Author Archives: Steven

The Biggest Waste of Time That Can Change Your Life

20 February 2010

4 Comments

Creating a list of one hundred goals is a monumental task.  Before reaching the one hundred mark, completing the list often becomes a goal of its own.  I didn’t finish my own list in a day or even a week but, in time, the list reached 100 goals and it continues to grow.  Today I  added my 123rd goal, “Learn how to Moon Walk like Michael Jackson”.

Writing a list of goals might seem like a big waste of time and, for some people, it might be.  Some people will write a list of goals and forget about them only moments later.  It is understandable.  We have “real lives” and chasing after a list of goals doesn’t fit into our routine.  There is dinner to be made, bills to be paid and obligations to fulfill.  That goal of taking a vacation with your mother isn’t really a priority.  That goal of becoming a doctor just isn’t practical when you have to work  two jobs just to make ends meet.

It is exactly that attitude, those who believe possibility doesn’t exist, that renders such a list meaningless.  A waste of time.  Not until this perspective is altered can a person maximize the value of such a list.  The reality isn’t that the list is a waste of time, it is your attitude that makes it a waste of time.  Without belief in yourself and in your abilities, a list changes absolutely nothing in your life.  If you don’t believe you can change, you won’t.  You will become a product of circumstance in your own life.  You forfeit control.

Those who dream and believe will find that creating a list of one hundred goals is exactly the catalyst they need to change their lives for the better.  Cynics may not believe that accomplishing a goal like skydiving or bungee jumping can change someone’s life.  I would argue otherwise.  Pursuing goals requires a person to stand up and take a proactive position in their own life.  They create opportunity and pursue their passions.  They conquer fear and overcome personal weakness.  No longer is their life a consequence of their surroundings but instead, a result of their efforts.

Those who dream and believe will do what it takes to make their dreams a reality.  They will do what it takes to change the aspects of their lives that they are not happy with and will begin living aggressively in pursuit of their desires and ambitions.

Creating your own list of one hundred goals might just be the biggest waste of time that can change your life…forever.

✓ Goal #6) Sponsor a Child

13 February 2010

6 Comments

We’ve all seen the commercials asking you to become the sponsor of a starving child. Our hearts are heavy for these children as we see them barely clinging to life. We wish there was something we could do to change their situation and more times than I’d like to admit, I’ve turned my head, diverted my eyes or changed the channel. After a few moments, the guilt subsides and my life goes on as usual.

So do their lives.

The commercials end but the suffering goes on. Children all over the world are still hungry, still dying of preventable diseases, still drinking dirty water. My few moments of guilt do nothing to improve their situation.

I have always thought about sponsoring a child but I never felt like the time was right. I didn’t feel like I had enough money. My recent trip to Isla Roatan in Honduras opened my eyes to the struggle people face on a daily basis. A sixty-second commercial does not have the same impact on a person as being there. I realized that no matter how “broke” I convince myself that I am, my life is so fortunate and I should give to those less fortunate than myself.

Today, instead of feeling guilty about doing nothing, I sponsored a child in Honduras. I accomplished a goal but more importantly, I am helping in a small way to change someone else’s life for the better. I am helping give them an opportunity in life. Helping someone else is far more rewarding than scratching another goal off of my list.

I urge you to consider sponsoring a child of your own. It will be one of the most rewarding choices of your life.

I’m Going to Die

19 December 2009

12 Comments

Have you ever known something but not understood what it meant?

The other night while I was lying in bed I began to think about life and ultimately, death. I was struck with the realization that I am going to die; someday. Since that night I have been overcome with an almost sick feeling and I haven’t been able to shake the thought that, in fact, I will die.

It isn’t that I will die that bothers me so much as the feeling of isolation that comes with the thought of death.  When I pass over the threshold, I will leave behind everything and everyone that I have ever cared about.  The thought of being physically trapped in a box buried beneath the ground goes against the spirit of my being and the thought of cremation seems morbid.

I have always rejected the thought of an afterlife, though now I find myself seeking comfort in the idea that there may be something more beyond my worldly existence.  In a way, these thoughts are selfish.  They serve only as a way to alleviate my fears of death.

I find myself struggling to accept death as a part of life.  I know death is inescapable, that we were born into a game we cannot beat, yet I find myself trying to ignore reality.  At the same time, this understanding is an awakening.  So many people never realize that they have never actually lived until they are already at the end of their life.

With this knowledge, I will live my life as a gift not only every day but every moment.  I will follow my heart, live ambitiously, love purely, share freely  and give abundantly.  Only then will I live life without the concern of death.

Death is more universal than life; everyone dies but not everyone lives.
-A. Sachs