What if i told you that you could do nothing and still have a great life?Some of us may think we have our sights dialed in on all our hopes and dreams but…nahhh. Most of us are scrapping, right? There’s hardly enough hours in the day to do what we have to do and what we want to. There’s things we are waiting for, but seem like they're never going to happen for us. But time just won’t stop. Been there?When you feel like you are being left in the dust or hanging on by a thread, just remember this small lesson: Becoming is better than achieving.
As a marketer/blogger, i spend a lot of my time online…like 10 hours a day or so. There is so much stuff going on out there that it is often overwhelming. You scroll through your Instagram and see the highlights of everyone’s life. What is it this week? another engagement, new car, promotion, vacations. And all of this is happening while you and i are bored behind our desk at work (or on the couch with Netflix and a bowl of cereal) wondering when it’s our turn. I scroll through my Twitter feed and see the hard-working entrepreneurs with their latest product launch or a famous blogger with 2,000 retweets. Here i sit with my 2-month old thread of thoughts wondering if i can ever reach that point.If we aren’t careful, we’ll always be waiting for the next big thing. Our natural striving and seeking and pressing is good because of the innovation, companies, and success stories that come as a result. However, we can miss important things along the way if we set our eye on the prize and forget about the person in pursuit of it.What a sad day it would be when you get exactly what you've always wanted and realize the same day that you had it all wrong. What happens if you...- Make the best grades in the class but don't learn anything.- You earn more money in a year than most people see in a lifetime, but forget to be a parent.- Set a world record or win a Nobel prize, but don't have people you love to share it with.- Gain the whole entire world, but lose your soul.I face the same reality as a 20-something. I dream of selling my company for a small fortune, having a great platform of influence, and building a cause with a following that would make Ghandi jealous. I plan on working hard to achieve those things, but i don’t think those things will be the essence of my life. I'd much rather be known for generosity, integrity, and adventure.I’m more convinced than ever we do not exist to achieve something. Instead, i believe we were created to become something! Let me be clear: reaching your goals and becoming a great person are NOT mutually exclusive events - they can happen at the same time. But when we trust the process of "becoming", we take our eyes off the checkpoints and start looking in the mirror.I think being a better person than i was yesterday is a far more personally-fulfilling and earth-contributing goal than any revenue mark or status symbol. And as part of "becoming" we will be equipped to reach far higher than our aspiration would have taken us, with more people by our side to love and enjoy life with.
