Find A Reason To Live And Die For

Written on October 11, 2007 by Tezza

Thursday’s weekly guide to Personal Growth from 4EvaYoung.com

“I adhere to what my daughter Amelia calls the Gutter Theory of Life. It goes like this: You don’t want to be lying in the gutter, having been run down by a bus, the last bit of your life ebbing away, and be thinking, “I should have taken that rafting trip…” or, “I should have learned to surf…” or “I should have flown upside down - with smoke!” Pete Conrad was the third man to walk on the moon. He died in a motorcycle accident on an ordinary day. It took him a while to die as he went to the hospital. I wonder what he was thinking. I hope it was: I did it all.” - Laurence Gonzale

I’ve always admired those who have achieved their aspirations. Those rare men and women who have struggled for countless years honing their craft to one day reach the pinnacle of their chosen endeavor. We are constantly bombarded with rags to riches stories and overnight successes, while it sells books and gets media attention the reality for many of these high achievers is that it was much more of a gradual progression born of years of work before they finally reached the top. They were willing to live and die for their dream if that was what it took. So if your life lacks fire and passion then here are some ideas to find it:

1. Find the joy and passion in what you do
“You may think that real work is doing your job, but the real work is finding what you’re supposed to do with your life!” — Oprah

I cringe every time I’m at a dinner party and I hear someone whinging about how they hate their job or boss. You spend upwards of a third of your days at work so it would be a pretty sad predicament to know every morning you are heading off to a place you didn’t want to be. It’s little wonder then that all your joy and passion for life would be slowly drained from your existence or why others find an escape or outlet through other activities outside of work. Maybe it’s why bars are full to the brim on Friday nights as all the disgruntled city workers go to drown their sorrows after a terrible week of drudgery and stress.

2. You are either in the game of life or watching from the sidelines
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt

Have you ever noticed that the biggest critics are those who sit on the sidelines. You see it all the time at sporting games where the wannabes and dreamers scream and shout instructions from the comfort of their armchair or stadium seat. Interestingly the ones shouting the loudest are the ones least likely to ever make the professional league because they are either overweight or glaringly unfit.

It’s easy to sit on the sidelines and bemoan the losses and celebrate the victories when you have nothing on the line. The players actually making a living to play the game are physically pushing their limits, train hours on end and give it their all week in week out to live out their dreams. Fortune favors those who are willing to get off the sidelines and actually get in the game of life.

3. Don’t squander life, live it and make it count
“I have a choice, the same choice that faces every man. I can live a frivolous life, trying to impress others with the house I live in, the clothes I wear, the car I drive. I can strive to be a success in the way of the world, seeking the admiration of others, reveling in their jealousy. I can seek domination over my family and fellow workers in a vain attempt to hide my own deficiencies. I can seek fame, which is the most elusive pursuit of all, for it has no substance and soon vanishes in the air.

I can indulge in endless prattle about my friends and neighbors, dissipating my life’s energy a little at a time. I can wallow in self-pity, refusing to accept responsibility for my own circumstances. I can manipulate others into taking care of me, which is the way of all petty tyrants. I can complain about boredom, as if it were up to those around me to inject excitement into my day.

These are the patterns of the living dead, people who have forsaken life, who are willing to squander their most precious gift, because they refuse to face up to the reality of death. If they wanted to live, truly wanted to live, they would rise up in a resurrection of their own making and commit themselves to the life they have.” - Richard Bode’s

4. Go hard, go strong, live with no regrets.
“The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both.” - James Michener

When I come to the end of my days, I might if I’m lucky be given the chance to look back and review the events of my life. What I would be interested to know is whether I took a punt in life and lived it well or if I chickened out and took the easy road. I hope I managed to be in an enviable position to live out my dreams and to create a lifestyle where my work is play. To be able to live without a distinction would be the ultimate dream of anyone I think. The only way to be able to do that is to find something you feel such passion for that you would give everything towards that cause. Whether that be a vocation, a charity or a project it doesn’t really matter in the end other than you are so absorbed in the moment that you lose track of time.

5. If you want something in life you have to be willing to grab it.
“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.” - Leon J. Suenes

Imagine waking up one day living your dream, imagine having the time of your life and somebody was willing to pay you do do what you love, imagine if that was your everyday? Their are fortunate few people in life who have managed to live out their dreams and in practically every instance these people didn’t wait around for someone to make it happen for them. They had the guts to go out and create it for themselves. Sure it may have required years of sacrifice and you will surely be tested as to your conviction but to those who past this test they reaped the rewards.

The saddest thing is to see someone who has a dream and knew what it took to make it happen but stumbled just before the finish line. They stumbled because they lost their conviction to see it through, maybe fear started to seep into their thinking, maybe it was because they didn’t realize how close they were or how every failure made them stronger. Maybe they feared the thought of success. Don’t let that be you. See things through to the end.

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