Staying Stoked In The Post Stoke Economy

Ok, I am a child of the '70s, maybe even of the '80s. Why do I offer that up front piece of nostalgic date bait? Because I have to not only inform the reader, but also remind myself that I come from a different time. Now, that in and of itself has no value. Let's be clear, I am not the kind of guy who walks around yelling, "Old school, baby! Old school". I for sure see the value of new technology and of new trends in all sorts of things, and not just new music or new music gear.
For example, I recently went on a nostalgic whim and jumped out and bought a late '80s mountain bike. I had been looking at bike builds on Pinterest (huh? Pinterest...told ya'. Im woke y'all) and was all sorts of stoked about all this old iron being brought back to life. So, I jumped on Craigslist and scored a beautiful Mountain Klein. Great shape and all original save the saddle and tires. It is nothing short of breath taking. Also, It was only $200! Back in '89 I could not have even dreamed of owning this bike. Once on my bike rack, I was sending pics to all my buddies and trying to organize an "old iron" bike ride. There were absolutely no takers....at all. None! Yet, I was not to be denied my blaze of old glory. I loaded it up and took it to my next little group ride. Let me tell you that the stoke of owning a Mountain Klein faded pretty quickly my friends. After years of riding modern mountain bikes, I had forgotten how basic first generation mountain bikes were. They were basically expensive road groupos bolted onto stiffer frames, with fatter tires added, and flat bars. The ride was brutal. Harsh and unforgiving, this old iron beauty was anything but glorious by comparison.
So old school is just that in many instances. Old. Plain and simple. And as I sat in my truck pondering the nostalgic wash out I had just experienced, I realized that back in the day it was not the old stuff that got us stoked. It was the new emerging technologies of the day that stoked us. Like when Yamaha came out with the Mono-Shock, or when polyurethene wheel firs started appearing on skateboards. That was the trick stuff. That was the stuff that was "Bitchin' man!
The lesson is not lost on this old dude for sure. Because I'm not some old dude. I am the same wide eyed 13 year old that actually shed a small tear of overwhelming joy when he rollded that 1981 Yamaha YZ 125 off the show room floor. Water cooled man!, F'ing water cooled!! Color me stoked.
So then should I not be as stoked when I see that new Kemper modeling amp or when Fox released a new mountain bike shock? Yes! I should be. I should be 13 years old every time I walk into Guitar Center (humor me here) or a bike shop or skate shop or any shop that has stuff I dig.
Let us not get trapped in the glory of the old. While it is totally bitchin' to plug into a real '65 Blackface, it is also, and it some ways more, cool to plug into a Blackstar Silverline and dial up a Blackface tone from the endless menu of digital models. It is seriously cool.
So my friends young and old. Dont be less stoked today as you were yesterday. Keep a foot in what brought us here for sure. Honor the champions of days gone by but also keep an eye on the champions of tomorrow. For these too will become memories. These too will some day be "old school".
Until next time. Stay stoked my friends. Stay stoked.

"What Did You Enjoy Doing at Age 10?"

I would like to start this post by pasting in a section from an Entrepreneur Magazine article I recently read. Also a word of caution to my usual visitors. This article is less about guitars and more about what it might mean to be a guitar player. Read on and I think you will understand.

Eric Maisel, a psychotherapist and author, agrees, adding: "The things we loved as a child are probably still the things we love." He suggests drawing up a list of favorite activities and interests from childhood—"and see what still resonates with you today. And then it’s a process of updating those loves. You may have loved something that doesn’t even exist now, or doesn’t make sense in your life now—but you may be able to find a new version of that.

I uncovered the article with a quick google search worded "identifying your passions".
Of course a ton of hits came up as this is a very en vogue topic to be reading on these days.
I would say particularly among aging Gen X kids such as myself. 
Perhaps this stems from a growing feeling that I am running out of time. Time for what? Time to grab deep happiness and be able to look back and feel as though I made good use of a life! John Mayer maybe asked it directly when he sang, "Am I living it right?"
At any rate, I find that I am wanting to spend more and more time in activities that I connect with on a very deep level. Interestingly enough, many of those activities are directly or evolutions of activities I enjoyed as a kid.
So I ask, "What did you enjoy doing at age 10?".
Now, this is not to say that one can make a living playing hopscotch or collecting bugs, but only maybe. If you found yourself playing hopscotch and kickball while the neighbor kid collected bugs then perhaps you should have studied kinesiology and the kid next door should have studied entomology or biology. Now, one can certainly make a living in those areas.
I know this is a road weary topic to some. However, I, at 47 am just now slowing down long enough to really look at this issue and answer some of the the questions honestly.
When I think of the things I enjoyed as a 10 year old, I was certainly, BMX and skateboarding, listening to rock and roll, and trying to mow enough lawns to buy a dirt bike.
Childs play you say? My father certainly thought so, and did make efforts to point me towards ways of making an honest, hard earned living. The thought of being a professional moto-cross racer or surfer would have never been encouraged, let alone supported. Its a shame too because many kids do grow up to make a living surfing and racing and playing rock and roll and skateboarding. So why not me?
Somewhere along the way, between the innocence and wonder of childhood and the knowledge of the responsibility that comes at adolescence, the dream just gets derailed I think. "Ha! He is too young to have any idea as to what kind of job he would want", I remember hearing the adults say. Maybe that was wrong. Maybe the passions of our youth had us right on track. Now I hear myself saying, "He is too old to remember what type of job he really wanted." I think that is more accurate than the former.
Now don't lose me here. I'm not saying that at age 50 we should quit our jobs and go and make a run at pro surfing. Or am I? Silly kid stuff right? Only maybe.....
I remember a good mentor from my post college days once told me, "Jon, you can do almost anything you want to do if you are willing to make all of the necessary sacrifices to get there."
I think that comment has relevance in this conversation because it points back to the concept of pursuing a dream or ambition. At age 50 can I be a professional surfer? Sure can. There are masters class contests all over the place. Now will I make a ton of money? Maybe not. But that was not the question was it? I have grown to hate the money question anyway.
Oh sure, I know we have to pay the bills. I get that. We all should get that by now. However, that dang money question did not play in at age 10. It came along later when we had to choose between dreams and money. So I am trying to factor it out again. Trying to get it (as much as I can) out of the equation and get back to that wild eyed wonder of being a child again. That is to say I am changing the question back to something closer to the questions we asked ourselves as children. Follow me if you will on this. If it were a bright, clear, warm Saturday morning, and you were 10 again, what would you go do? 
The honest answer to that question is helping me find direction again. Perhaps it can help you as well.