As I’m sure you could deduce by my lack of writing over the past few months, but I’ve developed a serious case of writer’s block. I’ve had this blog for over four years, and I’m finding it difficult to come up with original article ideas and interesting things to write solely about beer.

I decided that it’s my blog, and I should just write what I feel like writing about. Much of my life does revolve around beer, so that will still be the primary theme of the blog, but I’m taking a page from the Sports Guy, and I’m going to expand my topics. I hope you don’t mind.

I want to share a short excerpt from today’s e-newsletter (called the Spark Plug) from Joe Tye. Joe calls himself America’s Values coach, and I find him to be one of the most positive and inspirational, yet down to earth, speaker/writers I’ve come across. He’s helped me keep the dream alive and stay the course in my own life, and I always look forward to getting his weekly e-newsletter. I highly recommend subscribing.

I’ve been thinking a good bit lately about how many people are wallowing in “these tough economic times.” Rather than looking forward to the immense opportunity the future brings, many people are trying to “recapture the glory days.”

There’s a new normal out there, and only those that can adapt will thrive. I found Joe’s article today to be especially appropriate.

Designing the Next You

I used to love listening to music on vinyl records, except the hissing and popping and scratching was really annoying.

Then they invented the 8-track, and then the cassette deck. The hissing and popping and scratching was history – and I thought it doesn’t get any better than this.

But then they invented the compact disc that never got torn and tangled in the player – and I thought it doesn’t get any better than this.

But then they invented the MP3 player that actually fit inside a headphone and played music while I worked out – at least until it stopped working – and I thought it doesn’t get any better than this.

But then they invented the iPod that would fit in my shirt pocket and contain ten thousand symphonies, oldies, jazz classics, and audio books – and I thought it doesn’t get any better than this.

But then they invented Pandora. Tonight I’m working on Spark Plug and while I work Pandora is trying to guess what music I want to hear next and pulling it from the cloud (whatever that means). And I’m thinking that it doesn’t get any better than this.

Until it does. And it will. And probably quite soon.

It’s a pretty good metaphor for the world of work – and more broadly for the work of creating a wonderful life.

In the daily papers, we read about the loss of jobs in our economy and, quite honestly, many of those old jobs are never coming back – no matter who wins the next elections. But companies like Amazon are still aggressively hiring – but only people who have invented, or reinvented, themselves as the sort of workers that can thrive at a company like Amazon.

The world of doing the same job for the same company for forty years is in some cosmic museum next to the 8-track cassette player. But the opportunities for everyday people like you and me to be able to do exciting things have never been greater.

So that raises the question: what are you doing to invent the next version of you?

Are you asking yourself life-transforming questions like this: What would you do if every job paid the same and had the same social status?

And then answering those questions by taking action necessary to move you in the direction of those dreams: taking night school classes, replacing cable TV with library cards, replacing credit cards with progress reports, replacing toxic emotional negativity with a positive, optimistic, and cheerful attitude about life?

Because if you keep getting better, so does everything else in your world.

— Joe Tye, Spark Plug, September 2, 2011