Passionless

I think the modern work world is overrated with high paying salaries to people who really don’t do much. But the economy and interest rates, and the increasing cost of living and rising tuition, expensive gas and environment friendly hybrid vehicles dictates what a job is valued at in order to keep money pumping into and out of the cities, states, countries, continents, and world. And somehow us human beings get lost in our materialistic need to keep up with our tainted environment, restricting our true desires from our must haves all because we need to survive - and surviving means renting, owning, eating, wearing, and worst of all- working! When I was a child and even into my teenage years, I spent many days dreaming and preparing for what I was to become as an adult. The world seemed to offer so many possibilities with so few restrictions. In the “old days” children were taught – be a good person (don’t get expelled, do drugs, or get arrested), get good grades, participate in sports or other extracurricular activities and well, all the rest will fall into place. For most of us, what we became or the job we might have, never had to do with how much we would make. Several years ago, where I was going and how I would impact the world was driven by the mere desire inside of me to do “something” that was influential. My passion so pure and virgin like, was not driven by a particular topic, cause, or dollar figure – it was simply the “compelling emotion” of wanting to become part of something bigger and greater than I had known at fifteen years old. So how did I get here? Sitting behind a desk in a nice windowed office, at a top consulting firm, making a decent salary (I take that back. I am underpaid. Why? Because everyone else is still making more doing less) somehow feeling less passionate and more confused about who I am and who I should become than when I was just a child.

Perhaps as we get older our passions become diluted by the driving forces of our environment that dictates what we should value, what we should become, what defines success. The “real” world my friends, is anything but real. We deceive children into believing that they can become anything they want – but then when they have received their education they also acquire high interest rates accompanied by never ending loans, we give them six months to find a job before they must pay up. The pressures from our external environment (rent, groceries, student loans) cause us to suppress our deep rooted passions in order to survive in this demanding, competitive society they we are forever indebted too.

An internal passion, a desire to have impact is like MasterCard, priceless. Never lose touch of your initial dreams, desires, and passions. Tap into your soul regularly in order to remain true to yourself and the path in which you anticipate sketching out over the course of your life. Sometimes we lose ourselves in all the things that everyone else values, we somehow convince ourselves that we value those same things and as a result our passions fade, and our dreams become blurred. Hold true to yourself – and when lost, continue to rediscover who you are as a person – you are bound to find yourself back at where you should have started.

What Went Wrong With The VMAs?

Well maybe we should start by pointing out what didn't go wrong.

Alicia Keys was fabulous. Let's say that again- Alicia keys was FABULOUS. She is what singing, entertaining, and carrying yourself as a cool, hip, in-style not trashy slutty woman is all about.

Chris Brown- fun, fun, fun! Again, another entertainer who you are not stuck watching lip syncing swaying back and fourth on stage- boring, I could get that at the local karaoke bar. Mr. Brown put on a performance which the VMA's at that time very desperately needed- he made you realize you were watching an awards show with at least 1 talented person in attendance and on display.

JT and Company- a good, not great, closing. I guess in comparison to the rest of the evening, if we are grading on a college bell curve, he'd get an A. But on most typical standards- C+ at best. Don't get me wrong, JT is hot, Timbaland is Jacked, and Nelly, well she has weird blonde hair (and whose that other girl??)- but.....JT's acts all seem the same after a while. The "WOW!" factor is more like a "wow" turn the page, because he produces the same type of performances with just new songs and lyrics. (Let's not lie if I went to one of your concerts I would probably fall in love with you, put posters of you up in my bedroom, and pretend I never wrote one negative word about you)!

Jennifer Garner looked HOT. You are a MILF- I aspire to be you!

And there you have it folks- the few successes that sum up the 2007 VMA's- because the rest of the show will be remembered as MTVs worst in the history of awards show. Who cares that some 23 plus million tuned in to watch- the news articles haven't reported how many of those millions were left after the first commercial break...and even more so, what was the viewership number by the close of the night? The high ratings simply had to do with the world wanting to see the train wreck of a former teen idol crash and burn- and boy did she ever. But Britney simply set the stage for the rest of the evening- a half asses, most anticipated, hyped up performance that left viewers checking out and turning on the local news- even that is more exciting than this years VMAs!

Everything was wrong. From the several stages and VIP rooms- this is too confusing MTV, especially when you can't even have the names of the Artist performing on the screen. Yes we know the songs lyrics, but that doesn't mean know we know the band!

And no host? Come on! The best and worst of shows need a host- someone to simply facilitate the evening.

And Sarah Silverman just plain sucked! I mean she was not even funny nor crude she was dumb- like Britney, she needed more practice!!!

And the rapper that performed his little rap- ummm were his back up dancers all Dove Girls? I mean, couldn't we find a bit more in shape females to be wearing tiny clothing shaking their butts around stage? If we are going to sell these dirty, raunchy images to the tweens, well lets at least have the girls that are their role models be in shape!

Even more importantly, one of the things I look most forward to during the awards show is seeing who is in the audience- especially those candid shots of the camera panning the audience during the winners walk to the podium (oh wait another thing we were missing this year- a podium for lord sake! Everyone looked so awkward holding a mic in one hand and a moon man in another come on now!). Who the heck was in the audience? Too much common folk! I don't care nor am interested in seeing everyday people like myself! I want to see Paris, Mari ah, Kelly, etc. Where were they sitting? I was so sick of the same shots of Rhianna, Jay-z---- there was no one else to even put the camera on. How lame!

And there you go- the summary of all the disappointments big and small at the VMAs. Poor Britney took the heat for all that didn't work, when she simply was the forecaster of the nights events. Maybe no one else recognized all the other flubs because they simply couldn't get past hers (flub and flab I mean).