Anything is possible. As long as you believe in it and believe in yourself, there is nothing that can stop you. It’s easy to get lost. But the real solution to avoid being average and truly achieving something in this life is re-mastering your perception.
When life spins out of control, people make the mistake of looking where they fear to go, instead of looking where they want to go. No matter which way you perceive life, there is a universal desire for happiness and fulfillment.
There is no accurate definition of success that doesn't include both of these. Looking where you’re afraid to go will only throw you off track, but if you look at where you want to go, you can harness the spin and eventually propel yourself into success.
I have friends that come to me all the time and tell me they don't know what they want to do with their lives. It’s because they don't have the right dream. They think they should do what they perceive as "right" and "safe" rather than what they actually want to do. You fail in life when you have the wrong dream and no direction.
So you may ask, what the hell is the solution then? Is it to do anything you want? And yes, yes it is. The only way you are going to be happy in life is if you have some sort of purpose. That purpose stems from doing what you want. Purpose is tied to our dreams. That thing to which we devote our entire day needs to make us happy; it must fulfill us.
This "thing" we are referring to is not something that someone can help you find. You eventually need to realize that you are a functioning adult and that you need to conduct some self-evaluation and stop being such a pussy. We have to push through failure and jobs we hate in order to develop a better understanding of our purpose. So never think that you don’t have to date a few 6's before you find your 10. You learn more from dating the 6's.
The First Step
It’s all about starting from the bottom and working your way up. Sure it may sound cliché, but it’s the only way to do it. It’s about experience, and in life, you need experience to make everything possible. It’s about trying different things, learning form them, adapting, and amassing all that knowledge in one place in order to channel it to your purpose or dream.
It’s about making the relationships, networking, and building the blocks for your journey. Then eventually you will figure out what you love to do. It’s about connecting the dots and understanding how to keep moving forward, the moment you put your head down is the moment you throw in the towel.
Doing What You Love Doesn’t Include Laziness
Ask yourself, if money were not an object, if it were obsolete, and we lived in a utopia: what would you do everyday with your life to help time pass? Your answer defines your passion. Whatever the first thought that comes to mind, go ahead and do it.
Don't dismiss something as impossible, because in this world, nothing is. Doing what you love means taking greater risks and doing more work. But because you love it, you won't even notice. It means sacrificing your life now for a better life later. It might mean waking up at 5am or not sleeping for three days, but because you are doing what you want, your drive will come naturally.
What Do You Love to Do?
This is a question to which only you have the answer. And the moment that you realize that this is ultimately your decision, you will eventually figure out what it is. There’s no book, article or school that will help you find your path, it comes down to you. Do you trust yourself?
Only you know what will make you happy. It may be marketing, it may be soccer or it even may be writing. Whatever it is, it is up to you to have the balls to bring it to fruition.
Our Obligation to Happiness
A good friend of mine once told me some of the greatest ideas never to make it out of the box. The box he was talking about is the coffin. He explained that so many people are afraid to take the next step in their life that they never manage to amount to anything.
Cemeteries are the wealthiest places on planet earth. Most of us will die having not given the world all we had to offer. Cemeteries are filled with wasted talent. As “A Bronx Tale” taught us, “The greatest tragedy in life is wasted talent.” Don't be that wasted talent. You were put here for a reason, not just to be mired in the rat race.
The world is filled with stories of tragedy: stories of great promise that were destroyed by a lack of discipline, passion or work ethic. Laziness is one of the most common traits among humans. Heeding distraction is something we all do. It’s also something that holds us back.
Our obligation to do what makes us happy is an obligation to those lying in the cemeteries that didn’t. It’s an obligation to ourselves to ensure that our lives aren’t wasted. You have an opportunity to create something out of nothing and live a life that is extraordinary. We also have the obligation to leave it all here.
The lazy people of the world hold on to the argument, “This is my life, I can do whatever I want with it.” No, you can’t. I don’t think we have the right to waste our lives. More than gold, money, land, knowledge, time, or any other commodity, life is the most precious. Life is the most precious thing on this planet. There is nothing of greater value.
It’s something that both the richest and poorest man on the planet own. And we get it for free. Those lucky enough to be born into this world, have done nothing to receive this immeasurable gift. We pop out, open our eyes, and start living.
What we decide to do with this commodity is where it gets tricky. Do we invest in it? Do we develop it? Or do we waste it? Do we ignore the fact that our only option, really, is to make something of it? The very act of breathing obliges us to make every breath count.
We must find what makes each of us happy, and work harder than anyone else to make it our reality. We, the breathing, have no other option but to make every breath count. To make every day count. To laugh, to cry, to smile, to create something great out of this amazing gift that we constantly take for granted.
In The End…
We can do whatever we want, if we have the courage to pursue it, and if we have the patience to understand what it is. The perseverance to fail, fail and fail again before it ever becomes a success.
It’s our moral obligation. And so I'll leave you with this quote...
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Preston Waters | Elite.
