Drowning in A Sea of Noise

There’s a good chance I’ll never be famous.

I won’t be a world renowned author, public speaker, or comedian.  I won’t be sought after by millions for my enlightened perspective on life or my humorous take on society.  I’ll live among the ranks of the unknown with the other 99% of the human population.

I’m okay with that.

Go ahead and say I don’t have the business savvy, the backbone of a salesman, or the marketing acumen to become what we commonly define as successful.  I don’t care.

I don’t want to be another talking head who flaps his gums every chance he gets in an attempt to make it big.

I want my words to carry weight.

It’s the biggest reason I don’t send out a plethora of emails to my list, or post to my blog and facebook all of the time.

There’s too much noise in the world.

Too many mindless news reports, absurd websites, superfluous bloggers, and unnecessary bullshit that bombards our daily lives that it’s become far too difficult for us to determine what’s useful and what’s extraneous detail.  The sheer number of choices we’re presented with every second of the day is astounding.

Minutia has taken over.

I can’t process information at the rate in which it’s delivered this day and age.  At least not well enough to gain any sort of value from it.  There is a lot to look at, hear, and take in.  But there are fundamental differences between looking and observing, and hearing and listening.

I blabber too much as it is in my daily life – both in my own head and to others.  I want my writing and my speaking to have intention, purpose, and meaning.

I want it to be organized and well thought out.  I want to make sure that I’m putting out content that is genuine and valuable.  For me, value has to be absorbed and retained on some level.  I find that difficult to do if new information has to be continually processed.

Everyone has something to say.  Everyone has an opinion.  Everyone has a story.

This isn’t bad.  In fact, I encourage everyone to share their story; every perspective and every message is unique.  Some stories will resonate with you more than others.  This is good.

But how can we drown out the noise and focus on what matters to us?

• Take time to unplug, so you can focus on yourself.
• Determine what you value (this story may help).

Start small and keep it simple.

Be okay with not knowing about every current event in the news. Be okay with not being up-to-date on every single pop culture fad. Be okay with not logging into social media sites and seeing the millions of status updates.  These events affect us, but are they affecting you positively or negatively?

Be aware.

There is no shame in focusing your attention on what you’re passionate about while letting the distractions slip away.

What do you truly love?