I Don’t Have To Die To Tell You This…

…and you don’t have to die to know.

I’ve said it once before and I’ll say it again:

I don’t understand people who don’t want more out of life.

Let me explain:

There are a lot of you who are content where you are.

There are a lot of you who think it’d be cool to do something, but continue to go through the motions of life, reacting to it.

And boy…don’t I wish:

I wish I could tell you that that “thing” you always think about doing because it’d be “cool” is SO much more than a thought.

I wish I could tell you that if you just pursued that “thought”, it could lead to such a fulfilling life.

I wish I could tell you that there is something out there that sets your soul on fire, and maybe it doesn’t feel that intense at first, but you shouldn’t wait for that.

That initial motivation is okay, but action leads to real motivation, and the fire really comes through doing and growth.

I wish I could tell you to dream BIG, so big, but never stop there.

To persevere,

work hard and smart,

be consistent,

be selfish,

be selfless,

always strive to be better,

never play small,

live out your potential,

achieve success,

and give back.

I wish I can remind you that you will die, maybe now, because we all seem to forget that sometimes…

…that you aren’t coming back, at least not here…

…that life can be thought of as a “prolongation of death”…

I wish I could tell you that when you are on your deathbed, contemplating everything from the meaning of life to what your last words were to that special someone, that that “cool” thing you’ve always thought about only adds to that list of regret.

And regret…man…that’s what life should be about avoiding.

The intention is what we truly need. We need to live with the intention to pursue what matters and grow.

It is my belief that living your life only to die with regret is truly dying, but living without having realized you will regret not trying is worse.

I don’t have to die to tell you this.

We know this.

You don’t have to experience something bad to know it was a bad decision.

There it is again, our need to “know” everything. For some reason, we feel like we have to go through it to believe it.

And then we do.

And then we wish we hadn’t.

That’s called “regret”.

Most of everything you want to do in life has been experienced by someone already.

You could listen to what others have said before you.

You could listen to what the ones who have walked your path have said about what it takes to pursue it.

You could just listen to all the people who have died with regret, telling you to pursue your passion.

Everyone who has said:

“I wish I would’ve just…”

“I could’ve…”

“I should’ve…”

These are some of the saddest groupings of words in human history.

How many more have to die feeling this way?

How many more have to die for you to realize?

Do you somehow think it won’t happen to you?

How different could our lives be if we just listened sometimes?

Granted, I’m not saying everything is worth listening to at all.

But, we have to do better at recognizing what’s worth listening to. It could save us from so much trouble in the future.

Know this: I am making it aware to you, and you can do something about it, now.

Life is about growth. I decided a while ago that “If I’m not capable of pursuing my wildest dreams, then what am I even here for?”

Notice how I said “capable”.

The fact that some people have done what I’ve done, someone who looks like me,

talks like me,

shits like me,

has done it, is simply enough for me to go on.

Why do you want to stay stagnant?

Why are you okay with where you are? Even if you consider yourself “successful”?

THE HONEST POSSIBILITY

How many successful people have to tell you that “the journey was better than the destination”, that when you reach that big goal another will take its place?

Why?

Because you’ve spent so much time and energy practicing and harvesting something that’s meaningful to you on the slight possibility that it could be something.

You’ve pursued and pressed on with so much doubt, worry, and fear.

You’ve thought about quitting so many times but never do because you love it that much.

You’ve experienced little successes along the way that have increased your odds. You’ve achieved your big goal and continued to achieve bigger and brighter goals.

The journey was better because you’ve watched yourself become something that your mind once couldn’t fathom was possible.

In pursuit of your dreams, that golden beacon of hope, you’ve always believed and doubted yourself at the same time.

Or maybe you think you have.

You’ve always said you “believed”, but have you really?

Deep down, did you really think it was possible?

I mean DEEP down. If we dug really deep, could we honestly say we’ve always thought it was possible?

If we’re being honest, maybe not. Right?

If the answer is still yes, then good for you.

But I prefer to think this way:

What keeps us going is our fear to admit that if there’s only a slight possibility that it’s possible than there’s a bigger possibility that it’s not. Maybe we never truly believe it was possible until we achieve it.

And that’s awesome. Why? Because this is what really leads us to pull it off. We’re all just insane enough to keep going.

Every successful person is just someone insane enough to believe in themselves when all odds were against them.

Tons of them, deep down, probably didn’t think it was possible, for them.

But they went after it anyway.

I don’t know, maybe because others like them proved it was possible. Maybe because it’s all they had left and there was nothing to lose.

And that still works too, right? Motivation is funny that way.

WHY NOT?

Why wouldn’t you want to continue to grow?

Understand this: There’s no limit to human potential. You could actually achieve what you want to do.

Is that not enough for you?

Does this not excite you?

It excites the hell out of me.

The possibility of it all. Just the…possibility.

I don’t want my potential-future-self-of-greatness to be the last person to walk into the hospital to visit a dying me, shaking his head in disappointment and saying “You have no idea what you could’ve done…”.

If you realize that you’re going to pursue this thing at all costs and end up loving the journey more than the destination, then why dream small?

Why set the bar low?

If growth and change are what we’re really living for, then why would we stop? Why not pursue the highest mountain just to see what it will make of us?

Leave nothing on the table.

PICK YOUR POISON

I feel a strong urge to tell people that they should think about how they are living their lives and ask themselves, really ask themselves, if they’re okay with that.

Maybe they are.

Or maybe, just maybe, I’ll convince that person who’s never considered whether or not they are to start living intentionally.

If you aren’t living on purpose, you’re living on accident.

Maybe, for the ones who are already living out or pursuing their dreams, I’ll convince you that you can do more and that’s what you should want to do.

Maybe, just maybe, I can get you to realize that this is your life, that you can do something about this moment now.

Maybe, just maybe, I can convince you that you shouldn’t play small. That you should want more. That wanting more isn’t selfish, but selfless. That you should pursue BIG dreams for if nothing more than the sheer growth and betterment of the world and yourself.

Don’t you want control over your life?

Don’t you want to change?

You can look at it two ways:

1. You will die, so why try?

Or…

2. You will die, so why not?

Pick your poison.

In my opinion, one leads to regret, but the latter leads to a life worth experiencing, it’s not “poison” at all.

I don’t know, am I making sense?

Maybe it’s just me, but it’s so hard for me to grasp why you wouldn’t pursue something that excites you; why you wouldn’t aim higher and higher and higher.

IN CONCLUSION

My goal in this article was to explain to you why I don’t understand.

I don’t understand why you won’t live your life with intention and pursue growth.

My goal was to inspire change.

My goal was to tell you that you shouldn’t play small.

My goal was to tell you to pursue the possibility.

But it saddens me to know that I won’t reach all of you.

Whether that is because I won’t change your mind or because you will never read these words until it’s too late.

And that scares me.

That’s why I write what I write and will continue to do so. There are tons who won’t see this article but could end up seeing the one I write twenty articles or years from now.

I want to do my part in letting you know that you don’t have to experience the regret of having not tried to realize in hindsight that it’s something you didn’t want to experience.

Maybe I can inspire that “one” person who will take action before it’s too late.

I don’t want it to seem as though I hate you for loving where you are or deciding not to follow a big dream. (Maybe I’m judging…just a bit)

Dreams are just dreams after all, right? (to an extent…but who’s telling you only to dream?)

Maybe you’re, content…

…and that’s fine.

I just don’t understand it.

And honestly, I don’t know if I want to. Why?

I’m content believing that I can’t be content your way.

I just…can’t.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” — Marianne Williamson