I wrote this piece last night, and wanted to write today about the after effects of it. I posted the writing below.

I Accept

I accept your challenge…the one you put in front of me,

You know exactly who I can and cannot be,

You have taken away the noise and left me in silence,

Causing my inner voice to storm with violence,

But you know that this is the test before the storm,

To get me ready to ultimately perform,

In front of the crowd who needs a voice,

Because that voice, was lost in the noise.

You have stripped away the people who were once near,

To make me listen to my heart with both ears,

You have allowed me to doubt the path and its result,

Causing a little bit of personal tumult.

But you know better than all,

That this is just part of the internal brawl,

That you are putting me through to help me grow,

And to never think…but just to know.

Mother Teresa had a very famous line that is often misquoted. She said, “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle.” Usually, the quote stops there. But the rest of the line goes “I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” Last night I wrote the piece above which talked about accepting the challenge. In the past three years, never have I once said to myself, “Okay, I accept the challenge.” All of the adversity, all of the struggle…was just me being silently reactionary. Instead, I now know that it is all part of the journey.

I am not a huge believer that everything is planned out for you. However, I do believe to certain extent that once you choose a specific path, there are bumps and victories prepared for you along the way. Those bumps and victories are perfectly sized to how big of a game you play in life. The bigger the game,  the bigger the victories and defeats. When you play small…expect small gains.

Today is a special day for me because I just hit 200,000 views and have almost 10,000 followers. I remember the days when I had 3 people viewing my blog. Hell, I even remember it when my roommate was the 1 viewer I would have. I truly believe reading through the comments, the messages on my other channels, and some of the personal interactions that I have had with individual users that something special is being created here. We…and yes it is we…are creating something that is going to have a massive impact on the world. Yes, my writing happens to be the vessel for which the conversation is started, but the conversation continues with each and every one of you who are contributing. Through pictures, quotes, pieces of advice…the works. So thank you for helping me achieve something that I never saw at the start. Sometimes, on the journey, we get lost and find greater dreams. The path splits. And we walk in greater directions.

Accept the challenge. Today, I have had all the energy and courage in the world because I know that everything in front of me is put there to make me grow. We all have a definition of what The Big Guy upstairs looks like, some of us don’t and that is perfectly fine…but the important part is believing in something that you have been given…yourself. When you start believing that you are everything you need to transform and lead a great life, then you can actually do it. Without that belief or in the constant searching for other people’s advice on how to live your life, you will end up disappointed. Been there done that.

I am proud to be writing each and every day. What makes me even more proud and humbled, is the fact that I have literally thousands of great people who are all rooting me on…but most importantly, who are all walking with me on their journeys. After the book launches, and I get some money, I am going to spend months traveling the world, setting up meeting places in prominent  cities so everyone can come sit down and talk. Wouldn’t that be a blast? I will record your stories…and we will continue this journey together.

The Better Man Project…as in a project for a better mankind.

Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project