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Posts Tagged: Action

You are not what you read

Now more than ever we need to stop listening to everyone else. We need to stop reading articles and books, watching videos, and listening to interviews where other people tell us what to do and what to think.

If you want to be a writer, stop reading about writing and start writing. If you want to build a business, stop looking for business advice and start failing. If you want to get in shape, stop saying you want to get in shape and start pushing your body beyond comfort.

If you want to change your life, stop reading about other life’s and start taking the steps necessary to begin changing yours.

Do you think anyone could’ve changed themselves, or the world, if they had spent their lives snacking on social media, devouring stories of how other people changed the world, and thinking about all the things they could do?

We should all aspire to be great, not to imitate others but rather to discover what greatness exists within each of us. We should develop an insatiable appetite for empowering ourselves and exploring that vast source of untapped potential we all carry within us.

So consider this a plea from me to stop reading and start tinkering; stop talking and start being; stop dreaming and start doing; stop listening and start exploring. Yes, that includes not listening to me.

It includes ignoring people who constantly seek your attention. It includes disconnecting from being always-on and available. It includes prioritizing your life based on what is important instead of what is urgent.

Lots of stuff is urgent, but the important stuff is what makes us who we are. You must remember to do the important things first, because you are not what you read, or think, or say: you are what you do.

Following Through

In martial arts, instructors teach us to punch and kick through our target. Instead of aiming for the bullseye on the kicking pad, we’re told to aim for the area six inches behind it so that when our fist or foot comes into contact with the pad, we won’t slow down or hold back our strength.

This lesson is especially important when learning to break bricks. If we don’t drive through the area that appears to be the stopping point, the bricks won’t break; our fist will.

In life, we need to aim for something beyond the stopping point of death. We need to aim for targets and goals that we cannot actually realize within our lifetimes but which through aiming for will ensure that our potential is fully realized.

If we go through life undervaluing our potential and holding back, our life will be filled with waypoints of disappointment and a sense of loss will accompany the passing of each easily achievable goal as we release it to continue moving forward.

If instead we set goals with the understanding that we’re capable of so much more, then our short-term goals will feel more like meaningful steps along the path and the achievement of those goals will come with a sense of joy, fulfillment, and anticipation for what comes next.

Death is an easy target. It’s a focus point that we can all assume we’re headed towards, whether we aim for it or not. But that’s no excuse for undervaluing our potential, setting short-sighted goals, or passing the buck to the next generation. Life shouldn’t stop short of death, it should follow through it.

You are not who you say you are

It’s easy to complain. It’s easy to talk. It’s easy to wish, and dream, and plan for what comes next. You can wait around for things to change but waiting does nothing more than mask the fact that time is ruthlessly taking away your life, one second at a time. If you really want something to change, you need to stand up and take deliberate and intentional action. You can talk and dream all you want, but you are not who you say you are. You are what you do.

Envisioning the Future

When Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned a future America where the color of his skin didn’t determine his rights as a citizen and as a human being, he couldn’t see the path between that point in history and the election of a black president. But did that stop him?

When Mahatma Gandhi envisioned a future where India was free and independent, he couldn’t see the path between that point in history and a free country with the largest democracy in the world. But did that stop him?

When Nelson Mandela envisioned a future South Africa with a multi-racial democracy, he couldn’t see the path between the 27 years he spent in prison and the day he became elected president of that country. But did that stop him? Continue reading →

Escaping Cages

Photo: Squirrel Trapped in a Cage

The cage rattled and the creature inside gnawed and pulled at the metal bars. It was a Grey Squirrel, one of several that had chewed a nest into the side of my parents house. My dad was catching and releasing them several miles away with the hope that they would find another place to nest. The trap was designed to cage, not harm, so thankfully the creature inside wasn’t hurt.

Due to the design of the trap, tipping the cage over would cause the doors to unlock and open. The squirrel was definitely big enough to tip the cage over, but instead he paced back and forth and occasionally stopped to gnaw and pull on the metal enclosure.

That’s when I found myself wondering what a human would do if placed in the same situation. Despite there being no indication that tipping the cage over would open the doors, a human would surely try that anyway.

I realized that’s what makes us unique: When the outcome seems hopeless, we test the impossible.

Continue reading →

Posts Tagged: Action

You are not what you read

Following Through

You are not who you say you are

Envisioning the Future

Escaping Cages

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