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I came of age before blogs and frankly, don't see any blog posts that could be life changing for an older person, so I'll add a life changing book and song. Th

I came of age before blogs and frankly, don't see any blog posts that could be life changing for an older person, so I'll add a life changing book and song. The Third Wave by Alvin Toffler, the sequel to Future Shock. I was a nuclear trained engineer in the Navy. This book convinced me not to pursue a career in nuclear power after the Navy, which was the standard career path for guys like me, because it was "Second Wave." The Third Wave was information technology, which I pursued despite having no training in it. At the height of my success, "The Arrangement" by Joni Mitchell made me realize that money hadn't made me happy and pursuing more was not something I wanted to do. You could have been more Than a name on the door On the thirty-third floor in the air More than a credit card Swimming pool in the backyard While you still have the time You could get away and find A better life, you know the grind is so ungrateful Racing cars, whiskey bars No one cares who you really are

UweSchmidt 5y ago
I like the idea of making a life-changing decision based on a fundamental revelation about life, and catching that "Third Wave" would certainly have been good in the general case, particular regrets about how the details played out in your situation nonwithstanding!?
- okareaman 5y ago
  None, both the decisions I made from the book and song turned out to be the best.
e12e 5y ago
> I came of age before blogs and frankly, don't see any blog posts that could be life changing for an older person, so I'll add a life changing book and song. E. B. White wrote of the essay and the essayist - and I think it goes a long way towards arguing (unintended perhaps) that a good blog post is a good essay (and vice versa) - at least that was my thoughts when I first read it: > The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest. He is a fellow who thoroughly enjoys his work, just as people who take bird walks enjoy theirs. Each new excursion of the essayist, each new “attempt,” differs from the last and takes him into new country. This delights him. Only a person who is congenitally self-centered has the effrontery and the stamina to write essays. > There are as many kinds of essays as there are human attitudes or poses, as many essay flavors as there are Howard Johnson ice creams. The essayist arises in the morning and, if he has work to do, selects his garb from an unusually extensive wardrobe: he can pull on any sort of shirt, be any sort of person, according to his mood or his subject matter—philosopher, scold, jester, raconteur, confidant, pundit, devil’s advocate, enthusiast. (...) > There is one thing the essayist cannot do, though—he cannot indulge himself in deceit or in concealment, for he will be found out in no time.
- okareaman 5y ago
  Your comment challenged me to try to find a blog that appeals to a spiritually minded older person and offer some new perspectives. I came up with this: https://blog.sevenponds.com https://blog.sevenponds.com

UweSchmidt 5y ago

I like the idea of making a life-changing decision based on a fundamental revelation about life, and catching that "Third Wave" would certainly have been good in the general case, particular regrets about how the details played out in your situation nonwithstanding!?

okareaman 5y ago
None, both the decisions I made from the book and song turned out to be the best.

e12e 5y ago

> I came of age before blogs and frankly, don't see any blog posts that could be life changing for an older person, so I'll add a life changing book and song. E. B. White wrote of the essay and the essayist - and I think it goes a long way towards arguing (unintended perhaps) that a good blog post is a good essay (and vice versa) - at least that was my thoughts when I first read it: > The essayist is a self-liberated man, sustained by the childish belief that everything he thinks about, everything that happens to him, is of general interest. He is a fellow who thoroughly enjoys his work, just as people who take bird walks enjoy theirs. Each new excursion of the essayist, each new “attempt,” differs from the last and takes him into new country. This delights him. Only a person who is congenitally self-centered has the effrontery and the stamina to write essays. > There are as many kinds of essays as there are human attitudes or poses, as many essay flavors as there are Howard Johnson ice creams. The essayist arises in the morning and, if he has work to do, selects his garb from an unusually extensive wardrobe: he can pull on any sort of shirt, be any sort of person, according to his mood or his subject matter—philosopher, scold, jester, raconteur, confidant, pundit, devil’s advocate, enthusiast. (...) > There is one thing the essayist cannot do, though—he cannot indulge himself in deceit or in concealment, for he will be found out in no time.

okareaman 5y ago
Your comment challenged me to try to find a blog that appeals to a spiritually minded older person and offer some new perspectives. I came up with this: https://blog.sevenponds.com https://blog.sevenponds.com