So then my question is why?
If there's something that you know deep down you're really supposed to be doing and you're still not doing it yet, you're missing a huge piece of yourself everyday. But even more important and why we always say it's not about us, other people are missing out on you too.
It doesn't matter how big or small it is, from learning your favorite instrument to completely changing careers and joining the peace corps abroad. No burning desire is wasted and they all contribute to the total package of your creation. From experience I can tell you this though, it gets harder to start the longer you wait and eventually the spark will start to fade. Feed that fire today!
I'm a very stubborn Italian, on top of a childhood history of OCD, which I'm finding is finally paying off. When I want to do something I get tunnel vision and just do it. Now I never used to be like that. I had to fight hard to finally care but not care anymore and just go for it.
Change is hard, I get it. Some circumstances and phases of life are preventing you right now, I get that too. But you can always do something. Cut out TV time to start building your website. Reduce party time to start reading everything you can on what it is you want to do. Schedule a meeting with someone to get ideas. Eliminate time wasters and just stop to think! If you have children I know, the only time you get to think is at night when they go to bed. The problem is, if you are like me, you pass out as soon as you sit down too. I'm with you. But use even those five minutes before you comatose. Squeeze out every square inch you can. I'm really seeing that's a main difference between difference makers!
Anyways, now that that's all been prefaced, HERE'S WHY YOU'RE STILL NOT DOING WHAT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING IN LIFE:
1. YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO SACRIFICE.
This could be because you're too afraid. You don't want to get uncomfortable. You're waiting for someone to hand the opportunity or resources to you. You still don't know what it is to do. You're trying to avoid problems or expect none to happen. You're still listening to everyone else.
You have to explore those reasons (sometimes excuses or lies) above. The truth is no matter what leap you take it will not be easy and your story will never look exactly like someone else's. Sacrifices are a major prerequisite to success and fulfillment, however. Slap a 100% guarantee on that.
When we first started FMU we were willing to sacrifice our home and move back to a one bedroom apartment and drive only one car again if we had to. We were willing to suck up our egos and work side jobs for menial wages to get this business going. Listen how silly that sounds by the way. People are struggling to survive on dirt floors and with one weekly bucket of water in third world countries and our biggest concern is living in a crammed space and only possessing one vehicle. Perspective. That's nowhere near a life threatening sacrifice. But see where our privileged minds go?
You don't need that big house right now.
You don't need two incomes right now.
You don't need more time now.
Everything you need is right in front of you. You just need to re-identify your true needs and develop the willingness to make the sacrifices accordingly.
You also need to discover Gods true design for your life.
2. YOUR WANT MAY BE DIFFERENT THAN GOD'S NEED.
Lately during some of my talks I've been telling my FMU Kids that it's not so much about what you want to do with your life but more about seeking God's design for your life. The two can be the same, don't get me wrong. But at certain times they may also be vastly different. Just because you want something may not be a part of His design for you and your purpose for being on this earth. And although you can work extremely hard at fulfilling your want, it may never work out the way it's supposed to or you may never be fulfilled in the rat race of trying to make it to.
I just caught a documentary featuring one of the best wrestlers in the history of the sport. The details aren't that important but in a nut shell, this guy reached the highest level a wrestler could ever reach. He was an Olympic Gold Medalist, multiple world champion, and an NCAA champion. But in almost his exact words he said, it didn't get me anywhere though. People think you reach the top and something changes. I was still broke, without a job, and lost about what to do with my life (Schultz).
These accomplishments are phenomenal. Even if the situation stayed exactly the same this guy could have found total fulfillment in where he was. But so often in life we are chasing, chasing, and chasing the next level. More promotions. More championships. More facilities. More projects. More money. Only to finally achieve them and realize nothing has internally changed within us or that it wasn't really what we were supposed to be chasing. Meanwhile the entire time we were chasing them we missed all the opportunities God was calling us to elsewhere.
I call these accomplishments false highs. False highs feel really good at the moment but eventually the sensation fades away because these highs have no eternal value. In fact, not many accomplishments do. The quicker we realize that the quicker we can stop chasing what we want and instead what God wants for us. Because even though both can look exactly the same, when it's what God wants, we now find and feel meaning behind all of our actions and experiences. If it's what God wants, awesome. If it's not what God wants, still awesome but we are still feeling lost and confused. It's a minor difference but with a major consequence.
The other major truth is you may not be where you want, but you may need to find contentment for now because God needs you there. How many of us have been in jobs we absolutely hate? For sure, we should probably plan an escape route but in the meantime, find contentment and look for opportunities to be USED while we are there. This is the difference between someone who flips burgers and someone who flips! burgers.
Why did I even say all this? I'm not even sure, but hopefully someone needed to hear it.
I'll end how I ended one of my speeches the other day. After finishing up one of our FMU Kids workouts not too long ago, we gathered into the middle of the turf to cheer for our "champ of the day" and to shout our "I WILL" chant. The young guy to win champ status that day probably didn't think he deserved it. He's not the most athletic and most popular (whatever that means). But he has such a phenomenal attitude and spirit about him and I love him to pieces. After a few sessions of watching him work so hard and have so much fun, there was no doubt he earned it. You should have seen his reaction when I called his name. He jumped through the roof with excitement and said, "I can't wait to tell my mom and thank her for bringing me to this place!"
You don't know how much that impacted his daily and possibly his life forever. The little things can break people's spirits or break through their spirit.
If I would have sat back and kept doing my thing and never switched my life around by making the choice to take action and do what I was put on this earth to do, I would have never been in that gym at that time with that kid to create that moment with him. To give him that boost of hope that even if no one else believes in him, I DO.
You have to.
That person needs you.
That community needs you.
God needs you.
Jesus speaks it hard and clear in Luke 9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." The footnotes of my bible further note that Jesus is making it clear in the scripture leading up to this that "demands of the kingdom override all earthly loyalties."
Push forward and never look back.
If you want more family time, make more family time.
If you want to get healthy, get healthy.
If you want to write a book, write it already.
But don't just do it because you want to.
Do it because He wants you to.
Then the pressure is off. If anything goes wrong, blame it on Him!
I can promise you this, if you are willing to make sacrifices and discover what it is that God has designed for you, it will work out exactly like it's supposed to.
And then it becomes an absolute game-changer for you and everyone in your life.
It's not about us,
Coach Theo
Note: please excuse any typos or grammatical errors, this blog was typed on my cell phone.
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