Real believers in ideas and values have higher chance of turning into ruthless extremists. When the majority of the population “grow up” and become “mature”, by compromising ideas and values they had been taught and learned to embrace wholeheartedly, the real believers continue to hold these ideas and values close to their hearts, and seek to put them into practice. If we want to turn these determined, tenacious and passionate minds into productive contributors to the society, instead of cold-blooded assassins or suicide bombers, we have to start teaching children to see the reality, and the truth. We have to stop preaching politically correct and idealistic lies to those little minds, knowing too well that once they leave the schools, the real world will slap them in the face and force these tightly-held lies out of them. The real believers, though, will not yield. They will seek to turn those idealistic lies into the reality, at all costs, even their lives, and others’. We call them extremists. Because while we have moved on from what we deeply believed in when we were 10 years old, they have not. They truly believe in what they were taught back then. They are the real believers; we are halfway converts. Simply labeling them “extremists” and condemning them is not enough; stop telling lies to our children, showing them the reality, is the first step for a true change.
The impulsive attempt to define your work/ career/ life will limit the depth and breadth of your creations. Just keep creating and delivering. The narrative will fall into place naturally when the time is right. Do all the things necessary (and those that excite you); do not force the trade.
You can never be sure where the next wave of revolution lies, just like 20 years ago you wouldn’t have thought microbes are going to be the next big hit in the tech scene today. The safe choice then, is to pick the field that excites you the most, the things that are most interesting and meaningful to you. It may be the next big thing, or it may not. Either way, you can be sure you spent the precious days in life doing things that matter to you.
Be mindful of the gap between theory and practice.
