tank to sit at my laptop and write. It often feels like work is actually sucking the life out of me. But such is life, ya know? And that's sort of what this post is all about.

This post isn't about aging, I have plenty of others that complain about what a bitch that is. But let me just say that this has been a tough year for me--I'm feeling old. Each workout is a chore and I often have to drag my ass down to the basement and tell myself, "just start, just start and do the best you can." That's the trick to getting a workout in when you don't feel like it--just start.

What Is the Secret  To Life?
Anyway, I've already gotten a little off track from the point of this post--the secret of life. So, what is the secret to a happy, successful, rewarding and satisfying life? What is it that will give us what we ask for in life?

I know the answer to those questions and have known for many years. There is only one secret and once you understand it, you can actually can move toward all your hopes and dreams.

So here it is. Are you ready? The secret to life is...

Work.

Life is work. Period. That's all there is. Nothing more. Sorry, but that's it. Once you get that concept, when you understand what that means in every facet of your life, you will have a shot at the best life you can possibly have.

If you Want It, You Gotta Work For It
I have had to work for every good thing that has happened in my life. Martial arts didn't come easy for me, I had no natural talent for it but worked my ass off and had a successful career. Successful enough anyway. Then I decided I needed to make more money in order to have the things my family and I wanted and needed. A martial arts studio in a small town does not provide for a great living and I always had to work in order to augment my earnings and continue my dream of owning and operating a martial arts studio (See? My dream took a great deal of work to achieve and maintain).


I worked at some crappy jobs while running my studio because I had no real skills, so when I decided I needed to have a career and make more money, I enrolled in the local community college and worked toward a degree in computer science while working full time and operating my martial arts organization. I worked and studied and work for three years, putting in 12-16 hour days (between work, school and martial arts teaching) and sometimes going for several months in a row without a single day off.

Hard Work Pays Off
It paid off. My hard work was noticed and after graduating I continued on at the college as a part-time computer science instructor, which evolved into a full-time IT tech position and then a technology trainer. My wages increased with each new position. New jobs came throughout the years and now I have a well-paying job that I plan to ride right into retirement. But even with a successful career I kept my martial arts school going for over twenty years, working during the day and then teaching at the studio each evening, getting off work and then going to work.

Pride and Accomplishment
For years my days were long and tiring but also satisfying--a job well done is intrinsically rewarding. Few things are more satisfying than accomplishing something through your own sweat equity, when you can say, "hey, look what I did" with a measure of pride and self-satisfaction.

A Good Relationship Required Work Too
Nothing, absolutely nothing, was ever handed to me, but everything that I have wanted, and then worked diligently for, I have gotten; even in relationships--it took a long time to find the wife who was perfect for me and I had to work very hard to make that relationship a reality, but reality it is and I have never been happier with anyone in my life.

Work=Reward
My job is stessful and tiring and drains my energy, but it provides for my family and give us the funds to do things that we enjoy--take trips, go shopping, buy a 60" wide screen TV (I love my TV!).

The next thing I want out of life is to become a successful writer and I've been working toward that for the last few years. I've been published a couple of times and made it to the finals in a few contests. I will get there sometime, not sure when, but sometime. Hard work towards a goal requires sacrifice and I have had to sacrifice many hours on weekends and evening as I work toward my current goal. There is no other way.

With a path to your goals and dreams squarely in mind, hard work + sacrifice = an enriched life.

So there it is, work is the secret to life. It always has been true and always will be. The old saying is that you get out of life what you put into it and that's true, but I would change it slightly--you get out of life what you work to get, nothing more, nothing less. Sorry, but the odds are pretty stacked against you to win the lottery.

Now get out there and get to work.