My approach ... stirring my own mud puddles

First let me explain something ... I have had the good fortune to play most of my life ... not because I am independently wealthy, but because I have always "stirred my own mud puddles". In doing so, I have been caught up in the ongoing motivation of creative experimentation and discovery ... following my own inner excitement as it pulls me into whatever it is I am doing. And I have been fortunate in having someone pay me to do that.

Early on I used to wonder why others would not attempt something new ... and came to believe that while many are simply already up to their armpits in the day's alligators and don't have any remaining time or energy, others are simply intimidated by the expertise of others ... like in "I could NEVER be that good!" Still others are motivated by "How much will I get paid to do that?" Believe me, I have seldom if ever qualified as a "professional" at anything. Nor has a paycheck ever kept me glued to a project. The inner thrall of what I was creating always has, until at times I have literally fallen over from exhaustion, sleeping on the floor next to my work until I could summon the energy to go on.

It is the same today ... except that in being retired, I am even freer relative to a paycheck. I am working on more projects than I can count. I am leaving for a month in Alaska on Wednesday. I am in the midst of developing the technical tools (aka Gant chart, etc.) for monitoring a 5-year plan for a colleague's department, I am growing beautiful pots of petunias in the yard, + + + ... and I am creating personal toys using Web 2.0 tools ... I still hardly have time to sleep! And I really doubt if anyone would "hire" me to do any of it. (Thank god!)

One of the joys of being a child at play is as a child at play ... how we think at play. A child plays ... and becomes as good at whatever it is that he or she is doing as his or her ability and interest produces. As soon as a child starts thinking "I'm not as good as so and so" and stops playing (or learning) ... gives up the joy of creating their own "newness" ... we know we have a problem.

Vincent van Gogh has been my inspirational hero since, as a youth, I saw the movie "Lust for Life" about his life. Camus gave me a philosophical pov by pointing out the motivational difference between seeking change and seeking the credit for change.

Much of the excitement of the Web 2.0 world is finding others who share my passion for creating ... which for me starts in playing around with something (stirring the mud puddle) and watching the swirls take shape from my own hand ("Look, look what I made!") ... and learning how to make more patterns by watching the child next to me ("How did you do THAT!").