Live a Life of Significance

I want to make a difference in this world.  Always have.  Always will.

If you've only known me as an adult, I hope that would come as no surprise to you.  But if you knew me growing up, it might be a complete surprise.

I was a good kid.  Decent grades.  Respectful.  Boy Scout.  Active in my church.  But nothing about me growing up would get you too excited.  Painfully average, I would say.  Boring maybe.

I guess I had my moments.  I remember one time one of my high school teachers spread the rumor that Ronnie McNabb and I had egged her house one Saturday night.  We didn't do it. 

I dropped by her house the next morning after church with my mom in the car and asked her why she was spreading those rumors. (Yes, the rumor was already out there the next morning--I heard about it at church before I could even get in the door.  Such is life in a small town.)

She came to the door but had one of those chain things like hotels have so she only opened the door a little bit.  "You did it Joe Black!  I saw you!"

Honestly, I didn't do it.  But the next weekend her house got seriously egged but I have no earthly idea how that could have happened.

We didn't have a lot but we always had food on the table and a roof over our heads.  We had bee hives, cherry trees, and a good sized garden.  And I was gainfully employed from age 10 on.

But you know what?  All that means nothing.  Even the infrequent naysayer that I encountered along the way couldn't stand in the way of me pursuing my dreams.

Play football?   Too slow to be a back, too little to be a lineman.  Somehow I made it work pretty well.

First one in my family to attend college?  No problem.  I was actually never NOT going to college.  I still have no idea how my parents did that. 

The perfect family and great kids?  Got that one in spades!  Married to the same person for almost 42 years now.  I've got great kids and the best grandkids ever.   I actually knew when I was a child that I wanted to be a father.   It's the best gig ever.

A job that let me do something I loved?   Been doing it for over 40 years now.  Sometimes I want to pinch myself to see if I'm dreaming.

Rich?  Travel?  Famous?  None of those things was in my dreams.  I just wanted to be happy and healthy.

So, how do you get there?  How do you have the life you want?

First, dream big.  Don't let anyone limit your dreams.  Anybody that tells you that you can't--cut them out of your life. 

Give yourself a road map to get there.  Pursue those dreams with vigor and determination.  Whatever they may be.

And never give up.  If a door closes, look for a window.  If you make mistakes (and you will), learn from them, grow from them, and move on.  Have no regrets.  Leave no stone unturned on your path to what you want out of life.  Live a life of significance.