Marriage has taught me something even more significant though. Through the greatest two months of my life, I have found the key to forever wisdom and happiness! I have discovered life's GREATEST obstacle. But more on that later. First, I want to confess something.
I want to be better. Tomorrow I want to be better than I was today. In a year, I want to be awesome. And in 5 years? I want to freakin' be translated and sitting next to Jesus on a celestial bench parked somewhere in the Horse Head Nebula talking about how the stars are actually celestial scripture, orbiting around one great truth, while at the very same time, expanding upon that truth, and if we wanted to know it, all we had to do was look right there. This is the part where he points to an ambiguous part of space and my mind explodes with knowledge. That would be cool, huh?
But seriously. 5 years... I could do it right? Probably not. But isn't it that belief that seals the fate of my potential? They are just simple words right? Probably not. Words like that come easily and effortlessly and in lots of disguises; I don't know, Yeah, right, I doubt it, Like that will ever happen, If only. The list goes on and on. Sometime these little dandies can even sound positive; One day! I sure hope so! And my personal favorite: Maybe. That one is often followed by a sigh.
So getting back to the topic, what is life's greatest obstacle? What is this giant profound truth that I finally realized after getting married? Well let me tell you.
It's me.
What's that you say? I'm not an obstacle? I am a great guy with a lot to offer and I don't bring anyone down? Well, I try. But let me clarify. Life's greatest obstacle is our self. If it's one thing that I have noticed in my many many years of meeting and knowing great and not so great people, it's that the difference between success and failure is attitude.
"Oh great. Here's the self help bit. Here comes the preaching." But in truth, my own father has expressed to me many times his own grief that he feels for never realizing his potential. He thinks that if he had only watched less TV, or finished college earlier, or simply not accepted the comfort and mediocrity of his job, he could have been more, and accomplished more. He could have left more for his kids, and had a greater influence in his church and in his service to others. I love my father, and I think that he has lived a wonderful life so far, but I would hate his wisdom to go unused.
As an animation student at BYU, I associated with some amazingly driven people. One man I knew was offered a job at Microsoft while he was a sophomore, turned it down, went to Dreamworks when he graduated, created his own iPhone game, and has now recently built a full on skate rink and TV stage in his backyard for a video series he is doing for young men that emphasizes living Honor. He is only 30.
Another example is my close friend who talked me in to starting a business one year and although I bailed after a hard and very demanding summer to return to school, he carried it on to make it profitable. I have known him for a long time. In high school, I wouldn't have described him as the smartest kid in school, but he was popular and well liked and he worked hard at whatever he did. In the same amount of time that I spent in school, he went to the same school, finished his Bachelors, got his MBA and MIT from another school, and now teaches a class at that college and holds a very high position in a large corporation. He continually talks to me about business ideas and the man is just fearless. And a loyal friend.
The difference I see between these two examples and my dad and I is this; It's the way they handle the word "maybe."
When I say that word "maybe," it is full of doubt, uncertainty, and causes me to procrastinate. When I procrastinate, I substitute the great possibilities for something more shallow, and immediate. This "maybe" suddenly becomes a detour sign and often just leads to another detour sign, and then another and another, until pretty soon, enough time and enough distance has been put between me and the great possibility that I no longer think 'maybe.' The maybe gets replaced by 'what if's' and 'should have's.'
The human creature is beautiful. We have so much potential. We wish, and we yearn, and we crave, but too often we allow ourselves to be the obstacle that blocks us from those desires. We need to be better. We need to work hard, and we need to work now. I need to work hard. I need to work now.
Life doesn't wait around for us to succeed. Life brings opportunity, but it's usually fleeting opportunity and it's usually impossible to play catch up.
I'll wrap it up here but now you know what this blog is all about. It's about us. It's about you, and me, and it's about how we can overcome our greatest obstacle. Ourselves. So read if you like, leave a comment, or troll me for all I care. But here I am, and here is where I am going to continue to explore my greatest obstacle. Me.
Stay tuned and thanks for reading.
Note:
It's been a long time since I have written. I have missed it. So here I am, returning to a passive hobby of mine.
I am not going to advertise this one like the last one. So if you find it, and are reading this now, consider yourself lucky, or unlucky. You get options because I am cool like that. If you want to read my old stuff, click here.
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