Construction began on the retro-futuristic Sanzhi Pod City in Taiwan in 1978, but was abandoned in 1980 due to lack of investment and construction-related deaths. Also known as the “UFO Houses” on account of their saucer-like shape, or even the Ruins of the Future, Sanzhi aimed to attract U.S. military personnel serving in East Asia.
#iwanttogotothere
The saddest TV channel I’ve seen, hospital edition: the channel so you can play bingo in your room that is never on.
Apple reported sales of $55 billion for its fourth-quarter, and a profit of $13 billion.
That’s THIRTEEN BILLION. $13,078,000,000, to be more precise. It’s the second-highest quarterly profit in U.S. history.
As Tim Cook pointed out on Apple’s conference call, the company sold 10 iOS devices…
I see now that cynicism and cowardice are often one and the same. It’s so easy to look at the world and throw a fit. “PEOPLE ARE DOING BAD THINGS!!!!! PEOPLE ARE DOING BAD THINGS!!!!!!” Like a child tattling on a classmate in school. We humans have a tendency not to enjoy looking in the mirror. We don’t like realizing how ugly we actually are. Often, cynicism is nothing more than a mechanism to get the heat off.
I see this only because of my overwhelming penchant towards cynicism.
A while ago I just decided to be happy. Not to feign happiness, but to truly be happy. Happy because I am a blessed man. Blessed with salvation, blessed with an amazing wife and kids, who are the loves of my life.
Happy because I have something more important, more valuable, more wonderful and beautiful than anything in this world. I have Christ. Honestly, what could be so bad?
You say “well, you’ve lived a charmed life, Chris”. But I think those of you who truly know me know that this is far, far from the case. Kristi and I have been through hell over the last 5 years. I mean, let’s just start with this: I started a luxury business precisely when our economy fell off of a cliff. . Furthermore, I have become estranged from members of my family with whom I had previously been very, very close. The pain from this estrangement has at times been crippling, leading to many, many dark days. Had I the money for a psychiatrist during this time, there’s no doubt that Prozac or Zoloft would have become part of my daily routine.
I feel like God caused these things to take place in my life to drive me to my knees. I am an incredibly stubborn person. I needed to treasure Christ above all else, and there was only one way I was going to learn this.
And so there was a moment a while back when I just said “Ok! That’s it! I am just going to be happy. I am not going to waste my life being sad and stressed out and depressed anymore. I have the Ultimate Treasure. I even have a family that fills my heart to overflowing with love. Time to get over myself and be happy!”.
One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
“ Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. ”
Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech in 2005 (via futurejournalismproject)
Thank you, Chad, for writing this and pointing out the entitlement that I also find very disheartening. This issue strikes both a nerve and a chord with me, as I walk this line all the time and strive to stay on the right side of it.
I was going to leave this as a comment on your blog post (posted below) but it got so long that I thought it might be obnoxious :)
My dad is completely self-made—no college education—and he owns and/or operates multiple businesses, including an insurance agency and a burgeoning motivational speaking career. He’s on the downtown development board in his city and teaches time management/efficiency strategies to companies. He makes 24 hours of work fit into 12 and still makes time to enjoy his life. Entrepreneurship and ownership of one’s successes AND failures has been modeled to me throughout my entire life, and I am really grateful for it.
I’ve never had a credit card and I couldn’t afford college so I just didn’t go. I’ve worked a job since I was sixteen, and I waited to move out of my parents’ house till I was actually able to support myself (I was 24). When I moved to Nashville to pursue music and I quit my full-time job to go on the road, there were many, many weeks where I had to live off of $20 or less (basically all the change I could find in my car and house) after paying my rent and car payment. I did it, and some of my fondest memories are from those weeks, like driving to Sonic at 3pm for half-price slushies with my roommate and feeling like a queen.
Slow and steady really does win the race. Not to say that winning the race means being unfathomably wealthy, because that’s not what it’s about. Building a better culture and societal infrastructure and leaving something for our children to build upon in their own time is not merely a matter of money—good character, and its work ethic (and its pointed lack of entitlement) is paramount.
I am the proud daughter of an immigrant from Syria, whose dreams and laboring I hope I can honor and perpetuate by my own dreams and hard work.
Audrey
I came across this photo the other day. I must admit that I 100% agree with this persons take on the whole “Occupy Wall Street” movement. I know this is something people are very passionate about and of course, on the surface, what it looks like is a very noble cause. The problem is simple,…
