1999 Was a Great Time to be Born
I have other passions aside from Harvesting Models. If a young person is your life or perhaps the old career is getting a bit stale I think these ideas will be a great benefit. Yes it is very good fortune to have been born in the 90s through now. I say 1999 because my son was born that year and I am making a great effort to show, model, extol, preach and cajole him and others into realizing just fortunate they are. I can just hear some of my friends saying “Eric!! The world is going to hell in a hand basket, the economy is in the tank, wars on other continents, the government is…well government, Obama care! How can you so these things?”
Most of the last sentence we have little control over so I won’t bother with that. But I will up the wager and say right now is a great time to be alive for these reasons. At no point in human history has it been so easy to connect to people. At no point in human history has it been so simple to start a business or share an idea. In the not so distance past, gate keepers decided which ideas spread and which did not. Record companies decided who the next star would be. Fourteen year old teens (my son) were relegated to mowing grass, baby sitting or being a veritable sponge during the summers.
At this moment anyone in the world with internet access can publish a book…for free. Any idea no matter how bizarre can now connect people. Want to write and record music? That can be done with a smart phone and a Youtube account. Want to create high end models for discriminating customers? Download Google Sketchup (free), then open a Shapeways account, a laptop just became a manufacturing plant. And the best part is? No one can tell you “NO you can’t do that!”
Need more proof? Rockin H Farm Toys is an example of what I write about. For years I thought my ideas and love affair with wheat harvesting equipment then models was so bizarre I would not talk about it. Then came the internet. Slowly I found people who also shared this interest (sickness is more appropriate). One step after another it evolved into a business I absolutely love to work in. I can’t get enough of it and great people I get to serve are along for the ride. This could not have happened 20 years. Twenty years ago I would have had to open a capital heavy brick and mortar building. Or spent all my weekends going to shows. Twenty years ago there would be no 3D printed parts or free tutorial videos on a website I put together for $250 watching Youtube DIY videos and reading blogs.
Yes this an exciting time to be alive. At this moment there is nothing stopping anyone from pursuing their passion. There is no one to say no. There is only possibility. This is not to imply it is easy. No I for one can say it can be very difficult, but it is worth it. Please take these ideas and consider how they affect your future or someone you care about. It is most certainly a great time to be alive.
Please leave feedback and comments. I am committed to the ideas in the post and would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks Eric
It is good to see something good about the internet and the opportunities young people have now. Flocknote is teaching me much about how to reach the youth.
I like seeing what you are doing with your harvesting business.
Thanks Lola, I truly believe that most of society does not know what opportunity is before us. Part of it is satisfaction with the status quo, not a bad thing. Part of it is conditioning from education and the mantra we grew up with. It is a remarkable time to be alive.
Thanks for the reply, Eric