WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

Hey! Hey you!

What the fuck are you doing?

That's the question I want to ask each and every single one of you today. Let me repeat it nice and clearly:

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

Think it through. I don't mean "I'm having lunch, JL." or "I'm at my day job, JL." That's fine. That's cool. No, I mean something deeper and more meaningful. So let me get more specific.

WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE DOING?

I have found that a lot of people I meet do very little outside of what they have to do. They do the day job thang. They do the workout thang. They do the eatin, peein, poopin, sleepin thang. And then...? The TV thang? The... video game thang?

That's cool. It is. But I am here to challenge you to do more than that. As my Grandpa still says to this day: DO MORE THAN WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU. This applies to life.

Take me for example. What is my answer to WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

Well... (deep breath)

1. I am a the co-director and head promoter of BoiParty.com, a gay nightlife promoter, throwing two or more parties a week.
2. I am a writer, with my first published book coming out May 1st, my second November 1st, and my third May 1st, 2013.
3. I am the creator and head moderator of Gorgeous, Gay and Twenty-Something, the private Facebook group with over 6,500 international members.
4. I run CluelessGayBoy, a Twitter account with almost 3,000 followers.
5. I am a blogger (duh)
6. I run over 12 different Facebook fan pages and groups.
7. I am the senior New York correspondent for the gay radio show, The Swish Edition.
8. I am the writer of the gay web comic, Open Bar.
9. I am a freelance social media consultant.
10. I am the director of media and relations for a local professional wrestling syndicate.
11. I am a senior producer at an interactive marketing agency.
12. I am a freelance videographer, filming trailers for parties, events, companies, and organizations.

I think there may be more than that... I'm not sure.

Now... this is NOT me bragging. This is me, making a point. Each and every one of you reading this has a passion. You MUST. You HAVE TO. It's written into your DNA. It's in your very genetic code. Whatever that passion may be: technology, music, art, whatever.

Are you spending time every day indulging in your passion? Are you writing a song? Sketching out a comic book? Writing a play?

And, if not, what the FUCK are you doing?

I'll tell you what you're doing: you're wasting time.

I'm not saying stop going out. I'm not saying quit your day job. I'm saying you should invest at LEAST 30 minutes a day creating.

In my opinion, the meaning of life is Creation. We are here to create, and to share what we create. Every day, I create. Because I feel empty, pointless, useless, and lonely if I don't create. I also have enough irons in the fire that I can create something different every day.

What about you? Are you creating? If so, keep on doing it. If not... it's time to get started. You can only enjoy life so much by eating, drinking, dancing, and watching TV.

You like watching TV a lot? Start a web series. It's astoundingly affordable. You like playing video games? Get together with a bunch of your nerd friends and try making one.

This isn't about making money (though, I do believe that when you work long, hard, and continuously on something you actually love and enjoy, you're almost guaranteed success in it).

It's about making. Period.

And NO EXCUSES...

"I would, but I don't have the time!"
 Sure you do. You're reading this right now. You could be doing that instead. I'll bet if I followed you around for a day, I could identify at least an hour's worth of time that you unconsciously squander.

"I would, but I don't have the money!"
Shaddup, Shmidlap. Thanks to the Internet, basically everything is free these days, or astoundingly cheap. Don't have enough money? Do a kickstarter. But, if you're creative enough, you'll find that whatever you want to do can be done for nothing, or for cheap. 

"I would, but I have to plan it first!"
NO! No PLANNING. Planning is nothing but an excuse to NOT do something. Plan in progress. Start doing something and figure it out as you go along. Do you know how many novelists I know who have been "working on" a book for years? It's just not there yet? Right. I wrote my novel in thirty days, edited it over 9 months. It comes out May 1st. Will everyone like it? No. But it turns out, according to sales figures, that thousands of gay people do. And that's good enough for me. 

"I would, but I'm not passionate about anything!"
Take a closer look at thyself, friend. You have a passion. Figure it out. Think around it. And if you have a bunch, try 'em all on for size! There are no rules here, because YOU'RE in charge because YOU'RE creating it. Fuck everyone else. This is about you enjoying yourself and making something where there was once nothing. Whether it's a recipe website, a new type of sock, or a monologue.

"I would, but I'm going to do THIS thing instead, so I can make money and be successful."
Big mistake, bub. You NEED to love the thing you're doing. That way, when it's not an immediate success, you don't give a shit... because you love doing it any way. Each and every single one of the things in my list above I would be doing whether I got paid or not. I am now being paid for most of them, which is awesome. But I wasn't for the first decade I was doing them.

Make something. Do something. Next time you see me out at the clubs or on the street or in an IM box on Facebook, I'm going to ask you WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?

And you better have an answer.

xo Justin Luke
JustinLukeNYC.com