Like most people, I don't watch movies on DVD that much anymore. But when I do, know what I can't stand the most?
Previews...
The word alone makes me shudder.
And the way most DVD's are programmed, you can't skip to the main menu. Your best hope is to hit fast forward to blow through three of four previews.
But that defeats the purpose of the DVD, doesn't it?
The exciting thing about DVD's was that we didn't have to do that stuff anymore like we did on VHS tapes. If I want to watch a movie that came out twenty years ago, I don't want to watch trailers for movies that also came out twenty years ago.
At the time, I'm sure the decision made sense to the DVD producers.
"Let's open the movie with trailers, and we'll get people to see these other movies too."
Not considering that obsolete trailers would be a reason people stop watching DVD's at all in ten or twenty years.
The decision made sense in the present. But not when you considered the repercussions twenty years from that point in time.
And so, what can we learn from this? Decisions are like pebbles in a pond. They have a ripple effect. (Pardon the cliché, but it's true nonetheless.)
Small decisions today can have a significant impact on the future, for better or worse.
Is the convenience of today's decision going to create a deficit to be paid tomorrow?
Or will planning the present's decision with the future in mind create a path of excitement, adventure, and wonder?
The choice is yours for the making.