Thursday, August 8, 1996
Connections
The words you are reading were written just a few hours ago in a home on a quiet street in Austin, Texas, and then transmitted to a computer in Florida for distribution around the world. As you read this message, it is also being read by people throughout North America, in Australia, South Africa, Norway, Germany, Malaysia, Russia and other places around the world.
The amazing thing is not so much the technology with which this is accomplished -- the technology itself has been around for decades. The amazing thing is that this technology, the ability to communicate instantaneously with thousands of people who share an interest in personal development (or any subject), is available to just about anyone. It doesn’t take specialized equipment, a large investment, or highly technical skills -- any person of reasonable means and average intelligence can do it.
The implications of this are enormous. We are witnessing the emergence of a global conciousness of sorts. Information, ideas and concepts can evolve in a way that has never before been possible, at an unprecedented pace. Collaboration and discussion on a very intimate and detailed level can occur outside the limitations of time and space.
What does this mean for us as individual human beings? To a large extent, it frees us to become the people we were meant to be. It allows us to easily connect with others who value what we have to offer, be it an expertise in hockey, an understanding of sub-atomic physics, a skill in architectural photography or a consuming interest in Wagnerian opera.
Success in life used to depend largely upon “fitting in” to the physical and societal environment that you found yourself in. If you lived in a tiny West Texas town, or in the Australian Outback, you were relatively limited in the diversity of social interactions that you could pursue. The global information network has changed all that.
In the old paradigm of the Industrial Age, society rewarded those who designed and produced products for the masses, products which were targeted for the “lowest common denominator” in order to have the greatest mass appeal. This inevitably led to compromise on the part of creators and producers.
Now, as individuals become more interconnected, society is beginning to reward true creativity, innovation and passion.
How do you thrive in the Information Age, when traditional industry is downsizing your job out of existance? By following your heart, by doing what you love, and by becoming the best at it. Never has the time been more right for becoming the person you were meant to be.
— Ralph Marston
Your best teacher The time is now
Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.