Whether it was at a young age or perhaps a moment in the latter years of life, I believe a man encounters a moment in his/her life where they decide to set their sights on an end goal, destination, or purpose for their life. I don’t believe everybody has this moment. But, for the ones that do, the moment is quite pivotal.
I have not always wanted to be wildly successful. From a young age, I did not dream of being a successful entrepreneur or multi-millionaire. That was just something that happened over time (Whoops! I wrote this a few years too soon..). In fact, I did not have a desire to be wealthy until I reached the age of 20; right around the time period where my father passed away. It was his passing that sparked the killer instinct in me to pursue success and accomplishment. Prior to his passing, this desire did not exist.
My goal was to climb corporate ranks until someday…I would have a corner office and a salary exceeding $60,000.00 per year. Clearly, my sights were not set very high. However, I didn’t understand it at that point.
When I was working at The OSU Medical Center, there was an article I was reading for men that started something like this…”OK, you have the perfect apartment, car, and six-figure salary…now what are you going to do?”
In that moment, I pieced together something. It helped me realize that I could obtain 100k+ per year before the age of 30. In that moment, I began to crave success – not for the perks and toys it would bring – but because I realized it was the expression of excellence and a life fully pushed to its’ limit.
Drive. Determination. Confusion. Frustration. Despair. Surrender. Drive…
It’s like trying to start a marriage after having a divorce. Yes, it’s quite possible…but you have baggage.
Baggage is an academic career that poorly demonstrated the intelligence and level of excellence I know myself to be capable of.
Were I to do it all over again, I would have applied myself much more so that my academic merits would speak for me, prior to having the opportunity to sit in front of the right person for an interview.
However, we do not get second chances to re-do elements of our life. The young lady who drank too much spiked punch at her prom can never go back and re-live the night.
Instead, we pick up the pieces from where we left off and begin to put them together.
“I’d rather die as a man than live as a coward.”
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