Prime Movers vs. SECOND HANDERS

I will begin always with my end in mind , so that I may continually evaluate what the true priorities are in MY life, taking care not to be a SECOND HANDER or a people pleaser.

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The working title for Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, was Second Hand Lives.
In this book she suggests that some people, a small minority, are prime movers.... people, if you will, who "make things happen", and others, unfortunately the majority, let other people do their thinking for them, and just go with the flow.

There is a saying, that there are three types of people in the world: people who make things happen, people who watch things happen, and people who wonder what the hell happened.

There is also a song lyric, by John Mellencamp, "If you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything!"

Prime movers, don't follow the crowd, in fact they are often against the current, although that is not their intent; (being rebellious for the sake of it, is still just a reaction to the crowd, rather than thinking for yourself)but, tragically, independent thinking is not very common. They are called prime movers, because they are the individuals who move the world, the Galileo's, Newton's, Edison's, Gates' and Jobs'. These folks often face criticism, ridicule and often outright persecution. Many are not recognized for their greatness until after their death.

Second handers, on the other hand, want to avoid criticism, ridicule, etc. and so aim to please others, fit in and not "rock the boat", usually not even taking the time to think through the consequences of their actions (or lack thereof). They assume that what the majority believes, or what some alleged religious or social authority dictates is not to be questioned and so they live lives that are not truly their own, but are "second handed". In this respect, they are choosing to not only avoid taking the time to consider the consequences of their second handedness, but they are choosing not to think at all. (which is very dangerous for a human being, since our mind is our tool of survival.)

It is tragic, as a person's OWN life is a precious thing to hand over to others, but even more so, because there are only too many who understand how easy it is to manipulate these individuals and are only too willing to do so, to their own ends.

Ayn Rand said, "He who preaches sacrifice is usually the beneficiary of that sacrifice" (paraphrased)

Peer pressure is a powerful thing and something that youth is known for falling prey to, easily, but in fact most of us never fully grow out of it, which is why this section of my vision statement, specifically states: "...continually evaluate what the true priorities are in MY life, taking care not to be a SECOND HANDER..."

Thanks for reading!

MY LIFE

I will begin always with my end in mind , so that I may continually evaluate what the true priorities are in MY LIFE, taking care not to be a second hander or a people pleaser.

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I am going to die.

Hopefully, not any time soon, but sooner than I would like, no matter when it does happen. MY LIFE is limited, and I have no way of knowing just how limited. Every day that I wake up is a reason to be very grateful.

Death deFINES life, meaning that is what prevents it from being INFINITE.

If I were immortal, then the concept of MY LIFE would have no value. Since a value is something that someone seeks to gain, or strives to avoid losing, immortality would make this irrelevant.

However, loving life, is not the same as avoiding death. There is not just the matter of losing my life, but of wasting it, which I think is worse.

Ultimately, my highest moral purpose is to achieve my own happiness during my limited life. My own happiness is not a matter of seeking thrills or mindless pleasures but of reaching my full potential as a human being. I believe my full potential will be reached in finding a balance between producing, relaxing, having fun and achieving personal growth financially, physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. If I choose to express this more succintly, my happiness will be earned by doing my best!

My happiness will not be reached by sacrificing for other people's happiness, nor will it be reached by exploiting anyone. My happiness in not in conflict with anyone else's, in fact, the happiness of people I love and respect contributes significantly to my own, but their happiness is their moral purpose and responsibility and my happiness is mine.

I am always acutely aware that many people lost their lives fighting for freedom, because they preferred to risk their lives rather than to live in a world where freedom was threatened. This is a lesson, that shows that a life where one cannot freely act to gain their own happiness is worse than death. "Give me liberty or give me death". (Patrick Henry)

Because I am aware that my own freedom was earned through these people, I would consider it an insult to their memories to waste my own life..... and so I hope that if I can leave any type of legacy it will be to provide some type of inspiration for future generations to do the best they can to earn their own happiness.