What would I’ve done back then?

This will probably be one of the biggest mysteries for me in the course of my life, since I highly doubt I’ll ever live under a dictatorship. The western world has become too flat, too decentralized, too connected and over-informed for a dictatorship to be the choice of any government, and the eastern world is catching up. Fortunately, only a mad man would believe in the year 2010 that a dictatorship is an effective way to rule, whatever his objectives are. The fact that dictatorships don’t work is too obvious by now.

One obviously appreciates being born after it was over. However, this sense of gratification is not enough to prevent one from wondering how one would have reacted in such a situation. Would I have been chased because of my thoughts? Would I have been too afraid to speak up? Or worse, would the system had such a prohibitive effect on my mind that I wouldn’t even want to speak up or question the establishment?

My guess: I would have been persecuted too. Not because I would have played a subversive role (I’m not a fan of politics and choosing sides). No, I believe I would have been punished because the prohibition to ask questions would have been unbearable for me. I hold objectivity, truth and integrity over any other personal value, and a dictatorship doesn’t allow that. I’m too curious and outspoken.

What would my generation do now?

Would the current western generation of young people fight against the system to the point of risking their lives, torture and even the safety of their loved ones? Are we capable of getting involved in a cause that puts everything on the line?

I don’t know. This generation is the most outspoken and self-entitled generation the world has seen so far, and there is certainly no lack of young activists. But it’s not a hidden cause, it’s not a rebellion, it’s never pain and death what’s at stake.

Again, I don’t know.

Permanent damage

I’ve always thought that the worst thing the last dictatorship did to my parents’ generation was to install the fear of asking. There’s too much status-quo worshiping in them, no risk taking, no questioning, no shining.

I blame the dictatorship. It has poisoned the minds of Argentinians and it only keeps spreading, from generation to generation, by being afraid to be different and challenge the system. It’s not just fear of failure, it’s fear of physical consequences, fear of being noticed.

The thing that saved me and all the other out-of-the-box thinkers in Argentina I know from that poison?

The internet.

(By the way, if you are in Perth, or visit Western Australia often and want to hit me up, please do! You can reach me at carlos@owlsparks.com).

- Cultural challenge:

I know my country too much. I can walk down the busiest part of Buenos Aires while listening to music and reading a book (with fantastic comprehension), and I can assure you I won’t trip, bump into somebody else or cross a red light even once. I may be able to do this as well in Perth, but I won’t want to because I care about what’s out there. New things to see and listen to.

- Personal challenge:

I’m a challenge-junkie. The good thing is that I aim high. The bad thing is that I get bored easily. This is why I always say that you don’t need have to settle. But you should know when and how to do it.

On a related note, this is why I’m starting to embrace the entrepreneur in me: the challenge usually lasts much longer.

- Early corporate pinnacle:

I was working as the youngest employee in the highest profile sector of one of Argentina’s top 5 companies. I got that job by the time I was 21, and I was working with people no less than 10 years older than me. With everyone promising me a bright corporate future and comfort, I realized that I could just turn on the autopilot and my work life would be pretty much solved, since the work experience in that company would open up doors for me in any other company, and I could always stay at that job and keep climbing the ladder.

Depending on who you are, this may be the best or worst discovery that you can have at a young age. For me, it was the latter.

- Education in Argentina:

I studied for 4 years in Argentina, the first 2 in the best public school (politic science), and the other 2 in the best private school of marketing. The first time I didn’t like the degree, but both times I had too much criticism towards the system. In Perth I’ll either try a new system, or realize that the education worldwide shares the same flaws. Whatever the case, it’s worth checking out.

- False notion of requirement of traditional education in modern fields of study. I got the dream job without having a university degree. In other words, I got the job that my degree was supposed to take me to. It’s hard not to question the value of mainstream education after that.

Important clarification: Traditional degrees will always be necessary. You need to study medicine if you want to be a doctor. But modern degrees have become nothing but inflated products of these companies known as schools. After all, Steve Jobs and Richard Branson didn’t study marketing…

- Less known mediocrity:

Mediocrity is everywhere, but new mediocrity will still be fascinating. Always choose the less known mediocrity.

- Network and language improvement:

I want to perfection my English and expand my network. Moving to a new country is the best way to do this, and fast.

- Currency and cost:

Australia is one of the cheapest English speaking countries with top class education.

- Australia’s economical situation:

Thanks to their mining industry and the growth of Perth in particular, Australia has been one of the countries that better handled the crisis. I’m planning to graduate here, and have a valuable and big network by the time Australia is back on the top of the expansion wave, hopefully in 2 or 3 years.

- My bet on Perth:

The previous point applies particularly to Perth. Perth is ridiculously rich on minerals, and it has been focusing intensively on that industry in the last years. If you also consider its geographical location (nearest Australian city to India and China), you understand why it has been growing over 40% a year. It has played a major role in the expansion of those two countries of the BRIC, and I’m hoping to be here when the pessimism is over.

- Big dip, big payoff:

Perth is the most isolated city in the world. It took me 32 hours in total to get here from Buenos Aires. Few people would choose it as a destination, especially from South America. And that’s why I came here. The bigger the risk, the bigger the possible payoff.

- Weird background:

I already have a pretty unusual background of experience, hobbies and networks for my age and nationality (I haven’t met one Argentinian since I got here). Add Perth to the mix (with all that it implies), and I’ll be unique. I don’t know if for the good or bad, but unique for sure. I hear that being remarkable is kind of a big deal.

- Education as a way in:

To accomplish what I want, I need to spend a long time here. Coming here to study was the best way to do it because of all the visa limitations that countries like Argentina have. In all honesty, my decision to study here is just a mean to achieve my other goals. The academic education is a distant second. Or fourteenth.

- A girl:

Some time ago, one girl made me want to become the best possible version of myself. She started this snowball.

Reading a book has never hurt me in any way.

True, reading another book or another post can’t hurt.

But it can stall.

The question is simple: are you motivated?

If not, then you can read yet another self-help book that echoes the same message over and over.

If yes, then stop reading. You’ve read it all before, and you know it.

Save some time and money and go do something.

He compiled 30 young and promising bloggers’ definition of success and their way to achieve it, and created a very inspiring and quick to read ebook that will make you work hard to reach your success, whatever it means to you.

Download the free ebook here.

Here are my expanded responses:

What is success?

Success is living in your own terms, without regrets and regardless of societal achievements.

You can’t win such an ambiguous game without coming up with your own set of rules. Those rules will be your guide if you take the time and put the work to be serious about them.

Regrets of what you did and went wrong are life lessons. Regrets of what you didn’t do are poisonous nostalgia. When in doubt, always say yes. To keep moving, to keep acting, to keep risking is the only way to create an unbreakable and successful mindset.

Society will try to impose your goals. In most people’s case, it succeeds. You should ignore it consciously. Tell to yourself and others that your life belongs to you and not to history and its customs.

How do you achieve it?

You get there after questioning and realizing what matters to you, and by taking the required steps to make it real.

People’s values are either found by themselves, or supplied by the world. Avoid the latter. Take your time to question everything and create your own collage of relevancy. And believe me, it takes time. That’s why most people only have society’s printed copy.

Thinking hard is only half of the solution. Working hard comes next. Like Dr. Kelso once said: “Nothing in this world that’s worth having comes easy.” Now go out there and start doing the work.

You can subscribe to The Optimalists here.

Gianpaolo reached out to me a while ago to write a guest post for him, and because of the topic freedom that he gave me, it was a pleasure to do it. Thank you Gianpaolo.

Do read my guest post “5 Jobs We Should All Try” here.

PS: I know I sound like a crazy person. But the napkin had to be shared.

As you’ll see on the video, my English is not that good when I have to actually speak it.

I wanted to thank all the readers of this humble blog, every spark is a blast thanks to the amazing debate and criticism. Again, thank you.

Random goals for 2010:

1) Move to Perth, Australia in June. Contact me if you’re going to be there!

2) Build a location independent income to support every expense.

3) Keep smiling my way through life.

4) Maintain and strengthen my existing relationships online. I wouldn’t be where I am if it weren’t for them.

5) Be a great example of the “Untemplate” lifestyle. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Stay tuned, you’ll understand soon!

What a great year it has been. And what great year it will be.

Why? Because it’s always a matter of perspective.

You can’t lose with the right perspective.

• Most people agreed with it. The ones that didn’t were, interestingly enough, personal branders or people who make money with personal branding in some way. Makes sense: if  my product was a rip off and someone would called me on it, I would defend it as well. But that wouldn’t make it any less of a rip off.

• Personal branders: if you guys can’t decide on the same definition, how do you expect us to take you seriously? Not one definition was repeated, and they ranged from “how to be  authentic” to “how to show others what you are good at,” with many more in between.

Do you think we care about what personal branding really means? We hate the term, period. Whatever it is, we decided that we don’t like it. Are you expecting to change our mind just by saying it means something else? Good luck with that. And even so, there are 15 other “personal branding experts” telling me something different.

I think we are better off just ignoring all of you.

You can ignore us as well but we are the ones making you money, so I would think twice about it.

• Instead of showing up in a defensive stance and telling us how clueless and wrong we are because we don’t really “get it”, how about listening to us, your customers, and making the necessary adjustments? Learn and adapt. Every industry changes eventually, why would Personal Branding be any different?

I remember a post by Seth Godin where he said that Malcolm Gladwell was wrong in disagreeing with Chris Anderson’s idea of “Free.”

Seth’s reply? “Who cares? It’s happening.”

Who cares if you don’t like or don’t agree with what we think about Personal Branding?

It’s happening.

Image by http://www.wordle.net/

We live in imprecise times.

Our desires and fears are tainted with subjectivity. There’s no right or wrong, no black or white, no real or imaginary.

When equality and freedom were reached, we opened the door to countless definitions of reality. This is not to say that we are totally free and equal, but no one can argue that we aren’t living in the most liberal moment of history (especially in the western world). Even if this freedom of speech and decision making is still incomplete, it has already changed the world enough for us to analyze the consequences.

One of the most interesting and harmful effects of this “talk first, agree later” society is the multiple, consistent and “soft” redefinition of the language. In a world where everyone owns the words, because everyone is allowed to speak their mind as they see fit, there is no longer unity in language. Sure, we all pronounce the same words, but they all mean something different to each of us.

In the past, it wasn’t just language that was ruled by a select group of people, but everyone’s fates too. Of course, the world has seen constant improvement in various aspects with many of its societal changes, but not without some negative repercussions. Nowadays, we are not only choosing what we want to do with our time but we are also free to explain why and how we are going to do it. We own not only our fate, but its definition as well.

The main problem that I see with this new mindset is that the appeal spreads. Please see that I’m using the world “appeal.” This is because what may sound good isn’t necessarily good. Maybe because of an inherent drive to “help others”, maybe because it’s a business strategy or maybe because we just want to feel good about ourselves, but we are all telling others what to do and how to do it with our own specific language. And those articulated visions spread because they are solid promises of a better future. The power of the articulate language is unmeasurable. (Side note: This is why I believe that journalism has been the most hurtful industry to the globalized intellectuality of the masses).

I hate the words in the picture. Not because I don’t want to be “happy”, whatever that means, but because of their inherent imprecision. They have become so relevant in our lives, that we shape our lifestyle and make our most important decisions going after them or avoiding them. When we pursue these, we pursue subjectivity, and when subjectivity is a goal, the ways to get there are infinite. The problem is clear: only one path will work for you, so your odds of going through the right one are minimum.

With the freedom to express ourselves constantly increasing due to changes in education and technology (to name a few), this tendency of language elasticity is only going to get stronger. I believe that the only solution is to take the time needed to define those words and goals by yourself, which is not an easy task at all. We need to stop underestimating the specific comprehension of the terminology. Any other path will be the wrong path. The word can be subjective, but the feeling of making a life-changing mistake after accepting someone else’s definitions can be very real.

In the end, the most damaging consequence of language imprecision is a world with confident but lost individuals.

The result is a proud and unsettled society.

Not a good combination.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Related articles from OwlSparks about language imprecision:

My definition of wisdom. Here is Alain de Botton’s pushing us to have our own definition of success. Here is “The Common Achievement Effect.” Here is the problem with glamorized words like “Entrepreneurship.” My theory on the biggest contradiction young people are living nowadays. My thoughts on the challenge of achieving “success” for non-profits. My criticism of our “news equal success” mentality. Yet another post on success and failure.

Hey, Personal Branding, I have something to tell you:

I don’t care.

I just don’t care anymore. You have prevented me from having fun for the last time.

I bought my URL domain and secured a couple of social media profiles. Your job is done, I’m moving on now.

Because really, all that you’ve ever really taught us is stuff we already knew. Did we really need someone telling us how to be authentic or respectful?

Don’t tell me about those drunk girls that upload their pics on Facebook for everyone to see, or about those employees that publicly say that they hate their job. In reality, the problem is those people are just being themselves. The problem isn’t, “You’re awesome but because of that photo of you peeing on a dog while getting high, the company decided to go another way.” You were a mess to begin with. Do you really go showing that picture to everyone you meet?

This is not Personal Branding; this is common sense.

The two most harmful consequences of Personal Branding:

1) It makes you afraid. Not only afraid to speak up, be confrontational and even curse, like everyone does offline, but it also makes you afraid of taking life into your own hands. Personal Branding bases most of its points on not upsetting potential contacts, your interviewer, your boss, or anyone else who will decide if you “live or die financially,” depending on what they find out about you online. To hell with that: authenticity means upsetting people. Only by disagreeing and even fighting others will you do something worth talking about.

This does not mean being scandalous, this means being human.

2) It has made us so calculated, that I wonder how many people are able to live up to their online personas. Meeting online contacts in the real world has been very disappointing in many cases. What’s interesting is that the people who haven’t played the personal branding game, have been amazingly fun, interesting and wise.

Sadly, with all this forced authenticity, people are actually becoming fake. That’s why we love those people who speak their mind without worrying about the scandal. We envy them because they don’t over-think the repercussions.

To be honest, I’ve never been as fake as when personal branding was my top concern.

My advice: Do whatever you want. Your intuition will take you through the best path for you.

The funny thing about intuition is that it’s magnetic. When you trust your gut, you attract people that like what you do, what you say and the way you think. You attract the people that you need, the people that will help you. Yes, you also upset those that don’t– deal with it. There’s no shining without conflict.

Once I started not worrying about the repercussion of every word I said online, I truly connected at an emotional level with others.

Once I embraced my personality, I strengthened the connections that mattered and cut ties with those that didn’t.

Once I stopped caring, I started to actually have fun with social media.