
A single thread isn’t impressive.
It holds a few uses. It isn’t visually appealing. In fact, when you hold a single piece of thread, it looks…lonely. Yes, the lonely life of the single piece of string.
But when you take a skilled hand in combination with a trained eye, and that hand begins to weave those pieces of thread with others, all different in color…something beautiful begins to birth. In time, with conviction and patience, that single thread is a fundamental piece to a beautiful tapestry.
Our lives, I argue, are very much the same.
The decision to follow small planned activities day in and day out for the growth of your character and the benefit of your soul, in the end, creates something incredibly amazing. Each day can be viewed as a thread. A piece of string that if taken care of will be able to be a part of something that represents a bigger picture. I believe in full that each of us have the opportunity to take our lives and create them into something that we have only dreamed of before. Many of us won’t take that step because we are scared or because the fear of failure seems so humiliating that it sends shivering cracks of paralysis into the spot in our soul called action.
We must overcome this fear.
Courage. Courage cannot possibly exist without fear.
In fact, courage is acting in the presence of fear. It is pushing yourself just beyond your limits and testing new waters. When we act with courage, we build momentum. In one way, you almost have to seek out situations that will test you. You have to confront your past…talk to that person you don’t want to…go skydiving or anything else that makes your heart race and is a testament to overcoming a fear.
This tapestry I speak of is a physical manifestation of our dream. The dream that umbrellas over all other wants, goals, needs and desires. It is overarching, powerful, and whispers in your ear late at night, “Chase me.” At times we get a sip of the life we would lead if we were living our dream and that only adds to our addiction to it. You must chase it. It is yours to have and only you can create it.
If you don’t chase it, you are committing spiritual suicide.
I have another fear to face and the momentum I have from the past almost 4 weeks of flawless bodybuilding, eating clean, and rocking work is going to help me. For a long time I have wondered how I could take The Better Man Project from where it is now to something else. I didn’t know what that was for a while, but after having this moment of clarity when I was watching a motivational speech given in front of 20,000+ roaring fans, I knew what I wanted to do. Something inside me clicked and what came out was this…
I want that. I am going to go do that.
This moment made me think of the future with this project and how I should delegate my energy. Writing will always stay a constant, however, something new is brewing in the tank. I know exactly how it is going to look like at the beginning, and it is launching next Monday morning. I am spending this entire week building the foundations for it and as of next week, we are off on a entire new journey. For those who read this blog, I will tip you off.
Video. Speeches. Recommendations. Books to read. Poetry. Lyrics. Quotes of the day. All of which are going to be in video format.
Time to stretch myself. To give a little bit more. To enter into a world with blinding positivity and innovate in an area.
But here’s my challenge to you this week. At the beginning of every day, think about one positive character trait you want to focus on. Maybe your conviction in the conference room, your confidence in the gym, your charisma, your courage….but do it every single day. Stretch. Get uncomfortable and push yourself past your limits. The only way you are going to grow is if you constantly look for ways to do things a little bit better. Sure you are going to fail some, but it’s not going to kill you.
At the end of the week, you will have a pretty interesting looking tapestry. And who knows? You might just do this for the rest of your life.
Evan Sanders
The Better Man Project
I’ll take up the challenge this week. It’ll take a bit of thinking. I’ll pick one for tomorrow and think about the rest. This list may be what I choose from: Adventurous, courageous, decisive, enthusiastic, fearless, generous, kind, passionate, patient, self-confident, self-disciplined, thoughtful, understanding
Thanks for the Post and Challenge.