Why Now is the Greatest Time to be Alive.

This morning I stopped to think about how incredible the world we live in truly is.  Aside from the stunning beauty of creation all around us, there are many reasons why now is the greatest time to be alive.

It is so easy to forget the greatness of now and wax nostalgic for a time that will never return (have you seen Midnight in Paris?  It got me thinking on this track).  This serves as a gentle reminder to myself–and you–to not only be grateful for the present, but to take full advantage of it.

Being alive right now is awesome, and here’s why.

Communication has never been easier.

We are at a point that we can communicate face to face with people all across the globe for free (thanks, Skype).  Go back twenty years and tell 9 year old Cole that and watch him laugh in your face while trying to dial memorized numbers on a rotary phone!

In my short lifetime we went from simply reading “expert” opinions on other cultures to actually being able to communicate with and learn from them, allowing us to develop our own perspective.  To me, this is the single greatest technological achievement of our generation.  Communication gives us connection, and connection begets understanding.

In that same time, we’ve also seen an explosion of charities and humanitarian efforts all around the world.  Coincidence?  Or has communication humanized our world?

Information is no longer held by gatekeepers.

We used to rely on industry experts for everything.  Doctors, lawyers, and priests had the sacred knowledge, the “magic books” or education, and unless you went through the same years of training you were forced to rely on them.

No longer.

Health information, learning an art, home and auto repairs, and even college courses (via MIT OpenCourseWare) are available at only the cost of your time.  Want to research a new eating lifestyle?  Find a doctor to help your family stay healthy?  Learn how to become a writer?  Become a photographer?  Find the best pizza joint in town?  It is simply a click away.

Of course this brings the new challenge of sorting through the overwhelming amount of information to discern what is right for you.  But it also brings freedom through informed choice.  Your decisions now determine your outcomes.

More importantly, gatekeepers once held access to the market.  Book publishers, music producers, and art galleries controlled shelf space and you had to be picked to “make it,” which brings me to the most liberating point of all…

You can pick yourself.

It’s true.

Right now you could start writing a blog, create a YouTube channel, or sell you photography online.  You don’t need credentials, a brick and mortar store, or a gatekeepers permission.  You simply need to create your art and build a following.  Notice I said simple and not easy.

While the internet makes it easy to attract your tribe, the hard part is for you to find your niche and do your work, whatever that work may be.

Seth Godin says, “the only thing that’s scarce is attention.”

Pick yourself.  Create something worthy of attention.  Succeed at what you love doing.  That is why today is the greatest time to be alive.  You are only limited by you.

Well… that’s not the whole answer.

Right now is the greatest time to be alive because it is when you are alive.  There will never be a better time, because this lifetime is your moment.  

Each of us, all throughout history, lived during the best time because it was our time.

And we were each able to reach a little bit further during our time by standing on the shoulders of giants that came before us.

Let us not squander our time.

Go.  Live.  Create.

 

**If this post spoke to you in any way, please share using the buttons to the left.  I would also love to hear what you think.  Do you feel it’s the best time to be alive?  Why or why not?  Leave your thoughts in the comments and we’ll continue the conversation.

Inspiration for this post:

Chris Guillebeau – The Art of Non-Conformity (be yourself, do it your way)

Jeff Goins – The Writers Manifesto (stop writing to be read and adored)

Seth Godin – Linchpin & We Are All Weird (why we need your art)

Joel Runyon – The Blog of Impossible Things (do the impossible)

Steve Kamb – Nerd Fitness (level up your life)

Joe Bunting – The Write Practice (kick start your writing career)

Mountain & Pacific – In Treehouses (freedom businesses)

Midnight in Paris – the movie