Lemons Looking for Ade

I've noticed an increasing trend amongst some of my family and friends. There seems to be this concept that if bad stuff happens to us when we are young that the world owes us something great later. I've seen this with so many-- from the young adult who decides to have the child but gives up the last of their teens and all of their twenties to do so (which is /very/ brave, in my opinion, and worthy of praise), to the divorcee who was treated so crappily by an ex that it devastated him and now he can't move on.

I am not sure if it's our modern day fairy tales in movies or books where the cinder cleaning stepsister or the boy kept in the cupboard under the stairway have great things happen to them, or if it's just this idea that the pursuit of happiness has been translated to mean entitled to happiness.

Entitled.

Well if we're entitled to something that means that we don't have to bother trying, because it's coming, right? What a paralyzing concept.

If we're dwelling on what's happened to us and waiting for the MegaMillions bus to stop in front of our house, then what happens when the bus doesn't show? What does all of that waiting really accomplish in the end?

Creators on Standby

It seems that for the longest time, we lived in a world of passive audience members and a handful of creators. More and more people were coming home, plunking themselves down in a chair, and hunting for the latest recording on their DVR. This is their down-time. This is when they relax. And what a boon to those who write the shows or the authors who create books, because it means we have an audience. Let's face it, the work doesn't exist until someone reads it, watches it, or experiences it.

But day after day, more and more people were not doing much else with their days. They were working, eating, and watching. I know because I was one of these people. I was a part of the culture where entertainment raised our kids and the TV, Internet, and Books were escapes from the reality I wasn't finding fulfillment in. New creations were something "other" people did.

This is all changing and I couldn't be happier.

With the introduction of applications that help us design better, write faster, and compose with more quality, we have streamlined the execution process for getting ideas out. Couple this with the capability to self-publish-- whether on YouTube or iTunes or as an indie book writer-- and we now have an easy way to share those creations with others. We are in the midst of a revolution for creative enterprises.