I remember an interesting and revealing conversation with a young man. The bottom line was that he lacked any serious motivation and direction in his life and didn’t have a clue as to what he wanted to see happen in/through his life.
I thought of the line from the film “Tombstone” spoken by Wyatt Earp,
“I spent my whole life not knowing what I wanted out of life.”
Those words have always haunted me and led me to pray that Jesus continues to give me clarity regarding what my life is all about. As this young man and I continued to talk about how he should go about getting some fizz in his Coke, gas in his tank, fire in his belly. I shared three things with him:
1. Determine exactly what it is you want to achieve, with God’s empowerment.
2. Ask yourself what it will take to achieve it as you lean into him.
3. Pay the price and do what it takes, regardless of the cost or inconvenience to you.
The Gospel needs to be the foundation from which these three steps flow. It is imperative that I begin with who I am in Jesus and who He is in me. It is important to get in touch with my God-given passion, gifts and calling which will aid me in determining my unique contribution.
I often suggest to those young men I coach to start this process by getting away on a “Life Planning Retreat” for most of a day to think, pray and seek His will. Often this time jump-starts a process that may take months, or even years.
We are talking about a combination of both dreaming big and, at the same time, focusing on a few things to give my time and attention to–maybe only one thing over time. I was captivated by a statement from Meg Whitman, who once ran for governor of California: “I want to be 100% good at a few things rather than so-so at a lot of things.”
Oh, to dream big and then focus your energy and time like a laser. You might not achieve all you dream of, but you most certainly will not achieve anything you don’t dream of.
Recent Comments