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Bus One Seven
What's your value add?
by Roderick Armageddon

How many times have you found yourself strolling through your local mall, wondering just how in the Hell you actually managed to drag yourself out of the house and into one of these damned inbred carnivals? I only ask because it was this exact situation that slapped me across the face just recently. It begged the question, "Just what the Hell have you done for me lately? Where is my value add, you worthless, middle-class sonofabitch?"

No, I wasn’t posing the question to a friend, family member or some poor, unsuspecting schlep whom I deemed too medieval to understand my point. No, I was grazing myself with the words. Always at those moments when I should be expecting it the most, that’s precisely when it hits: the idea that I’m wasting precious time. At that point, strolling through the mall, I needed the better half of myself to grab me by the collar and shake every last penny from my pockets.

For every indentation in my sofa there is 15 minutes where I could’ve been creating, doing, building, entertaining, living! If you’ve ever had the pleasure of studying world history, you probably already know just how the 30,000-foot view can put your life in perspective, helping to foster the idea that we’re all nothing more than a blip on the radar screen of time. Our 80-100 years spent toiling over family disputes, neighbor relations and career changes are absolutely nothing in the grander scheme of universal time. Clients beg for us to change their little worlds, boyfriends and girlfriends beg us to quit smoking or to put the toilet seat down. That’s just fine, but it sure the Hell doesn’t make much of a difference in the end . Should it? Absolutely not. People shouldn’t be remembered for whether they learned to fold towels correctly or won an argument over mustard. People should be remembered for making a real impact on the world. If you’re not working to make an impact, then why bother working at all? I’m not implying that the only worthwhile pursuit is feeding the homeless or ending war in ravaged African nations. I’m suggesting we make the effort to do something much bigger than ourselves. Make music and share it with the world. Start a business. March in the gay pride parade for the first time. Whatever it is, just make certain you take a risk and press yourself to make an impact.

How many of us actually take advantage of that slim window of opportunity known as life? Really, how many people truly realize that their 20s are the only 20s they’ll ever experience? I imagine not many; that’s why we have this three-headed beast called the mid-life crisis. How many people believe the little battles they win at work are important? I already know the answer —- far too many. It’s my firm belief that every little victory we get in life is just that, a little victory. Aside from those individuals and moments that make it into the history books, the rest really don’t matter. Did you ever read about Jim Dobsen’s personal rally for a promotion at Continental United Bank back in 1978? No? What? That was HUGE! I can’t believe you didn’t hear about it. Have you ever heard of the Beatles?

Let me ask you this, just what the Hell could you be doing right now instead of reading this article, wondering what it is that crawled up my ass to incite this diatribe of frustration? I imagine you could be doing a lot. If your answer is a resounding, "Yes, I could be doing something dramatically better than reading Roderick’s crazed diatribe," then get off your ass and do it. Better your life, or better the lives of others. There is no greater time than the present and there is no reason to wait, for tomorrow may never come and you’ll be no better off for having completed your laundry today. Do you need to go back to school because you realize that accounting sucks? Fine, take the financial hit, sell the house and make it happen. This is your time. If you stop to think about it too long, it’ll pass you by and you’ll end up divorcing your spouse and buying a Corvette (or tricked-out 1965 VW Bus — whatever your taste may be).

Really, I’m not advocating everyone quit their jobs and focus on making abstract art or smoking pot for the rest of their lives. I’m not sure the world would function were everyone living by the teachings of the "Reverend" Leonard Cohen. But for those of you who have the itch like I do, or have experienced a postal urge to cleanse your calendar, perhaps you need to rethink your time on this big ball of mud. It’s dramatically shorter than you think. In fact, if you take a moment to ponder the subject in detail, plotting out the minutes, days and weeks, it just might scare the shit out of you, leaving you in ruins. So maybe it isn’t such a good idea to think about it too deeply.

Regardless, now is the time to reevaluate your days, oh humble readers. Rethink your nights and re-purpose your wardrobe. There is no tomorrow without today, so make an impact, pick up your worthless ass and do something important. Committing a lifetime to developing yourself for one thing and one thing only, whether it is freestyle Olympic skating or racing the Tour De France, takes an unprecedented amount of conviction and discipline. Those individuals who have the conviction to commit themselves to their passion are better people than the rest of us, so feel the shame (don’t dwell on it) and make a commitment to change your life. Rush to the cause my friends; the cause is your own.