I’m sitting here at 1:00 AM on a Monday morning in my (home) office thinking when I should be asleep. You see, I was chatting with my Girlfriend’s cousin – giving her a life’s pep-talk, if you will. I went back and re read everything that I wrote and realized that I was completely and utterly full of POOP (yes I said poop because the kiddies might be reading this)!

I’m not saying that what I was writing was absolute BS (Look that up kiddies), but rather that I wasn’t drinking my own kool-aide. Telling a 19 year old to sieze the day and find life’s adventure is the absolute truth! Opportunity is for the taking – yep! However, I speak of all this with her in past context! It’s like at 30 (Yes, I’m 30. Just had a b-day actually) the adventure is over, and that I should expect nothing more than to settle into a starched shirt florescent filled glass cube of a life. Leave at 7:30 get home a 6, and repeat until dead! With luck, I might be able to pay off whatever debt I may accumulate over the years, and even get to go on a vacation!

So, I sat there for a good hour thinking. Let’s face it. Being quasi employed… All I have is time, and all I can afford to do is think!

I really talked a good talk when, well, talking to this young lady! So good that I think I had one of those “life” moments.

As I sit here, I realize that I’ve gone about things all wrong. I, like so many, have been out trying to find my fortune. I’m not driven by money, though it’s nice, yet that’s what I’ve been looking for! WRONG! I said something in my chat text that said “don’t worry about money. Worry about opportunities. Looking for an opportunity is an adventure. Adventures create experience. Experience leads you to the opportunity, and the opportunity – if right, will pay off. The rest will take care of itself”.

So, what’s that mean for The Automotive Philosopher? Well, for one, the “real” job hunt is over. It was a dead end path leading to (potentially) years of misery. Secondly, I’m focusing on pursuing only things that I love or consider enjoyable, and becoming great at whatever it is. This very thing; writing about cars, for instance, is one of them. Working on them, driving them, talking about them, teaching, and sharing all bundle into that. Thirdly, travel. I want to travel more. I LOVE to travel. I’ve done a lot of it, but want to do more. I want to be able to bring Julie with! I want to have freedom. Freedom in the sense that I want a house that’s paid for on a good bit of land with room for a shed, and a place for me to build stuff, like cars.

I know, I know… You’re thinking “this guy’s nuts! He hasn’t a clue what that costs!” Well, you’re right on the first part, but wrong on the second. You see, my career has allowed me to see exactly what that cost is. It’s life! You see, I’m starting to think that our “earning potential” is directly proportionate to the amount of enthusiasm we have for life. Have you ever come across and enthusiastic statistician? How about an enthusiastic insurance agent? No, probably not. Now, ask either one of those guys what they do in their down time, and they perk up! Their personalities come back, and a bit of shine comes to their eyes!

You can’t buy that! Its “that” that leads to a life fulfilled, and well, income and security/independence/freedom. Whatever you want to call it. I plan to harness that energy in myself, and put it to use.

Now, I know very little about him, really, but Jay Leno’s my hero! He’s my hero because as it pertains to his hobby and lifestyle, he’s everything I want to be! He’s also A LOT like the Late Great Skunkle (read my first post if you’d like to meet Skunkle). He’s a guy that, like Skunkle and I, loves cars, and loves to share them. They are art, and the embodiment of freedom, art, engineering, and life all rolled into one lump of metal, plastic, and sometimes wood. Non-car folk wouldn’t understand.

We all have a moment in our lives that we remember clear as a bell that time slowed down and you wanted it to last forever. Mine was centered around my first classic car experience. Well actually there’s another, but that one’s all mushy, and I’m not much of one for romance. Ask Julie.

In my first post, I describe the “MG and Rover Experience” one of the single most memorable experiences of my life. Time slowed for me. The sound, the smell, and the feel of the car moving under me was just right. That’s just it, the thought in my head at that very moment was “this is good”. That was it, “this is good”.

Profundity coming from a child though! I thought about those moments for months afterwards. I told everyone about it. To this day I wax poetically about the experience. The thing is, it was literally 30 minutes of my life, at most! I’ve never looked back though! It’s always been about vehicles! Cars, motorcycles, boats, planes! Anything that goes with style! (Remember fashion is fleeting – style is forever)

So, that seals it. My life’s work, from this moment on will be to try and recreate that experience I had so very long ago. Dedicating my life to the pursuit of love and happiness in my work’s toil. Sharing.

Honestly, my dream would be to get a call from Mr. Leno, or some other true car guy asking me to come, be a curator, build cars, fix cars, write, learn, and teach. Nothing more. Perhaps Mr. Leno will read this, and make a 30 year old 7 year old boy VERY happy!

If not, well, I’ll just have to do it on my own somehow. I’m thinking that this little thing I have here, writing, might be a start. Who knows! All I know is that productivity is a relative term, and sitting in an office counting someone else’s money, to me, isn’t productive. Being compensated for experiencing life, and doing what you love, that’s productivity!

So, all of you who are reading my little rant. Get out there and do something. Take a risk! Don’t let that molehill stop you from climbing that mountain! Forget the money! Look for the opportunity. The hunt will be an adventure. From the adventure you will gain experience. With the experience you will recognize the opportunity, and you will be rewarded in so many ways!