You are probably just as tired of hearing life analogies as I am.
“Life is a rollercoaster. It has its ups and downs, but it’s your choice to enjoy the ride.”
“Life is a sport. Drink it up.” I think that was a Gatorade ad a while back.
“Life is a bitch and then you die.” Sorry, that one was a little bit of a let down.
Or my personal favorite:
But, I want you to bear with me through just one more. Here goes.
Life is a desert.
From where you stand, life appears to extend boundlessly in all directions. It’s intimidating. Standing alone, you feel lost and confused. You don’t really know your destination and you have no idea how to get there. You’re tired, you’re thirsty, and it’s just too damn hot.
You’ve been placed here with no instructions, no smartphone, not even a paper map. There are signs that read, “Keep your head up and don’t quit,” or “Dreams don’t work unless you do,” vaguely pointing you in what seems to be a promising direction. You scratch your head and wonder, “Whoever put me here didn’t really want me to make it out alive, did they?”
A little overwhelmed at the massive task ahead of you, you take your first strides in an arbitrary direction. As you’re strutting along with your head on a swivel, looking for any type of clue, you begin to see a figure in the distance. A few more steps later, another one appears. And another. Getting closer and closer, you discover these are other people. You breath a sigh of relief as you realize you are not alone.
At the first sight of another human being, you understand exactly what you need to do. Other people are here to find their promised land. But, they are also here to help you find yours.
Walk with them.
One guarantee in this journey of life is that you will encounter a great myriad of people. They will all have a different story to tell you. Some stories you hear will be positive. Some will be negative. But, it’s important to know that we can learn from all of them.
During this journey, you will make new friends and new mentors. You will learn so much from these people. They will each provide you with a new outlook on life you haven’t considered before. You will feel so inspired listening to some of their stories. Revived and awakened, you won’t want these people to leave you. You’d rather them stay by your side and spend their lives providing you with daily pep talks.
But, you’ll forget these people have their own lives too. They will do you the favor of walking with you for some time. But, eventually they will have to part ways, for their promised land resides in a totally different direction. It will be up to you to recognize what your destination looks like and how to find your way there.
At 23 years old, I am still figuring out my way. I’ve learned so much up until now, but it’s clear I have so much more to learn. At this point, I still would not be able to confidently point in the direction of my destination. To be honest, I don’t even know what the place looks like. But, I can tell you one thing my destination is not.
It is not a giant room filled with money. I can guarantee with every ounce of my being that money will never be my objective.
Money is a mirage that forever leaves you unsatisfied. You set a monetary goal, you achieve it and all the sudden you want more. The mirage inches further and further away as you set a new goal. You achieve that and yet you remain unfulfilled. This cycle goes on forever and, by the time you’ve picked your head up and looked around, you are alone and lost. You have sacrificed your family, your health, your friendships, maybe even your integrity. You take a glance back at the money mirage grinning back at you cunningly, waiting to be chased once more.
That is the end of my metaphor. I hope it wasn’t too painful. I’d like to follow up by letting you all know that I recognize the massive importance of money in living a comfortable life.
We need it. It’s just how the world works. Hell, it keeps us alive. It protects us from the elements and fills our bellies with nutrition. It pays for transportation, vacations, and our kids’ college tuition. They say money can’t buy happiness, but it sure does relieve mounds of worry and stress from life. As Forrest Gump once said (or said as many times as you’ve watched the movie),
But, it shouldn’t be our objective. Unfortunately, an overwhelmingly large percentage of the population lives with the mindset that money is the reason they work. They believe that nobody enjoys their jobs.
I have news for you, this is not how it has to be.
The great creators of this world have not quantified their accomplishments by the billions of dollars sitting in their bank accounts. They quantify their success by how much value they’ve added to the world. Bliss to them is being so excited for Monday morning, they can hardly sleep. It’s seeing millions of people use their product and stand behind their brand. It’s knowing that people want to come and listen to them speak. That they are the role models for many. That their quotes frequent Instagram news feeds and valedictorians model their commencement speeches off of theirs.
Success is also having a spouse that loves you more than anything in the world. It’s having children that are healthy and happy. It’s having a warm home to sleep in. It’s getting to take your mom out to dinner and going to happy hour with your high school buddies.
Success is that moment when, after years of wondering the desert, of hearing the stories of others, of following the signs, of trying and failing, that you finally know exactly what your destination looks like. You smile underneath the hot sun with your feet dug into the sand. You turn and point in the direction you know you need to go. Right there at the end of your pointer finger is your promised land, in the distance just a few miles ahead. And you know it’s not a mirage this time.
The point is, don’t chase money. Chase your dreams. Chase what makes you happy. Love what you do and do great work. The money will follow. And don’t ever forget about the other pillars of life: health, love and happiness. These are the things that will truly fulfill you.
I love to talk with new and interesting people. If you’d be interested in chatting about the ideas mentioned above or any other ideas, shoot me an email at jlord5397@gmail.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.
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