George Washington once said we should “Labor to keep alive in your chest that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”
For most purposes, the world will call today the last workday of the year.
But I’m hearing 2013 whistle at us to come on, keep going, and water and grow what was sown in 2012.
Open your chest and put another log on the fire.
#LTMP
183 days ago,
4,392 hours ago,
263,520 minutes ago,
15,811,200 seconds ago you declared movement towards a goal or goals.
Well?
You’ve got 183 days left,
4,392 hours to go,
263,520 minutes available,
and 15,811,200 seconds to grab what you said you would reach for.
Obsess over the inches.
Love the grind.
Go.
Finish it.
There is a bridge between your dream and your reality.
Think of those you classify as a hero, mentor, or leader. They live on these bridges. They are never content on this side of the ravine.
Ask them how they got to where they are and they always go back to their stories of finding, building, and sometimes even stumbling onto these bridges.
There is a bridge to wisdom. There is a bridge to love. There is a bridge to wealth. There is a bridge to creativity. There is a bridge to peace. There is a bridge to fulfilment.
Just know that what got you here won’t get you there. You’re going to need another bridge.
Dreaming is the easy part, but reality will require a bridge.
And if you can’t find a bridge, please find a way to build one.
The world needs you on the other side of the ravine.
One of my unmet heroes is Steven Pressfield. In my opinion he wrote the greatest book ever on breakthrough and our inner creative battles called The War of Art. Follow him on Twitter or check out his blog.
No matter if you’re a struggling musician, entrepreneur, mom, actor, doctor, or a chef – this book offers maddening insight to what goes on in our chest and between our ears.
Pressfield addresses the enemy to our creative as the Resistance – “that destructive force inside human nature that rises whenever we consider a tough, long-term course of action that might do for us or others something that’s actually good.”
Giving a name to this enemy of creative has changed my business and my life. Now I can call it out, name it, stare it in the eyes, ignore it, and fight against it.
I’ve seen resistance come in many forms:
The list goes on for days….
We think it takes jet engines, planes, and pilots to fly. But without resistance – without something to push against – both we and our dreams are grounded and never free in flight.
Expect resistance in your preparation for take off.
If have found the power of one handshake with a stranger, one conversation with a friend, one tough call made, one new idea birthed, one difficult action performed, and one simple day can change your life.
Do you realize how significant today is?
There’s music to be had.
Seize it.
Ashton
Ashton.Gustafson 