FIVE YEARS AND COUNTING.
Thursday, January 13, 2011 at 8:34PM “Let me not then die ingloriously and without a struggle, but let me first do some great thing that shall be told among men hereafter.”
— Hector from The Iliad. Homer.
5 years ago in December, HAVE A STRONG DAY was born out of an unshakable desire / calling to inspire people to better themselves.
5 and a half years ago, I started a blog (it is still online but not being currently added to) and the following are some excerpts from it. With every 5-7 years all of the cells in your body being replaced by new ones, I am indeed a new person by now as well. 5 years seems a good time to reflect on what has taken place and where I’m headed. I still hold to these even today.
“Two things, health and hope.
Starting with health, we all have some form of it. Good, bad, decent, vibrant - you pick the adjective for yours. I have perfect health. This is not to be boastful, this is only to preface the next portion of this post. Aside from a few miscellaneous "irritants," I have perfect health. Hay fever, pollen allergies, etc. are the only real concerns that I have. With a recent insurance physical, I qualified for the best possible rate for disability insurance because, yes, my health and fitness is in line. My health is a precious gift. My health is a blessing. My health is the BEST blessing. My health, is my life. Your health, is my life. If I were to disregard that what would I be doing to protect that blessing? Not much. How is your health? Whatever state it is in, PROTECT IT! Fight for it. Believe in it. Hope through it. Do you want to change it? Change begins with choice. Change your mind, change your body. Change is good. These sayings are familiar to many of us. There is not any portion of this planet earth that does not undergo change. It’s somewhat arrogant that we decide that we have it all figured out and that we can be the one entity on planet earth that doesn't change. If your body is changed, surely your life will be also. I promise you, when your health and fitness are in order, every other area of your life will begin to fall into line - personal, professional, recreational, familial, etc. Start today. You may not have tomorrow.”
"If your health is not in line, how do you know where the problem lies? How can you treat a symptom without having the root cause of the problem addressed? How quickly does our medical community write prescriptions to treat symptoms WITHOUT TREATING THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE HEALTH ISSUE? How many side effects do prescriptive drugs have THAT ARE WORSE THAN THE PROBLEM ITSELF or ARE SO NUMEROUS THAT ITS NOT WORTH IT TO TAKE THEM? How many drugs are prescribed TO OFFSET THE BAD EFFECTS OF ANOTHER? Don't get me wrong, there are good pharmaceuticals. But how quickly do we jump to put some toxic or life destroying (antibiotics) pill in our mouth when we are too lazy and too stubborn to even get our basic nutrition in order? Slick ad campaigns, backwards medical training mindsets, etc. have led up to a social programming that has caused our group as a whole to jump first to the nearest pharmacy to solve our problems when the problems really result from what is in our refrigerator, pantry and cabinets."
5 years is a long time. In terms of a lifetime though, 5 years is to our life span as our life span is to a millennium.
So, what do you spend your time on? Are you willing to work and spend every day of your life investing your time and money into something from which you may never reap benefits or financial rewards so that you can leave a legacy from which your progeny can benefit?
The great irony and juxtaposition between our life span and what we feel driven to accomplish in our life span, because it is indeed so short and we want to be remembered or feel that we made a difference, is that the things we do during our time here don't even really become a legacy or don't mature until after we're gone.
Do you think that Van Gogh set out to create artwork that was worth millions of dollars per piece today? I highly doubt it. I wager that he set out to do something he was talented / skilled at or passionate about. Artists often labor in obscurity with their work never seeing the light of day. Artists are often troubled individuals that have to have an outlet to cope or feel productive. But then again, aren’t we all troubled in some way. And this is even more of a reason while we all need an outlet.
Do you have that vision for your life? Do you want to “live” forever? If so, then you need to recalibrate your long term goals. Instead of setting 5- and 10-year goals start thinking about 50- and 100-year goals with the clear understanding that you will never see what they become. But if you don't leave a roadmap for those to carry the torch, then your work might as well die with you.
Salvation Army.
The YMCA.
Boys and Girls Clubs.
How many of the founders of these organizations never were able to see what their organizations have become today? All of them.
Go to a funeral every year to remind yourself that time is short and you must live while you may.
Have a strong day.
Bravo out.