If Time, Money, and Talent Had No Factor: Top Ten Undertakings

Today I was asked, "if you had all the time, money, and talent in the world, what would you do?" While this may seem like an easy question to answer without considering any other semantics (such as "Where did all this time and money come from to be able to lavishly explore any notion of talent I might have?"), the question digs deeper with five explicit categories seeking ten examples each. So, without talking about Fight Club, let's explore this rabbit hole and see what factors in with my desires for self-worth and a sense of accomplishment. 

Education

1. Complete all AWS Certifications
2. Complete all CompTIA Certifications
3. Complete all EC-Council Certifications
4. Complete all Google GCP Certifications
5. Complete all (ISC)2 Certifications
6. Complete all Microsoft Azure Certifications
7. Complete all SANS GIAC Certifications
8. Complete all PMI Certifications
9. Complete all Red Hat Certifications
10. Complete a second doctorate degree

Job or Research

1. Conduct and publish research on Data Security to help client organizations and governmental entities protect their digitized assets.
2. Provide Consulting services on Data Security to help client organizations and governmental entities protect their digitized assets.
3. Administer Managed Services for Data Security to help client organizations and governmental entities protect their digitized assets.
4. Return to teaching computer systems, networking, and Data Security at a Community College or University.
5. Return to writing poetry/prose and then have it published in the flavor of Edgar Alan Poe.
6. Return to owning and operating a professional indoor soccer team.
7. Continue to record and edit sports highlight videos.
8. Continue to create 3D animations and other graphic artwork for various sports franchises.
9. Own and operate a Lobster ME franchise (if you ever go to Las Vegas, I recommend you stop by the one in the Miracle Mile or the Venetian).
10. Follow a career in acting.

Philosophical or Religious

1. “Be the change…”
2. “Do unto others…”
3. “Teach a man to fish…”
4. Believe in yourself.
5. Focus on being a good person.
6. Focus on doing the right thing.
7. Make love great again.
8. Reflect on the meaning of life.
9. Reflect on what it means to be human.
10. Respect life.

Travel

1. Take a cruise in the Atlantic.
2. Take a cruise in the Mediterranean.
3. Take a cruise in the Pacific.
4. Travel to Africa to tour the Pyramids of Egypt, and go on a safari.
5. Travel to Asia again to revisit the Great Wall, the Terracotta Army, and various Buddhist temples.
6. Travel to Australia and tour the outback.
7. Travel to Europe again to visit the Eifel Tower, Big Ben, what remains of the Berlin Wall, the Colosseum, and Pompeii, to name a few.
8. Travel to the Middle East to visit various landmarks in Israel and Dubai.
9. Travel to the Polynesian islands (Bora Bora, Tahiti) again and include Hawaii this time.
10. Travel to South America to visit Mayan temples, and see Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil.

Home

1. I would re-run the irrigation system in the front and back yards.
2. I would install a thermal ground system to keep the temperature optimal for the grass to remain green year-round and clear for my dachshunds to go on year-round (see Bronco's Empower Field at Mile High).
3. I would re-plant trees, bushes, and flowers around mulch and rocks to refresh and maintain the landscape.
4. I would re-run the CAT-V cabling to every room down to my central server room.
5. I would install wireless access points throughout the home to ensure external signals reach optimally to the end of the outdoor property line and interior rooms.
6. I would integrate lighting, windows, and door locking systems with an on-line system controlled by my family's smartphones.
7. I would buy and install all new energy-efficient and internet-ready appliances.
8. I would re-paint my house (same colors).
9. I would install hardwood floors throughout the house.
10. I would acquire the tools and hardware necessary to decorate the external fixtures of the house for the various holidays (e.g., Christmas and Halloween).

To summarize this exploratory exercise, my thirst for knowledge and upholding “what is right” in a manner of speaking are paramount. And “what is right” is a hardline conversation in both philosophy and religion, and though they are often at ends with each other, there is a lot of overlap, which intrigues me. Moreover, the need to travel while maintaining my domicile triggers an appreciation of different cultures and scenery and a sense of pride in what I consider to be my own.