Life Status-What We Do Today Gets Us Where We Want to be When We're Old

When we were young, my best friend and I used to joke around that one day he would be my rich financier. I was going to travel the world, volunteering for human rights organizations—fighting for causes that weren’t my own, and he would be the one to bail me out of jail when I got thrown in jail for picketing against the government or chaining myself to a tree. He would be able to do this because he was going to be a successful businessman who hung out with the high rollers.

When I wasn’t traveling the world, I’d be using his network of friends to organize huge fundraisers for these causes at home. Giving speeches, and putting together videos and slide shows that documented the good that the financers’ donations for people’s quality of life around the world. But then, I worked for the non-profit sector at home and was very disenchanted by the power politics and the complete lack of organization within many of these organizations. So, I left the sector and decided that from then on, I would focus on volunteering every now and then with organizations that worked to educate “under privileged ” kids. The point being, I’m not off traveling the world, living the hippie life-style and getting myself blacklisted with the government, but my friend is keeping his side of the deal, and is working his way into the life-style he’s always desired.

Take this past weekend for example. He and his girlfriend went to Vegas to celebrate the New Year. They were meeting a couple of friends out there, but when their plane landed, one of the first people they saw was a billionaire they’d met once almost a year ago. When my friend walked over to say hello, the man remembered him and offered them a ride to their hotel in his limo. By the end of the night and through their stay, they were eating at a $4,000 dollar table, and getting VIP treatment to event after event.

So, he’s doing his part of shaping his life by networking, so I guess that means I need to get my but in gear and start looking for a cause to believe in.