The list of Stuff I Need to Write About just keeps getting bigger and bigger … so instead of trying to tackle it right now, I give you this, from my Twittersbox a little bit ago:
When you're fortunate enough to have success and love what you do, you have a choice: Be kind and grateful, or be a dick. I choose the first.
When I see someone who is successful, whose work I enjoy, treat other people badly, it just makes me sick inside, and sad for them.
So I do my best to live by example, treat everyone with kindness, and never lose perspective on how lucky I am. Okay, thanks for listening.
It's easy to be a dick, to never be happy with what you have, and to treat someone else's success as your failure … but how does that make you happier? How does that make you feel good about yourself? Every single day, we have hundreds of opportunities to make a choice: Kindess or Cruelty, Gratitude or Bitterness, Generosity or Selfishness … the list goes on and on forever.
Our lives are the result of our choices, and every choice we make affects another person, often in ways we can't even imagine.
…so what kind of life do you choose to live?
(title quote from Kurt Vonnegut)
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you Wil. Your blog, and comments on your blog, have greatly enriched my life.
Here are the top ten things I’m grateful to you for (not in any particular order):
1. You introduced my wife and I to Big Bang Theory.
2. I am now an avid fan of http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/.
3. A commenter from your blog introduced me to Patrick Rothfus (who has turned me on to so many other good things, including a recent blog post about you).
4. I now read http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/ with great regularity.
5. Instructions on how to be furiously happy.
6. I have a Twitter account, and my sister whom I have been estranged from for several years is now my follower.
7. You were in STNG and Stand by Me and Fag Hag (all things I enjoyed immensely).
8. You are by far the kindest celebrity I’ve ever met. Seeing you at the Rare Bird Neil Gaiman event was a joy. You patiently stood outside with your wife welcoming anyone and everyone who wished to meet you, and you graciously laughed at my jokes. I used to think it would be cool to be your friend because you are Wil Wheaton, and you’re a geek, and you’re a celebrity, and you live in Pasadena, and you play DnD and Magic. But I see now that the best reason to be your friend would be the simple fact that you are a stand-up guy.
9. You introduced me to The Guild.
10. You have worked tirelessly toward the goal of making it not just be okay, but excellent, to be a geek.
I could go on, but I should get back to work.
Thank you again.
Michael
Is it bad that the making choices line reminded me of the beginning of Ultima IV?