DIRECTION

Where are you going? What are you working towards? What is your ultimate goal, and what are you doing right now to achieve it?

Billions of people around the world wake up every day, exist, then return to sleep expecting to repeat the same process thousands of times before they die. An alarmingly small number of them will die fulfilled and satisfied with the way in which they approached that process. Modern American society teaches that one must conform to the group and follow the status quo. This brainwashing leads to millions of young people essentially living the same childhood, developing the same way and following the same beaten path in life--the path of least resistance. This resistance is the favored response to eccentricity; anyone who behaves or believes differently from the majority is viewed as either lesser or misinformed. Anyone with half a brain and a half-cup of maturity agrees this is not true. The sad part is that this attitude is still prevalent in the subconscious of most Americans, regardless of their superficial response to the question of discrimination. All of this adds up to a country full of unsatisfied individuals. The path of least resistance, however, is nothing more than a path. It is one of many paths available to us in our lives--it just so happens that this particular one is favored by the majority. As such there is nothing inherently wrong with it other than it may be misleading for many people. What one person wants, another may not. What fulfills one individual may leave something to be desired for another. To claim the majority path as the correct and fulfilling option for everyone is bullshit.

When all is said and done, courage is what defines our lives. The courage I speak of is that which inspires us to discover what we truly want most out of life and commit ourselves to it fully at the expense of all else. This is the recipe for a successful life--not a social status or bottomless bank account. When you are lying on your deathbed in the universal blink of an eye, will you go out with a grin, satisfied and fulfilled? Or will you lament with regret what could have been, should have been? Life is a precious gift full of opportunity. It is what we make it. It also only comes once. Do NOT let it go to waste. It is imperative that you figure out what YOU want most out of life (not what others want for you) and discover a goal or lifestyle that will bring you true fulfillment. This self-discovery, if not already established, must be undertaken immediately. The past cannot be changed and the future may never come. Talk is fantastic, and pleasing to the ears, but it accomplishes nothing. Talk minus action = zero. The time to act is the present; now. When we die, our actions and accomplishments are all we will have. Emerson said it best; "What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say." Stop talking. Start doing.

If you have not done something lately that instilled a sense of mountain-moving pride, I suggest you reevaluate your current path in life and examine why it is leaving you unfulfilled. DO NOT conclude that things already set in motion are fixed and cannot be changed. That is the attitude of laziness and naivety; a cop-out reserved for those unwilling to branch away from the path of least resistance. Change is a result of clarity combined with conviction and decisiveness. If you are lacking these qualities, I strongly urge you to drop what you are doing and pursue them ruthlessly to conclusion. Absolutely nothing is more important.

"Some people follow their dreams. Others hunt them down and beat them mercilessly into submission."