Holding back
is close to stealing
This is an
open letter to a friend. They know who they are. I am sharing it with the world
as I believe the contents may inspire others to move.
I’ve been
aware of the shining light within you for some time now. You are capable of
being bold, of changing more than you are willing to admit. You are capable of
living this glorious life and impacting positively on the lives of so many.
One of most
common human failings is settling for too little. It’s easier to fly low,
because it feels safe. By flying too low we shortchange ourselves and others.
We settle for low expectations and small dreams. Often society reminds us about
the dangers of standing up, standing out and making a noise. Well, it’s time.
It’s time to turn up as an adult. It’s time to say I am HERE!
Why are you
afraid of the risk to shine brightly? The path that is available to us all is
to reach higher than we’ve thought possible. Yes, by taking risks one becomes
vulnerable. However life is about an attitude and it’s available to anyone who
chooses to adopt it.
You are your
own unique human being, with inherent gifts and unrealized talents. You have a
capacity to touch others, yet you remain fearful to try. Scared of being a
failure, so you don’t even give it a go. There isn’t a pain-free way to achieve
your goals. It takes commitment, determination, ups and downs. You haven’t
succeeded with your learning yet, not because you can’t figure it out, but
because you haven’t been willing to try and simply do it. Always claiming it’s
all too hard. But through action comes liberation of your heart and mind.
This message
to you is about imploring you to commit to learning that is personal, that
requires guts and that has the potential to change everything for you. If you
believe that you have no talent, in anything, then you are hiding. Life might
scare you, sharing your thinking with others might scare you. But doing nothing
by standing still, instead of standing up, should scare you the most.
Your pain is
real. It’s the pain of possibility, vulnerability and risk. The easiest way to
avoid this pain is to live a life that numbs you, simply existing. I took a
massive risk with you, allowed myself to be vulnerable because I see the
possibility in your heart of something significant. This pain is part of being
alive. In order for there to be courage, there must be risk. When are you going
to truly start living this life instead of just breathing?
You live in
a privileged world and now have a huge opportunity. You’ve already challenged
the status quo with your choices to date. You have taken risks with so many
aspects of your life, but none involve honoring yourself through the investment
of meaningful learning.
It’s time to
consider the notion of remarkability. To be remarkable is to be new, fresh and
risky, the natural antagonists of predictable, boring and safe. Education and
knowledge is not limited to just gaining power, education and knowledge is
transformational.
Transforming self is everything but predictable, boring or
safe. You have stories to share and have a capacity to connect to a generation
through your compassion. Give yourself permission to embrace this humanity and
start saying YES to yourself and the people that matter.
“Holding
back is close to stealing” - Neil Young.
Don’t rob
yourself of greatness. Greatness comes to those that honor their inner truth
through authentic action.
I feel that
all this needed to be said. I am a fellow traveler through the journey of life
and I care enough to stand up and say ‘here’. I am here, present Sir, and
active in helping you realize your purpose.
We determine
our value. Each day that we delay investing in ourselves, we continue to
de-value our being.
You are
valuable. You are chaos. You are new, you are real and you are important.
What
happened yesterday is over. Tomorrow the door is wide open, and this is your
chance to connect and enable what you believe to be the impossible, possible.
