Dirtbags vs. The Corporate World, and all that other BS
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Working doesn't kill climbing.....having children does (for a few years at least). |
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Of course a topic like this is bound to draw some heated rhetoric.. but aside from the personal jabs and pseudo culture wars, there is something interesting here which I think really boils down to an internal issue. If this is about people accusing you, directly or indirectly through the blogosphere or what not, of not being committed to climbing, then just like any other criticism it usually only sticks when it hits a soft spot. Now that being said, we aren't all Yvon Chouinards, destined to hammer pitons out of our vans, or Honnolds, taking the family van and commencing on a 10 year odyssey of crushing rock to a fine powder. Personally I've always hated the idea of compromise, which relates, but the reality is that you can compromise on the specifics without compromising your values. I know some rad climbers who build spaceships and save lives in the ER. Have they compromised their fulfillment of the Dougie Howser or Steven Hawking model by spending too much time climbing? I guess you could say they have.. but then we're talking about extreme examples, and how many dirtbags are out there NOT hammering Yosemite's first pitons or down-soloing Chrimson Chrysilis? |
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Seems to me that all this nonsense could be mitigated if people just concerned themselves with their own circumstances as they relate to their climbing abilities instead of worrying about what other people do, and how other people perceive them. I mean, who gives a fuck, honestly? |
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don'tchuffonme wrote:Seems to me that all this nonsense could be mitigated if people just concerned themselves with their own circumstances as they relate to their climbing abilities instead of worrying about what other people do, and how other people perceive them. I mean, who gives a fuck, honestly? Is someone else ticking your sends? Paying your bills? Raising your kids? Taking your classes? Driving your commute? Nope. Provide for your loved ones and try to improve at your passion. Or not. The rest is just mindless fluff created by people with insecurity problems.amen. |
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^^ Couldn't have said it better - live your life and don't expect others to live it for you or by your standards. |
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I can't help but think of those new Jeep Grand Cherokee commercials. |
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I just consciously uncoupled my inner child. |
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Those who have done it know the difference. Is it possible to work and climb a lot? Of course, but I believe most of those who leave the corporate world in order to do so didn't do it out of an all-or-nothing decision; they did it because they were probably unhappy at work and wanted to find something greater. Those who stay aren't as unhappy as those who leave, though there can be some disagreement about this as many unhappy people don't leave out of fear. |
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Short Beta wrote: "Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is a way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life...And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself."Nice quote Short Beta! I guess we can replace "your children" with ourselves. In small doses, hippie wisdom can be good. |
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Andy P. wrote:That brings us to the current generation. Kids 5-35 years old today were raised during this pushback - these kids are raised with the overarching message that passionate work=win. "Be yourself" (Mr. Rodgers/Sesame Street), "follow your heart." After all, the Dilberts are now the losers, instead it is those few people who "love" their work that are the winners. This message, which seemed great in the 90's & 00's is I think what you are talking about, Dylan. Fortunately, I think that the inherent toxicity of this message is becoming apparent midst the economic downturn. I think that the new message that is evolving is that skilled work = win. But it is too early, sociologically, to tell if my hope is right.Great observation. People are starting to realize that for 99% of the population, "following your passion" is kind of a load of shit. When someone's true passion does align with making money, it truly is a great thing. These are the things that end up making great stories though, but just aren't practical for most folks. I heard a TED thing recently about the guy who created Dirty Jobs. Nobody wakes up and says, "my passion and true calling is to clean septic tanks!" But many of these guys make mad bank and still have time to enjoy life. It's not about passion, it's about filling an economic need and getting your ass paid. |
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I think it's laughable to imagine that anyone, in this day and age, is receiving only one message. Kids today are being told, in no particular order: |
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GMBurns wrote:Those who have done it know the difference... Eras are irrelevant.GM, interesting post - please bookmark this and reply again in 5 years and let us know how it turned out! I disagree with the notion that working a lot is stressful, but ofcourse it depends on the job. I have a Nurse Anesthetist friend who makes healthy $$$ typically working 35-45 hours/week. Due to the nature of this work, the second they leave the operating room and come home, the job does not "follow" them. On the opposite end of the spectrum we have one of my computer programmer friends who seems to be perpetually tortured/thinking about the inefficiencies in the current project for weeks at a time. I like this thread, it may seem foolish but surely this is meaningful information for someone - maybe our resident 21 YO hippie philosopher? |
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21 YO hippie philosopher? Well..my life is complete now. |
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Whippin wrote: Great observation. People are starting to realize that for 99% of the population, "following your passion" is kind of a load of shit. When someone's true passion does align with making money, it truly is a great thing. These are the things that end up making great stories though, but just aren't practical for most folks. I heard a TED thing recently about the guy who created Dirty Jobs. Nobody wakes up and says, "my passion and true calling is to clean septic tanks!" But many of these guys make mad bank and still have time to enjoy life. It's not about passion, it's about filling an economic need and getting your ass paid.Funny I just listened to a Joe Rogan podcast that addressed that exact message (the honey honey episode for anyone that listens). It went something along the lines of, if people didn't "follow their passion" and take a chance we wouldn't have half of what we have today Shit, think about it. Airplanes, television, electricity, radio, rock climbing (the first friend), the guy that builds guitars... It's not like you're trying to breath underwater As long as your goals are obtainable. People need to be allowed to fail also because that's when you learn the most. If you fail you keep trying until you make it work. If you're afraid to even try it's sad. The people who say you shouldn't are probably mad at themselves because they've wasted a good chunk of their life because they're afraid. That's what made our country so bad ass. Maybe we should just go to predetermined roles in society like communism? You were born to a brick layer you'll grow up to be a brick layer! If your passion is rocking climbing (and being a dirtbag) it's similar to being a professional athlete. If you play football in college but don't make it in the NFL draft maybe you try again next year but eventually you move on to something else. They most likely got a degree in something else they were interested in. Unfortunately for someone who lives in their van it doesn't work that way. You have to follow your passion but you also have to be a realist. Some people (me included) don't have a passion that correlates to making a living. I have a ton of hobbies and enjoy them all equally. I'm realistic enough to know that I'll never be a good enough climber, mountain biker, kayaker, to get paid to do it and frankly I don't think I'd want to be. I have a mortgage, car payment, wife, dog, etc. If I was getting paid for my hobby it would be pretty stressful and I wouldn't have as much fun. When I was a teenager I got paid to do BMX shows (not much) but it definitely took a little of the fun out of riding. Instead I found a rewarding job that gives back, that affords me a lot of time off to do the things I really enjoy, and I make enough money to pay all my bills, go on vacations, and still save for a retirement. Aside from being a trustafarian I wouldn't have it any other way!!! lol |
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Forgot to add: Knowing from personal experience what the women in Southern Brazil look like, I'm pretty sure Burns' motivations to go there are not just about artistic endeavors lol |
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Choss Chasin' wrote:Working doesn't kill climbing.....having children does (for a few years at least).I respectfully disagree. I managed over 40 days on rock the same year I had my son. While that's hardly breaking records, when you factor in the weather of the northeast and my lawyer job for a big corporate, it's hardly a dead year, particularly as I had to also create human life that year and carry it to term and breast feed it (climbing Birdland in Red Rocks with a breast pump wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be), which also caused all the predictable weight fluctuations one might expect. I wanted to climb, so I climbed. Nothing and no one can kill your passions, except of course, you. I love my kid too. He's great to spend time with, so he comes along on every trip. We got him used to napping outside by 4 months. Now at age 2, 12 hour days outside are nothing to him. You don't have to pick climbing OR family. You can just create a climbing family. |
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^ well I managed 40 days just in March this year :/ |
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Dylan Dwyer wrote:It seems to me that this whole notion of: you either have the adventurous spirit, you go full on and say 'f*** you' to the Man, or you just abide as another drone, is a bit dated and we need to let it go.It seems to me that this whole notion of worrying about whether other people think you are a "sell out " is a bit childish and you need to let it go. |
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I just finished am 18 month period of unemployment (by choice) during which time I lived off a pretty big chunk of savings, all so I could climb and go outside as much as I wanted. Seriously, I was either climbing, riding my bike, or laying around watching TV and cruising the net. |