The Truth About You

Could it actually be that simple? I mean really, that's all there is to it? Well I guess I have tried just about everything else so why not give this a go...  This is the internal conversation I am having with myself while reading the book "The Truth About You".  This book is supposed to help you whittle away at all the misinformation that has been pumped into our heads since birth, all the talk about how important it is for you to be well rounded and focus on improving your weaknesses.  Those conversations that you have heard for years that went something like, "yes, that's good that your are great at that but what about focusing on improving this...". You know how the story goes, what we are naturally good at or interested in is never enough we must not pour too much energy into those things, but instead spread it out over many things.  I always found that way of thinking odd and this book only reinforces what I knew since I was a child.  

There is nothing wrong with not wanting do the things that don't interest you, this does not mean you are lazy.  No one bothers telling Lions that being a Lion isn't enough you should really work on your digging skills because those Moles over there have you beat. lol We don't bother doing that, do we?  No we accept a Lion for be exactly that, and we praise it as the "King of The Jungle" as a reward.  So why don't we take that same line of thinking when it comes to ourselves?  The Truth About You states that as humans we know what our passions are at a very young age.  The things we do with such great fervor as children are exactly the things we were meant to be doing as adults.  Think back to when you were a child and you would spend countless hours doing things that you loved, you did not need to be paid for these tasks and often it did not matter if you were ever recognized for completing them.  These are your passions and you have known them for as long as you can remember. For some reason our society has placed a premium on educating them out of you or forcing you to spread your efforts over so wide a spectrum that you lose touch with exactly what those activities were in the first place. Why is that? Why is our education system structured to cloud a vision that once was so clear? 

I understand that diversity of knowledge is important and one must be able to be functional in more than one arena but that doesn't mean you spend twelve years or more doing it.  Even in college you pick a major and then have to pay for auxiliary classes that have nothing to do with what you signed up for.  Why? Just to make more money for the institution? If so, then that is truly sad. Reading this book and completing the tasks has really pushed me to revisit exactly who I am and what I consider my strengths.  Not just what I am good at but what I do that makes me feel strong.  

My New Years Resolution for 2015 was to be more Me, whatever that may be. I can honestly say that with this book I am well on my way to doing just that.

Good Morning

So often we find ourselves wanting more, feeling that undeniable feeling that what we have is OK but we know that there is more out there for us.  This can't be all there is to life, can it...? There has to be another level, some sort of purpose, a grander design... something.  But what we often find is there is not, this is the life you have and if it is going to be any grander it will be up to you to make it that way. "You have to save your own life." No one is coming down with a magic wand and granting you the life you dreamed of, there is no Genie or Fairy God Mother.  Your life is a byproduct of decisions made within circumstances provided.  If you want more, you will have to do more, be more and decide at every opportunity that I will create what it is I lack. No one can or will do that for you.

The thing that I find baffling is that we will be immersed in a life we have come to loathe all the while continuing to make choices that lead us down the same path.  Are we masochists?  Why do we delight in our own pain and discomfort? Why do we wake up each day and make the same decisions that offer the same results, results the we will proclaim at every opportunity that we hate.  Why do we do this?  Is the pain of change more frightening than the pain of mediocrity?  In this life there are so many paths we can take, no one is really stuck or forced to be where they are.  Each day presents new opportunities, a chance to change your life.  So why choose to drudge through the mire of a paradigm you claim to no longer be vested in? 

I ask myself these same questions all the time, late at night I have visions of the life I'd like to be living, things I want to do, and decisions I need to make.  Each night a game plan is drawn out, strategic moves are calculated, I know exactly where I want to go and how I am going to get there. "First I'll wake up and do this, then that, and that will lead to this and then I'll do that and this and then that and BOOM!" 50 million dollars, a yacht and residual income to sustain me for the remainder or my days... lol It's just that easy, right. It's always that easy at 2 am on a sleepless night, lying in bed making plans to take over the world.  But it's something about the morning that separates those that have and those that want.  The rising sun is that great equalizer that keeps the dreamers, dreaming and the Lion's feasting.  I guess it's work ethic, or maybe a maniacal obsession for improvement that makes some wake up at the crack of dawn and hit the ground running.  I cant say I know exactly what it is but I know that it's something different.

Jesus Year

I had a thought today... As today is my Birthday and I am turning 33 years old, it marks what the First World has dubbed my "Jesus Year".  A bench mark of age that it is believed Jesus was crucified. So knowing this, my first thought was "why on earth would we celebrate that?". The man died that year, well not only did he die; he was tortured, and then murdered, placed on display for all to see, mocked for his convictions and beliefs.   That is not something to look forward to, that is not something I would like to endure this year, I thought "Nah, I'm good, I'll leave that for someone else." That was my first thought... But then I began to think about in a new light. 

A motivational speaker by the name of Eric Thomas once said, "Don't count the cost." What he is saying is don't bog yourself down with thoughts about how much it will take to get something done, don't allow yourself to fall into the trap of wishing things were easier.  Do what needs to be done regardless of circumstance, we should live more by "Covenant" and less by "Contract". "Counting the cost" only cheapens the experience, it makes it seem like you are for sale, if they gave me this I'd do that, or I would if I would get this.  Much like a prostitute, and how many of us would be comfortable living under that distinction. Do what needs to be done regardless of circumstance. "Don't count the cost."

My initial feeling towards the "Jesus Year" was a concrete example of counting the cost.  True, on his 33rd year this man endured more than anyone could imagine, he faced betrayal, persecution, imprisonment, torture, and ultimately death.  But, that is exactly what he was born to do, in his 33rd year he was able to fulfill his destiny, he was able to step into his purpose.  Jesus did not count the cost, he did not bother with the details of what it would take to achieve his goal instead he chose to simply submit to what God had for him. This is the meaning of the "Jesus Year", it is time to be who you were born to be. It is time to step into your destiny knowing that whats on the other side is more important than anything that came before. 

I am humbled by the opportunity to live my life as it should be lived, I am thankful for the gift of age and experience, and I am excited to receive all that God has for me in my "Jesus Year".