Stop.
Stop listening to everybody around you.
Stop following aimlessly.
Stop making excuses.
Start going after what you want.
Make decisions.
Don’t apologize for those decisions.
Some decisions you make will be wrong.
You will fail.
Some decisions you make will be spot on.
You will succeed.
Some decisions you make will just be.
That’s OK too.
You know what you want. Your friends and family know what they want for you.
There is a monumental difference between the two.
It’s the difference between being happy and just being.
You can’t please everybody.
Don’t try.
Most people won’t agree with you.
Good.
Agreement is safe.
Acceptance is safe.
Doing what you’ve been doing is safe.
Seek danger.
i will :)
Good. ;)
“You know what you want. Your friends and family know what they want for you.”
I needed to hear this today. Thanks.
Thanks Shannon. I’m glad it resonated with you. :)
But what if you don’t want *anything*?
What if absolutely nothing on earth drives or motivates you?
What if you lose interest in absolutely everything you try within minutes, or at the most, days?
What if you’ve searched for your “fire” for over 25 years, only to find that you simply don’t have any?
What then?
Mike, just a thought.
What if the “fire” is not about passion, but somehow about people? By that I mean that the work, the event, the challenge might not be the catalyst. But are there people, or groups of people, whose welfare prompt you pour your energies out.
I’m not a great fan of the work that I do (pastor) but I do love the people to the point where I am happy to do the work required to care for them.
Your contributions on here are very insightful and helpful to me personally. Thank you. Just wanted to open the conversation.
Hi Bill,
Thank you for this great response. It’s obvious you enjoy helping people.
Karol
Hey Mike,
As the old saying goes (from Alice In Wonderland): “If you don’t know where you’re going any road will take you there.”
My best personal answer is: keep testing. It’s impossible you’ve tried everything there is to try. Your fire is out there. Don’t put it out before you’ve had a chance to get burned. ;)
Karol
Hi Bill,
Thanks a bunch for your thoughts. I truly appreciate them! :)
I shudder to think of what I could do as a marketer if my heart were *truly* in it. But knowledge is only half the battle. I’ve partnered up with someone else (who has a bigger “name” in the niche than I do), and I’m hoping his enthusiasm will spill over onto me enough to jumpstart things.
I agree that your passion, or fire, doesn’t necessarily need to be vocation-oriented, and I probably shouldn’t have framed it that way. I kept my post stark, thinking it might be fodder for Karol to formulate into a new post somewhere down the line.
But I would definitely like to find a compelling reason to get out of bed every morning. And as you said, it can involve almost anything – people, groups, animals, the earth we tread upon, the air we breath – almost anything.
Life on a metaphorical sailboat can be a frustrating experience. the winds of day to day reality can blow you in any direction it chooses, and you are helplessly along for the ride.
It seems the key is finding your rudder, so that you can eventually guide yourself to the place where your life develops meaning…
…and richness
…and fullness.
My search to this point has been all but fruitless. But maybe my methods are flawed. That’s what I’m most curious to find out at this point.
What if the LOL Cats are right when they say: “Ur Doin It Wrong”. ;)
I love this post Karol… couldn’t have said it better myself : )
Have a great week!
Thank you Mark!
I love this! Thanks for the inspiration this morning – much needed. :)
Hi Heather,
You are very welcome. :)
Karol
Captivated by the photo and the point of the post. Most bloggers think they have to write 2000 words. You showed how to get to the point. We will remember your post. You could have taken 2000 words to do it, but you chose the direct method and got to the point. You are a true minimalist blogger. Love it. Well done!
Hi Erin,
Thank you. That means a lot. I do my best not to put myself in a box. If it comes out in 2000 words and I can’t edit down, so be it. If it comes out in 100 words and it gets the message across, that’s great too. :)
Thank you again,
Karol
‘Some decisions you make will just be’ ….I like that. I think alot of people over analyse decisions they make in their life. It’s nice to just go with the flow. If it turns out you don’t like a decision you made earlier then go make another one more in tune with how you truly want to live.
Thanks B.
“It’s nice to just go with the flow. ” – I should use that advice more often myself. :)
I agree, a lot of us over analyze. There’s nothing wrong with that as long as it doesn’t stop us from setting out to do amazing things.
Karol
Thumbs Up for going with the flow! Seek Danger because Danger means Fear and Fear means being out of your comfort zone. But being out of your comfort zone means growing, expanding, creating. Being alive.
This shit is huge!
Thanks Michael. I fully agree. Going outside of your comfort zone often is important for growth. :)
Nice! I’m sure that what I want and what others want for me are completely different. I don’t think they could think up what I have in mind!
I’m teetering on the edge……damn it feels good!
Jump off! Cross the line! ;)
Great post! This is the kind of post I love to read in the morning!
I forgot to say Thank You Karol =)
Thank you Armando! And you are welcome. :)
Wow. Thanks for this – another perfectly timed post just when I needed it!! I’m going to repost this to my blog.
Awesome Steve! Glad you liked it!
I love this!
Scrambled brain chatter unwound.
Prepped and laid out in a logical fashion . . . ready for action.
Order out of chaos.
Clarity of vision is dawning.
Much wisdom is transmuted here.
It resonates.
I feel the warm rush of knowing a thing to be true. Eureka!
Though my voyage is–and must be–a solitary one … I am heartened.
I take comfort in the realization others have sailed from these seas before me..
My load is lightened.
Thanks Pat! Thank you for your interesting comment. I’m glad this resonated with you. ;)