Not Waiting for The Light To Change: A Tribute to Jaywalking

3:30 in the morning with not a soul in sight, we sat four deep at a traffic light / Talking about how dumb and brainwashed some of our brothers and sisters are / While we wait for a green light to tell us when to go.

- Talib Kweli & Mos Def, Black Star

The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time. The universe doesn’t conspire against you, but it doesn’t go out of its way to line up all the pins either. Conditions are never perfect.

- Tim Ferriss, The Four Hour Work Week

Why is a traffic light such a common metaphor for taking initiative? It makes sense when you use its more antiquated name: traffic signal. It’s always tempting to look for a signal, a sign from some higher power, to know when to start a venture, to go to market, or to make a difficult personal decision.

Every morning I have to walk across a fairly complex intersection on my way to the T. I almost never catch the light during the “walk” cycle, and it’s a long wait for it to come around again, so I’m always just powering across whenever there’s a gap in the traffic. It always amazes me how many people are always just standing there, staring at the orange hand on the crossing signal, even when there are absolutely no cars coming in either direction. I just can’t fathom waiting for a light to tell me when to cross a deserted street.

It’s just as foolish to walk blindly into the street as it is to live and die by the crossing signal. There are plenty of other indicators to look at when deciding to cross a metaphorical street (the obvious one being, what are the odds I’m going to get flattened by a metaphorical bus?). I don’t believe that success, personal or professional, is achieved by waiting for some huge, public “green light.” By that time, the jaywalkers are already on the other side of the street.

Chris Brogan wrote this morning: