New Year's Resolutions

I spent the holidays back home and it make you realize exactly what it means to be "home." Its the place you come to relax/reenergize/recouperate after being away for a while. Things are easier because everything comes naturaly. You fall right back into that old groove and nothing has changed at all. The family relations, the friends, the bar runs.. nothing has changed and in that you find comfort and safety.

But one cannot live a fulfilling life finding safety and comfort. We thrive on the challenges, the changes, the excitement. Seth Godin's Small is the New Big is a hodgepodge of small articles and rants that reads much like a blog. Each blurp is just long and poignant enough to be thought provoking, but that's about it. One that stood out is the concept of a Local Max vs a Global Max.

Each individual starts at point A. After a certain period of time, they rise up to point B. This is their Local Max. In the Pursuit of Happyness, Christopher Gardner has a lab job at a hospital in San Francisco. This is where his path from the military led him. A decent life in California. The Sun. The Beach. The Girl. Yet no where to grow to. This was his Local Max.

In the distance, higher levels of success are visible. In the Pursuit of Happyness, this was the stock broker driving the red Ferrari. In his 'success graph,' he is at point E, or at his Global Max. What does he do? How did he get there? These are important questions, but not the most important.

The money question is, What did he SACRIFICE to get there?

For Christopher Gardner, he sacrificed his wife, his apartment, and the wellness of his son for his chance to reach his Global Max. He was homeless and carried all his belongings with him to work. His son even slept in the bathroom of the train station. This is point C on the success graph. You start at point A, work up to point B, then fall down to point C before rising above B to point D. Sacrifices have to be made and hardships must be had, but you'll emerge from the fire ready to rise to point D, then E, the Global Max.

I believe I am at point C of my graph. Life is not grand in New York, and that is because I sacrificed home for this opportunity. I've left the safety net of my parents, the companionship of my friends, a good job, and a person who seems to always know how to crack open my heart.

But because I've made these sacrifices, I see paths before me. I see opportunities I do not have at home. I can see how to get to point D.

So, my New Year's Resolution is simple. I've already made the sacrifices, now GET TO POINT D.