We have but one life, but there are those who seemed to have lived several lives. They are the driven ones. Yes, there will be some but that’s true in every life, but the driven ones can only tolerate so much drifting.
I enjoyed watching what was called, a ‘Spaghetti Western’, one evening. It was named “The High Plains Drifter”. The ‘Drifter’ was one without a goal, purpose or place, who just happened to drift into town at a time when the town needed to be saved from a ‘Simon Legree’ (bad guy). The drifter was an unsavory character himself, but he had a fast gun, and a willingness to use it. That describes in detail what a Spaghetti Western is. A person considered a drifter is hardly a ‘High Plains’ type, but rather a person without any apparent goals and/or a defined purpose in life. He is a person who would take a job, only because the job was available so that he would have money in his pocket to buy the bare essentials in his life. He had no thought to master the kind of work it was, nor did he consider where those ‘mastered skills’ might lead to. If he had worked hard and learned the skill well, or even better than others, he may have become an, ‘In demand’ worker’. The ‘High Plains drifter’ had mastered drawing his gun and his value was in being able to outdraw the (other) bad guys. There are varying degrees of drifters. Some do not have the ambition to want to be the best at anything. They live from ‘day to day’, hoping the chips will fall their way. They have no plan, no direction, ‘come what may is their way’. They may even think that their freedom to do little or nothing is an advantage, but only until they find themselves sleeping, in or behind a barn.
Then there are other kinds of drifters, those who are regular people, who have jobs making a decent living and have families. They come to work every day, sit at their desk (or whatever work they do) and do the work that they have been assigned. What they do is routine, they do it without ever wondering if there might be a better, or faster way to do it that could save the company money, or produce a better product. Even though these people have work and responsibilities they are still drifters. Why? Because they are drifting through life without thinking about life, valuing their time, as well as the time and lives of others. These drifters are not bad people, they are mostly good people. They have jobs, provide for their families and may even attend church on Sunday. So why are they drifters? They are drifters because they have no ambition beyond the day to day; they are satisfied with the status quo. They are not visionary. They are content to be the common man.
What about the ‘Driven’? In what ways are they different? Do they all live in one place apart from the “Drifters? Do they look different: bigger noses, longer foreheads, etc. No! Drifters and driven all look the same, the difference is in the way they think. The Driven are people, who almost from birth, are curious, wondering how things work, wondering why people are doing the things the way they do them. Thinking in their minds, why? Asking themselves, why are they doing it that way, it would be easier to do it this way. Or, they may just think that there must be an easier and better way to do it. Not criticizing but honestly wondering, why it should take so long to change it if the thing would look better, feel better, be better if it were done another way. They are often pregnant with ideas and concerns about the way things are being done but find no delivery room. The drivens are always looking for ways to better their lives and the lives of their families, friends and others in society. Some would call them climbers, people who are always trying to be and do better. Their desire is not necessarily to be better than others but better than who they are and what they are doing right now. Their desire is to be better physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually. They may not be competing with anyone else, but only improving themselves and their lives. It is just their way of thinking, their way of life. Are all people divided into those two descriptive types: drifters or drivens, No! Most people are somewhere in between, just normal people. The driven, however, will always stand out, they are easy to spot.