The meaning of life, the universe and everything

While I was driving home today, the number 42 popped into my head. As we all know, it is the answer to life, the universe, and everything. (Google will tell you that.) I haven’t added anything to my blog for a while, and I could say that I’ve been waiting for 42 days to go by, but then I’d be lying. Truth be told, I was just being lazy again.

On a more serious note; maybe 42 is just a random number that popped into some guy’s head, just like it popped into mine. However random it might be, it is a significant number, simply because of the cult following attached to it. 42 might not define my life, but I’ve decided to share 42 thoughts/quotes/things with you, which do play a role in my life, and which might very well affect yours as well. These are in no particular order; I plan to write whatever comes up in my mind. (You have been warned.)

1. Don’t be afraid of chasing your dreams.
2. Don’t build your life on what others think of you.
3. Dream big.
4. Whenever depressing thoughts come knocking, get rid of them. Immediately. Getting out of a deep dark hole is much harder than getting into it.
5. Never be afraid to love. You might end up running away from your own happiness.
6. Never let your emotions and fears control you. You have a brain as well.
7. If something is worth remembering, write it down.
8. Help others whenever you get a chance. Seeing other people smile makes it easier for you to smile.
9. Don’t allow anyone to step on you.
10. If you want to write, write. If you keep putting it off because you don’t know what to write about, you’re holding yourself back. See your mind as a tap; in order for water to flow, you have to open the tap first.
11. Be a kid once in a while.
12. Never forget those who treat you well.
13. Never hold a grudge.
14. If you don’t have anything worth saying, keep your mouth shut.
15. If you have something worth saying, say it.
16. Try to find a lesson in everything that happens to you.
17. When dreaming about your future and the person you are going to spend your life with, don’t put a face to your dreams. People come and go; don’t let them take your dreams with them when they go.
18. True friends are scarce.
19. Friends are there to help you deal with your problems. Don’t keep it all to yourself.
20. Seize opportunities; you might not get them again.
21. Try to learn something new every day.
22. Read as much as you can.
23. Make time to do the things you love.
24. Don’t mess with your conscience.
25. Try to learn a new language.
26. Religion. You’re not here by chance and you know that there is more to the universe than your time on planet Earth. As for me, Jesus is my Lord and my Rock. I know where to find my strength. Do you?
27. Give your best in everything that you do; never regret not giving your best.
28. If you fail, get up and move on. We all fail sometimes.
29. Work on your flaws; always. No matter what you think, you’re still not perfect.
30. Perfection is unattainable, but it’s a damn good goal to strive towards.
31. Spend time with your family and friends.
32. Sometimes people can hurt you by being honest. Honesty is a sign of respect, no matter how much it hurts. Respect that.
33. Don’t go out looking for love; but keep an eye out for it wherever you go.
34. Keep asking questions. Firstly, that is how you learn. Secondly, that is how you discover opportunities.
35. Try to travel.
36. Don’t spend your life working for someone else. You know you want more than that.
37. Don’t get yourself into debt. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Simple.
38. Take pictures.
39. Shit happens. Don’t run away; just deal with it.
40. Spend some time with those less fortunate than yourself. It’ll teach you to appreciate what you have.
41. The hardest battles are the ones that you fight with yourself.
42. Read http://www.illuminatedmind.net/the-unstream/ and http://chrisguillebeau.com/. Those guys do it so much better than me.

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

Due to me being lazy, this is simply a copy of a note that I put on Facebook, in an attempt to get a stamp of approval from my friends, before venturing out into the unknown world of the internet. Had it not been for their positive comments, this would not have realized. Bilal, Carmen, Shanè, Lara, Calize; you guys are awesome. Without you, this would have just been a twinkle in my eye. You gave me the push that I needed. Thank you.

I am suffering from a slight case of Writer's Block at the moment, but I've been thinking about writing something about problem solving, motivation, my ideas on dealing with people, and the way in which our thoughts start shaping our worlds for my next post. If anything in that list sounds interesting, let me know. Since I want you, yes you there, to read this, common sense says that I should write something that you want to read. Also, to any grammar nazi's out there, feel free to pull my posts apart and tell me where I messed up. Where does one find a better teacher that your own mistakes? (In the case of grammer, someone usually just has to point them out before one can start learning from them.)

As for the title of my blog, if you don't know what efficacy means, Google Define is there to explain it. This isn't an English class. Hopefully, someday, this blog (or something else) will help me achieve one of my dreams; to leave a footprint in history. World peace is too enthusiastic, so I'm not going to pretend to be aiming for that, but if I can at least provide an interesting read, help someone deal with a problem or help someone break out of an old mindset and see the world in a different light, my pursuit has been successful.

Anyway, after reading through all that, you probably want to know how it all started. Here you go, enjoy!

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First off, this is the first time that I am writing to a wide audience, or an unknown audience. My writing style may or may not be suited to this, but I'm open to suggestions, comments, criticism, whatever springs to mind while reading this. I didn't read “Blogging for Dummies” before starting to write, so this is me; this is my style. The experts might have a different opinion on how to do it, but they can go ahead and apply that to their own blogs. This is my soapbox.

For some time now, I've played around with the idea of starting a blog. The people who know me well, know that I usually have a whole lot of stuff going through my mind, at any given time. That stuff may or may not be interesting to others. It might make you laugh, it might make you smile, it might make you cry, or it might make you wonder what this world is coming to.

Before I go too far, I feel that it might be a good idea to introduce myself to the poor bugger who accidentally stumbles across this. Also, to any of my friends reading this, pay attention, you might learn something. My name is Riaan Nel. I was born on the 14th of September 1988, which seems to be an unremarkable day (Wikipedia doesn't appear to have anything on it. Yes, this blog thing is making me do some research.) I spent my primary school days being the smart kid, and my high school days being the lazy kid. I never failed a year, but I rarely did as well as I could have; which is something that I am ashamed to admit. After finishing high school, I started with a diploma in Software Development. Being a subject that I enjoyed, it thrust me into the smart kid position again. I now spend my days as a Java programmer, hitting a keyboard all day long with the hope that I will enable a computer to do something cool. My hobbies include fly fishing (which I never get time for), golf (which I suck at, but I intend to get some lessons), reading, and pondering the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

On the subject of reading, a fascinating little book by Chris Guillebeau, which I was directed to by a good friend (thanks Carmen, I'll remember you when I get famous) motivated me to take this step and start writing. I really hope that I'm not breaking any laws by sharing this, but for those of you who wish to change the world, start by taking a look at this: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/files/2008/06/worlddomination.pdf. It might give you a push in the right direction. Also, if you find it as fascinating as I did, please support Chris in what he's doing.

Being somewhat of an amateur philosopher, I enjoy delving into the human mind. A lot of us have a lot of things that we want to do, but never get the courage for, or never get around to. We know what we want, but no one else does, so if we fail, who cares? It's not like anyone was expecting us to do anything, right? Personally, I find this to be very true in my own life. I blame that very philosophy for preventing me from being all that I can be. Today, I intend to change that by sharing a list of goals which I intend to accomplish within the next year with you. These range from very big things to very small things. No matter how stupid some of them might seem, I am now throwing away the luxury of no one expecting me to accomplish them. If my blog realizes, I intend to keep you updated on my progress. If you have any advice on achieving any of these goals, please share it. If you think any of these goals are stupid, please share that as well. If nothing else, it might help us understand our differences.

Here it goes, in no particular order.

- I want to get a new car.
- I want to do an advanced driving course.
- I want to get a steady girlfriend and share hundreds of happy moments with her.
- I want to finish the last golf course that I played in under 40 strokes. (My previous record is 48)
- I want to raise some money for a worthy cause.
- I want to improve my English.
- I want to read at least 5 books.
- I want to learn more about people.
- I want to learn leadership skills.
- I want to write a small computer game.
- I want to finish my degree with a bunch of distinctions.
- I want to transform my study from a mess into a harmonious working environment.
- I want to bring a few business ideas to life.
- I want to buy some shares.
- I want to say less and do more.
- I want to overcome logorrhea.