Waiting

“If time be of all things the most precious,
wasting time must be the greatest prodigality.”

~ Benjamin Franklin

Waiting

I read this play many years ago. To be honest, it didn’t make much sense to me.

Years later it sunk in (at least I think it did 🙂 ).

In Waiting For Godot (an absurdist play by Samuel Beckett), two characters spend their time waiting for Godot. They wait and wait. They wait two days for a person they hardly know.

Godot never shows.

Have you been waiting for the right person to show up?

That person with the answer key to life?

The captain to sail your ship in to port?

Perhaps you are waiting for that friend to get the financing he said was a lock.

The knight or princess to come riding in on the wind?

If only so-and-so were to help, then . . .

Are you waiting for opportunity to knock?

The entitlement clause in life to kick in?

Friend, your moment of now is here. Your entitlement clause is here.

In part, it reads:

You are entitled to go and grab your dreams by the horns. You are entitled to not let go until the ride is over and what you’ve dreamt is realized. You are entitled to not accept a no from yourself or anyone else. You are entitled to all the striving you can muster.

In short, you are entitled to be plucky (- having or displaying courage or spirited resourcefulness in trying circumstances: brave; spirited).

You were meant to be plucky. Your life is hardly a random accident, so it shouldn’t be lived as such.

Be the right person to come along for y-o-u. No one should want it as bad for you as you do for yourself. It is all too easy to fall into the trap of placing your hopes in the hands of others. Waiting for that friend who will partner with you on that million-dollar idea. It is too easy to waste time waiting for Godot. I have been there and it is maddening. Unfortunately, more than once.

I personally sat on one project for over three years waiting for others to finish their end. The project wasn’t sending out a space mission. It was much less complicated. I could have paid someone else to handle it in a much shorter time. Fortunately, I had other projects going.

But, who cares?

The time I can never get back.

But, the lesson?

Well, that’s pretty valuable, now isn’t it?

Are you guilty of Waiting for Godot? What project could you get going on?

Live it LOUD!

Rob

Look How Hard He Works!

 

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25 Responses to Waiting

  1. I am certainly guilty of this, Rob! Sometimes, I feel like calling it the “tomorrow syndrome” too. It’s the whole feeling like, “I can get to it tomorrow.” But if it’s a dream or a passion, it’s got to be pursued with the same vigor that Brankica describes in your interview of her through the Hannibal quote. We need to dream big and pursue those dreams with all of our power.

    I love the concept of “being entitled” to whatever it is we want in life. That’s a really empowering concept.

    Thanks so much for having me think about this, Rob! =) I’m going to be sharing the idea of “plucky” to everyone! =)

    • Rob says:

      Thanks Sam,

      I just read this quote and it is powerful:
      “What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it”
      -Hugh Mulligan

      Now mine:
      We can do nothing about yesterday. But, we can make our tomorrow better today!
      Make sure you are creating and not just consuming Sam. You have many best-sellers in you, but, they need to be written.

      Keep Living it LOUD!

  2. You are responsible for your own life. It is your choice if you are to make your decisions or if you are going to give that power away.

    Your time is something you have the power to control, we have a limited amount so you got to make sure every minute counts.

  3. Chadrack@Making Money Blogging says:

    Hi Rob,

    You’ve just kicked my a**! Just this past couple of weeks I had to sit down and take a down to earth decision about a project I’ve left undone for the past 6 yrs! You wouldn’t believe it but I have always thought of putting the finishing touch to this project but at every time it seems there was not just the time. But I must say since taking that decision I’m almost 95% through. This article is therefore another hard push that that project must see the light of day in another two weeks.

    Thanks a lot.

    And oh, reading that I was just thinking, you don’t have to be lucky, you just need to be plucky! 🙂

    • Rob says:

      Hey Chadrack,

      Wouldn’t you know I was dragging my feet on an eBook? When all excuses were expired, I just sat down and did the darn thing. Now, I have two! Many more to come. Get that thing done and please share what it was as I’m sure I will enjoy.

      Thanks for sharing and keep Living it LOUD!

      • Rob says:

        P.S. Too true….you don’t have to be lucky, just plucky. I actually titled a post that way, but it never made it to print.

  4. Hi Rob,
    I remember reading Godot in high school an didn’t get it either. But your interpretation makes sense. The time is NOW and it will always be NOW. There is in fact no other time in my opinion. Also, we need to study TIMING as well, not just NOW, to be truly effective in life.
    Ciao,
    Derek

    • Rob says:

      Hey Derek,

      Spot on my friend. Timing falls under one of my core principles of Strategy. We can get to the top of the mountain by walking or crawling. Which way is better?

      Live it LOUD!

      • When I say TIMING, I mean, sometimes It’s better not to perform certain actions NOW, but later, because TIMING is better later. But that’s pretty obvious I hope. In other words NOW is not always the best time to do something.
        I hope it makes sense:)
        Derek

  5. Steve says:

    I’ve read Waiting for Godot a few times. It’s amazing how much you can get out of a play with just a handful of characters waiting around a tree. But you’re very right though, you can’t wait for things to happen.

    If there’s anything I’ve learned it is that you can’t wait for the right conditions for things. Waiting can make you miss an opportunity. Just go out there and do those things you want or you might not get that chance. I try to live by thinking my moment in life is now and I can do it now or let it pass. There’s no room for waiting.

    • Rob says:

      Hey Steve,

      Welcome. I was just over at your place. It seems as if at about the same time unknowingly. Crazy.
      Your comment goes right along with my response to Sam. That quote by Hugh really does make one think. Time will pass away regardless of how we spend it.
      How we spend it will be the difference.
      Love the new look of your site.
      Live it LOUD!

  6. Hey Rob, great writeup. Time to put a move on things and not hold back. Lots of us tend to beat around the bush, but as you said … no one wants it as bad as you do, so why contemplate?

    • Rob says:

      Hey Vitaly,
      Why contemplate, indeed. I love that. If we get stuck in the planning and contemplation stage, nothing will get done.
      Thanks for checking in and sharing.

      Live it LOUD!

  7. Paul says:

    Good literary example Rob,

    I actually read an article the other day about the top regrets people have when they’re on their deathbed (link: http://ohdarling.posterous.com/nurse-reveals-the-top-5-regrets-people-make-o), and the #1 regret was not living their life the way they wanted to.

    Life’s too short to not be doing what you love. I especially like and agree with your line “You are entitled to go and grab your dreams by the horns.”

    • Rob says:

      Hey Paul,

      That is so spot on. What can we learn from that? A ton. I will stop by and read and maybe even do a post on the subject. Thanks for sharing and stopping by. It’s been a while for both of us. I’ll be paying you a visit Sir!

      Live it LOUD!

  8. Hajra says:

    Hey Rob,

    I have always been waiting for something that doesn’t ever happen so yes, even if I don’t get the play, the play is getting to me.
    But in true sense we all will be waiting for something always – a better future, if you are blessed then for things to be the same; for a wonderful tomorrow always so its kind of like hope – waiting;
    But then again, waiting for something to “happen” without moving a muscle is a thing that takes a lot of laziness and is followed by a great deal of disappointment; be careful what you’re waiting for and how!

    My loud flip flops saying living it loudly!

    • Rob says:

      Hey Hajra,

      I get nervous when a kvetcher starts kvetching:) But, you have one of the most profound lines I have read in Today Has Power history…”even if I don’t get the play, the play is getting to me.”
      I love that idea. I can learn from a concept even without having a full knowledge (epignosis) of it.
      As far as laziness, I agree to a point. Some are. Others shy away because it is easier to not try at all, rather than fail. I encourage everyone to get out there and fail early and often. You will feel better. You will look back and be glad you did. Waiting is but a slow and painful death.

      I can hear those darn flip flops all the way over here. Please walk barefoot after 10pm. We’re trying to sleep.
      Live it softly.

  9. Interesting perspective on this Rob… I am quite critical of entitlement… but this is a different form of it I guess.

    The thing is, tomorrow means we don’t have to be accountable until later. So that leads to one of my biggest critiques of our government, people, and life in general: the lack of accountability.

    If we hold ourselves accountable, then tomorrow doesn’t need to come. We already did what we had to do today.

    Thanks for a challenge to a perspective!

    • Rob says:

      Hey David,

      We are in the same camp. I actually re-read my own post to make sure I came across the way I wanted. I believe I did. The entitlement I speak of is the freedom we are offered to make it happen for ourselves. By the very name of this site, I try to speak it plainly. A quote I coined is this: Yesterday is gone. But, we can make our tomorrow better, today.
      And: Today has power, But, only if YOU want it to.
      Thanks so much for stopping David. Me thinks we could spend a night talking politics.
      Live it LOUD!

  10. Nicely stated. I think most of us have those periods where it seems like we’re just waiting for something to happen. It’s an easy pattern to get into; kind of like playing the lottery. But since being found by a Hollywood agent in an ice cream shop and being turned into a movie star only happens once in awhile the rest of us have to get going and search for our dream, or for what makes us happy. Great stuff.

    • Rob says:

      Hey Mitch,
      Right on my friend. We may catch lightning, but the easier path would be to look for another power source and plug-in. We can’t wait for the perfect scenario. We can’t hope that Godot will show up. We must make what it is we want, happen.
      Thanks for stopping and sharing.
      Live it LOUD!

  11. Alex says:

    Hi Rob,

    Very interesting topic. I think people are all guilty of waiting instead of making things happen. One good idea to prevent ourselves from constantly waiting is to follow-up. If we are waiting for something, find out why it hasn’t arrived yet. If we are waiting for some opportunity, find out where they are at the moment. 🙂

    • Rob says:

      Hey Alex,

      Good points. Taking action will beat dormancy 9 out of 10 times. Most people die waiting. Waiting to write the book, start the business, spend time with their family. No time like the present.

      Live it LOUD!

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