My blueprint

In Jack Kerouc's novel The Town and the City George Martin attempts to impart a little fatherly wisdom upon his favourite son Peter. It's not about pointing Peter in the direction his father would like to see him. That time has already passed by. It's George's idea of the Golden Rule for anyone who truly wants to live their own life:

 ' Keep your chin up and just wait for the best, or the worst, whichever fate chooses to deal you. But be brave, be gay, be a genuine man whatever you do! That's the way to live. Don't worry, don't repent. Work hard and do your best. It's the most any of us can do.'

Yeah you really do need to be genuine whatever you do. Otherwise you're just pretending. Admit your faults and motives, especially to yourself. Like the things you really like and don't feel embarrassed because collecting Boyzone memorabilia probably isn't cool. Wear whatever clothes you want even if you live in a fashion vacuum. You look so much better when you display a genuine personality. Show your real emotions to people because it is the only way to feel as if you are really being yourself.

Be brave and live your own life. Attack it when the time comes to go after what you want. Believe in yourself with conviction. Prepare well and don't drift. Don't become your parents unless that is genuinely what you want to do. Avoid unnecessary restrictions and procrastination. Make the iron hot by striking. Learn every single day.

Work hard. Man you have got to work hard. This is the one I never truly believed when I was younger. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, better than everyone else. Perhaps I was a long time ago but I've lost it all because I considered working for anything to be trying too hard. I was wrong. There is so much satisfaction in knowing that you really have put in a shift for something worthwhile. Remember that tired happy feeling you get when you have really pushed yourself for something and now you can relax on the sofa?

I try to be genuine but it isn't always easy. Sometimes laziness and lies are an easier option. I am a terrible son, an apathetic brother but only maybe sometimes a good friend. A slave to demons and historically unmotivated as well as a propensity for pathetic attention seeking. Underachieving by my own standards, no-one else really matters here. Still, I'm not a bad person, it's just that there is this one chance at life and then nothing so I might as well make it really me while the game is still running.