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It is destiny. It is written.

As you already must have heard, the film, Slumdog Millionaire is a favorite to win Best Picture at the Oscars this year. This film tells a story about a young man, Jamal, who becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire” to find his lost love. He doesn’t care about the money… he cares only for his destiny, Latika.

This film really resonated with me. The story of Jamal brought light to my own search for answers. Jamal wasn’t a genius. He knew the answers because the right questions were asked. The answers were found within his life experiences.

In my own search for my destiny, my inspiration, I realized a few things about myself.

ASK THE AUDIENCE

Jamal did not know all the answers. In the beginning of the game, he asked the audience for help. The people of my life is my audience and can be a good source for some answers. Sometimes the simplest answers can be hardest to find. But with the help my “audience” the answer may be brought to light.

50/50

Sometimes you can be led astray. In the film, the host of the show feeds Jamal the “answer”… the wrong answer. But somehow Jamal was able to see past that and choose the correct answer. This is an area I struggle with. Sometimes I feel that I rely on a person of power or influence, to find my answers and am disappointed or led astray.  I need sometimes trust my own instincts and find my own answers. God has prepared and is preparing me to make the right choices.

Phone A Friend

For Grand Prize of 20,000 million rupees, the question was asked, what was the name of the third musketeer. Jamal, did not know the answer and didn’t really care. His purpose on going on the show was not to become the next millionaire, but to find Latika, his destiny. He used his last lifeline and used “Phone A Friend” to call his brother, but through divine circumstance, Latika picks up.  She did not know the answer but it didn’t matter. Jamal found his destiny.

I feel that in search of my own destiny (God’s purpose), I am only looking for answers through my friends, mentors and other people of influence and prestige. But sometimes, you just have to take a guess. My destiny has already been written. Just because I do not know the answer does not mean I don’t try to answer the question. I feel that by being bold and taking risks, I feel God will reward that. Maybe not with a 20 Million rupees but with my destiny.

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Jack of all trades, Master of None

As I have been proactively thinking about my life and assess what talents and life experiences I obtained, I noticed that I am “A Jack of all trades, Master of None.”

I have skills to do pretty much anything well but not excellent. I can lead a volunteer team, make good money with wedding photography, can shoot a movie on 35mm Arriflex, produce a sunday service, teach, blog, social network, write a business plan, market a product, make a simple website, edit a music video, be a good husband and father, etc… but when I try to think of one thing I am a master at, I really can’t think of anything.

Is it better to be good at a lot of things or excellent at only one thing? 

[As I have been writing this and twittering, I came across a tweet from @tonysteward. He posted an entry on his blog that actually talks about this. Check it out here.]

I believe that in everything that we do, we try to hit the mark of excellence. But when we can’t hit it due to budget, time or an unattainable goal, we should still be able to celebrate the “goodness” of the project. It’s o.k to be good.

I will be the first to admit that I am not an expert on blogging or have great grammar skills, but I am trying and it is helping. Will I ever achieve having a “great” blog? Maybe, but I am content with a “good” blog. Could I make my blog great if I become “ruthless” as Tony puts it? I might be able to, but I like all the other things I’m doing and don’t want to give it up.

Especially with the world that is changing so quickly, isn’t it better to be  ”good” and versatile than “excellent” only in one thing?

Check out this video. It will really show you how fast this world is changing.

Is Jack Bauer a great hero because he is great at one thing or because he is good in a lot of things?

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I have a real cool Panoramic Print of this that I took with the Hasselbaud Xpan. Just too lazy to scan it. This was taken by a D80.

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Tree in Lahaina

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