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Risk, Adventure, Exploration,
Discovery; Oh Yea, and Greed
© By Skip Pratt
Knowledge Download
I finally was able to move on
from the disaster of Space Shuttle Columbia. I certainly didn’t
know any of the astronauts, but I’ve had so many space
flights in my dreams and my mind’s eye, that I might as
well have been onboard Columbia. That event touched me in a
profound way.
That event showed me what the human spirit
is all about, yet, one more time. That spirit is one of risk,
adventure, exploration and discovery.
It’s why people from Europe immigrated
to America. It’s why eastern Americans headed west back
in the 1800’s. It’s why in 1961, the NASA Mercury
crew was the first manned space flight to orbit the earth.
It’s why over a hundred thousand men
and women went to Alaska in 1897 for the Gold Rush and again
in 1973 for the oil pipeline ‘gold rush’.
Risk, adventure, exploration and discovery;
oh yea, and greed.
What?
While the adventure and risk was a thrilling
aspect of the two Alaska rushes, largely the motive of those
men and women was greed.
Why is that significant?
Because as pointed out on so many Alaska Gold
Rush websites, nearly 95% of the good gold mine claims had already
been staked, and certainly were by 1897, long before the mass
hordes of humans showed up.
People went north for gold because other people
went north for gold. The lure was money, riches and fame. Mostly
money.
The amazing thing about the gold rush phenomena
was people picked up and left behind homes and family on the
rumors and speculation of wealth.
The vast majority not only spent all their
money to get there, they had no money to get back. So they stayed
in Alaska. They became citizens. Most became construction workers,
helping build the Alaska Railroad.
In other words, they had to get jobs. They
became indentured servants again.
What is the point? Glad you asked.
I’m still seeing a gold rush mentality
on the Internet. I’m seeing good folk spend their money
and time trying to make a lot of money. They get lured by the
rumor, promise and outright lies.
Do you know who made the most money from the
Alaska Gold Rush? They were true miners and mineral engineers.
They dug into the earth because that’s what they loved
to do.
How do you think they found the gold to begin
with?
The question you must ask yourself is this:
Do you love what you are doing on the Internet?
If so, you have a great chance of finding
your gold.
If not, most likely you’ll spend all
your money and still end up working in a job.
The moral: find what you love, do what
you love, invest in what you love and your chances of success
are much better. And if you don’t hit Internet riches,
at least you’ll still be doing something you love.
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