This was fun.

@ManVsInternet

Our lives move in seasons, I think.  The winter was mild.  We’ve been keeping busy.  Summer is right around the corner.  Are we going to savor the Spring, or let it slip past us as we crave the beach and cook-outs?

Change is the driving force of life, I think.  The transitional months are usually my favorite. It makes me feel like a vagabond in my own skin–not knowing whether I’ll settle into my bed for a restful night of sleep, or pace back and fourth on a late-night call, or type rabidly over a soon-due project piece.

That spontenaety of lifestyle keeps me emotionally nimble.  How can a person who desires much, but starts with little, achieve that transition without embracing the process of that evolution itself?

That’s my goal, anyway.  To welcome this discomfort. I want to press through it. The other side of this mine shaft is visible, and I’ll get there with some gold.

It’s not an easy thing to do, and I don’t believe in “falling” in love. You “fall” into a ditch, or down a flight of stairs. Real love is something you choose to do. It’s not something you accidentally stumble upon.

I’m not trying to connect the trivial coincidence of this song kind-of-having-to-do-with-love and death, and the point I’m after.  What I want to do is talk about life and the effects of “choosing to love.”

My ankle was broken on November 19th, and I’ve suffered a little.

When I say, “a little,” I recognize that my “suffering” is a minor inconvenience–as compared to someone who can never walk, or someone who has a fatal disease. Nevertheless, I find myself looking at those who can walk with envy. I think “how they take that ability for granted.”

Dying is something that we inevitably do–not something that we choose to do (in most cases). I propose the same is true for “dark times” in one’s life. If I had the choice for my ankle to not break, you would not have seen me on crutches this Christmas, or New Year’s Eve, or JuiceBall. Yes I will heal, and you’ll see me walking, dancing and probably jumping onto, and off of, more high places.

My point is: I have to endure those consequences alone. Just like death, I will have to face my life alone–during the light times and the dark times. No other person can share my unique perception of this, or feel what I feel–high or low. That is, unless they choose to be there for me.

This idea brings me to my point. A person can’t follow another person “into the dark,” as Death Cab would suggest a kind of metaphorical shared death. A person can, however, come alongside a friend in need–when they are hurt, sad, lonely, frustrated, broken. This takes work. This requires choice. This is love.

When I was a young boy–just as loud-mouthed and offensive as I can be now, I’m sure–I used to venture into our very dark Michigan basement. I don’t know if it was for play, or to retrieve a lost toy, but I would do it from time to time. Blame it on curiosity or childhood necessity.  All I can remember is that it was scary down there. The cement floor was cold. Strange noises from the furnace and plumbing sounded like monsters lurking. On these adventures, I could not suffer the fear alone–even as the oldest son.

Emily, my sister, or sometimes my mother or brother, John, would venture down with me. They didn’t have to. They chose to. And I can still feel their hand gripping mine, clenched in a shared fear.

But what I remember most is the love, the trust and peace. Just knowing that someone will choose to help me when I’m in need.

Knowing that someone “has your back,” knowing that someone will do the work to show you  real love, can make all the difference. It’s fuel to the flame of resillience, and it will be the strength we need to push on.

My best friends in the world have shown me real love in the past months. They know who they are. What I want them to know is this:

“I will follow you into the dark… basement.”

Love,

Scott

Learn why Scott is so passionate about his Boxing Match against Jeff Barrett on Nov. 19th, at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids.

LINKS:  Event // Tickets // Frank’s Fitness.

Quite a few awesome things have happened this Fall. Honestly the best thing is Fall itself.  I love it.  There’s no unbearable heat or annoying snow, and the frequent rains of Spring are a distant memory.  What I don’t understand is why I always start to care more about fitness in the Fall.  Strange right?  Perhaps it’s because the air is cooler and less sweating happens (and less sweat stays due to one’s lack of A/C at home…)

Now let’s talk about what’s going on.

• KO Cancer //  I’m honored that I have been asked to participate in the KO Cancer Celebrity Boxing event this year.  My opponent will be none other than my very good friend and STATUS CREATIVE co-founder, Jeff Barrett.  It should be a pretty good match-up.  The event is the brainchild of Frank Perez, who is presenting the event under Frank’s Knockout Fitness.  You can buy tickets to attend the November 19th event at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids by clicking right here.

• TOP 40 UNDER 40 // Now this is a crazy-huge honor for me.  My business partner and fellow GR LipDub Executive Producer, Rob Bliss, nominated me for the Grand Rapids Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40.  They decided to recognize me and it’s so cool.  The reception event is tonight, and if you want to go click here.  You can browse through the special issue below and read about 2011’s coolest West Michigan business people Under 40:

Death to summer, and all hail fall’s beauty, colors, layers, and afternoon walks. And thankful are my undershirts. They go with mercy; having no more pit-stains. Die summer, die!

I cooked and ate it while multitasking, my most common state.  My task of the evening was committing to a 1-hour and 52-minute video.  The video was a conference-style conversation between Shawn ‘Jay-Z’ Carter and Cornel West, (moderated by Paul Holdengräber.)  Decoded: Jay-Z in Conversation with Cornel West, which you can watch in the embedded video player below, was the best-spent hour and 52-minutes I could have stumbled upon.  Make time and watch this:

After watching this video, I felt a sort of culmination of a Summer that has been both triumphant and devastating.  As Charles Dickens wrote, “it was the best of times, and it was the worst of times.”  There’s something quite beautiful about the disparity of those who are fighting for their place in the world–their place in a city, or someone’s mind, or in history.  I believe that this is something my friends and I do every day.  Seeing a conversation that chronicles and investigates the life of one of the world’s most influential artists really helped me put things into perspective.

There’s nothing I want more in my life, than to positively affect the world like Mr. Carter has done, but I’m nowhere near doing that.  That can be very discouraging, but then I remember something.  I just celebrated my twenty-third birthday, and Jay-Z didn’t release his first album until he was twenty-six.  Since that time in his life to now, he has amassed millions of dollars and millions of people who love his music and what he stands for.  How does that happen? Is it luck, or savvy?  Passion, hard work, or time?  Each of those factors lie like bricks in the road to success–if your road starts on Monroe Center.  And mine does.

I think this is all to say that I have known where I’ve wanted to go and what I have wanted to do, but more importantly the fact in my own mind: that I could and would do exactly that. It is that self-confidence that I’ve found powerful.  The power that’s been wielded by every successful person in history–but also by some of the worst people in history.  And this is where I come to the real reflection: why was I a part of the Grand Rapids LipDub–allowing Rob, myself and our team international success? Why is my goofy hip-hop character, who raps about safety, opening a show starring two international music and film stars? And why has my main concern become figuring out how I’m going to pay for my rent or my food?  It’s the gap between reality and potential.  This is the journey of what Brian Gerrity described to me as that of a twenty-nothing–trying to become a twenty-something.

We can’t all be Mark Zuckerberg.  You’re reading this, because he created Facebook and that’s where I posted this link.  But maybe, just maybe, the next time you cross the street, you’ll remember my song.  Or you’ll find yourself humming American Pie, and not know why. In the end, I have to treat people better.  I need to value humility and long talks with close friends to be more my version of success, than a fat bank account or fancy dinners. Because when I’m his age, I want to feel just like Brian does. I want to recite his lyrics as truth from my own life:

“Happy is he, who holds onto the past. For at last, he has time to call it a blast. And he has reaped what he has sewed, and they call him particularly bold.”

Kevin and I go head to head, in the 3rd Week’s #FRIDAYDANCEOFF!

]]> http://scotterickson.net/fridaydanceoff-no-3-party-rock-anthem-by-lmfao/feed/ 58 http://scotterickson.net/josh-birthday/ http://scotterickson.net/josh-birthday/#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 19:54:13 +0000 Scott http://scotterickson.net/?p=544 It’s Josh Depenbrok’s Birthday today, so naturally Jeff, Flounder and I scour the city looking for him.  Our objective?  A birthday icing!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!

Josh (above) is the Founder of GRNow.com.

Special Thanks to Doug Bowman and West Coast Coffee!