“Carpe Diem” - Considering the Wisdom of Quintus Horatius…

“Carpe diem“ when translated into English, means “To Seize the Day“. And despite it’s age (the phrase was taken from a poem written in 65 BC) Horaitus’ view can still be applied today. Which is the magic of human creation; in it’s purest form.

So what is Carpe Diem?

“To Seize the Day” is, in itself, quite self-explanatory. Horatius is telling us, as we’ve told you here at One Life Success, that in order to fulfil our potential as human beings, we must put aside all our fears for the future and for just a while, live for the moment. And this involves allowing ourselves to be encouraged into taking the opportunities that life throws our way, even if it’s risky.

I think this is an important lesson for any success-seeker to learn because it’s the wrong turns, as equally as it is the right turns, that will help you to map out your journey of creation,  as well as the ongoing journey of your field.

So what does this have to do with ‘Our Generation’?

Well whatever your creating, whether in music, business, literature or anything else, you must be aware that creation is not just a solitary journey, but the journey of many before and after your own.

In this post I’m going to be considering ‘Carpe Diem’ from a slightly different perspective and suggesting how you, the self-developer, can make yourself bigger and better than ever before by seizing the day you live in and equally, avoiding being seized by the day.

The Pros of Our Time - Seizing the Day…

As a generation we are more able to get inspired than ever before… In the times of our Grandparents, not many people left the comforts of domestic life; let alone the country. With our awareness of other cultures and ability to travel, we are now much more able to reach a wider audience and be inspired by the world outside our own.

The fact that our society is more free in it’s choices now, also means that more opportunities are available to us, making it much easier to become educated outside of the classroom. There is always something new out there, shaping the world. And the bonus of living in the time that we do, is that the snowball is constantly rolling; the ideas getting bigger and better by the day.

As a generation we are far more able to keep up with the changes…  There’s always something new shaping the world, but we’re more able now then ever before to keep up with the changes in our desires (particularly in technology). And with awareness, comes an ability to provide. Because everything we need to know, in order to provide and to create well, is just a click away. If you can use this to your advantage, know everything there is to know about your field and adapt your talents to the technology available to your field… you can become unbeatable.

Technology means that it is much easier and much more exciting to get our message across to the world…  As technology grows, creation through technology becomes easier and thus the age of entrepreneurship gets younger and younger. And because we are now more able to get our message out there, we are much more able to get a wider perspective and audience to our projects.

Basically, if you recognise the advantages (the freedom, the technology, the awareness that we have, and our Grandparents didn’t) you’re more likely to create something that will be adored by your audience and path changing for your field.

A good example of this is in the development of the e-book.

Further Reading: eBook Writers: A Demonstration of Creation & Entrepreneurship Entwined?

The Cons of Our Time - Being Seized by the Day…

In every generation there is a survival of the fittest…  Although our time provides us with more opportunities and choice than ever before, there is still the same struggle for success that occurred in previous generations. There will be competition for the opportunities. There will be people who do not want to take the opportunities. There will be people who are too stubborn to make the changes required for the opportunities.  There will be people who are too afraid to take the opportunities. But equally, there will be the people that seize the day and reach the top of their field.

If you want this to be you, don’t take the safe trap. Understand that not everyone thinks the same for a reason. If we all took the same pathway, we’d all have the same experiences and thoughts and nothing new would ever be created. So it’s important that you seize the day, but in your own way, as a step forwards towards what your going to provide for the world.

Consumption vs Creation…  Going on from the point about ‘survival of the fittest’ comes a minor mention where a lot of potential creators fall down:

If your using and not creating then your doing exactly what you shouldn’t be doing; the clue was in the words ‘not creating’. A good example here is the internet. If you’re using the Internet to simply go on Facebook and waste your life on Xbox, then your failing.

But if your creating a Facebook page for your project, your succeeding. It’s a simple as that. Our generation rely too much on empty happiness and lazy days. If you want to create, you have to take the opportunities you have, and create. Or else you’ll become just another consumer.

Although there are more opportunities available to us, we are less encouraged to take them… 

With an increasing awareness of the outside world, comes an increasing fear of the outside world and a generation of people who are raising their children to be naturally and irrationally afraid of everything outside their homes and their television screens.

Unlike the children of our Grandparents society; children are not being encouraged to take risks. Even if these risks are as small as exploring, climbing trees and play fighting, we’d rather tell them to get their head down and into a school textbook.

But this can have a very negative effect on the snowball of success because if all we are teaching our children to do is watch TV and go to school, every child will be, thinking and create the same and we will raise a generation afraid to reap the rewards the future brings; a stand still for creation and the potential of the future.

Related Reading: Creativity & Innovation: What It’s All About

Carpe Diem: Knowing the Difference Between Seizing and being Seized…

As a generation, we have learnt from the past and made for the future and now live in a time where every new day, brings a new idea and a new opportunity. My greatest advice is, don’t let yourself be consumed by the Cons of our time. Because the truth is that if you stay where everyone around you stays, you will become just like everyone else. If you take hold of here and now, you will be great.  It’s a simple concept, but it’s one that can often be distracted by the shiny new toys that our generation brings. So be aware of the pros and channel them in whatever way you were born to do.

Whilst we reign in our children from the big bad world… we are equally reigning them in from the big good world and all that’s exciting within it. So it’s time that we, as self-developers, got out of bad habits and ensure that the future generation will be able to seize the day, the same way that we have.

So what are you waiting for? Look at how you can apply the opportunities of your time to your creations today.

Further Reading: “Education Kills Creativity” – Do Schools Kill Our Innovation?

Wrote by Aimee Hall