Carl Setzer

I've heard this song countless times. Today, Youtube popped this up in the recommended list and I happily listened. Seeing other versions in the sidebar from 1979, 1981, and 1992 made me wonder about how different each one sounded. I enjoyed witnessing the evolution of Robert Smith's personal style as well. Below is the 1979 version, which has a more traditional punk vibe (it says something that I can say "traditional" and "punk" without any sense of irony). This one is from 1981. Not a huge transition, but I notice a less punk style and something that becomes much more recognized as The Cure.   By 1992, we have a clearly distinctive style that is The Cure, and not confusable with anyone else.   Thanks for giving a few minutes of your journey through the vast wasteland that is the internet. Let me know what you think in the comments, and give me a share, if you're so led.

Looking at these great young men and women I know going off to college, into the service, into the world I'm struck by their potential greatness. I see this in them all. I don't buy the trap, though, of the unit form of greatness is one of public accolade. Really, most of the great things in life are done quietly, un-lauded, just done. Society grinds to a halt without this work. With the quiet doers in our world, we freeze, with nothing valuable happening. There are downsides to fame. I'll leave the specifics for another day. But greatness is immensely satisfying. Arrogant as it may sound, I've felt greatness roaring through. Often counterbalanced by moments where I feel minimal competence. I wish for these dear ones to feel the greatness within. Knowing their value. Whether thousands come out to see you, it you only hear the positives from friends and family, I want them to have that sense deep within them. Knowing they're valuable and unique. To feel the deepe...

The quest: take my natural talents and use them to make the world a better place. I want to be a positive influence on the world, inspire and grow people to the greatest heights of their talents and passions. I want to continuously grow and learn, to be more useful and inspiring. I want to nurture people, help them grow and become better.  I've organized, coordinated and lead teams with this in mind. Yet I feel there's more I can do, more that I offer. I'm still stretching to wrap my head around this.

I seek balance, balance between career and family, spiritual and earthly. Balance, perhaps the zen of yin and yang. Balance, though, is not a steady state, rather continuous action. Balancing, redistributing; because you can't have it all, only what you prioritize Thus, knowing what's important is critical. Having goals, big overarching ones to guide you, to allow you focus. With that, one of my traps: forgetting that I can shift, adjust to the changing reality. And that's the real goal, to grow, learn and adjust. Its OK for the goals to move. Actually, its critical. If we're growing, we're learning. That new knowledge will open up possibilities we never could consider before. The glorious future unimaginable.