Your Choice
In the journey toward the big idea that is entrenched in the hearts and minds of those that dream, there will no doubt be times when the road will turn and the journey will be unbearable. But, as this quote states, I have found those times to be the times where true clarity of purpose can be found:
"There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning." - Louis L'Amour
When faced with choice to let that moment be the end of the pursuit, the retiring of the dream, or instead to muster up just enough to go on one more day, true resolve has the chance to be achieved and the entire course of a Personal Legend changed. It is in this time that dreamers make the choice to be doers and embrace the pain of the journey as their own. And it is also in this moment, and after that shift takes place, that excuses lose their merit and become unacceptable to the ears and distasteful to the tongue.
"I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took an excuse." - Florence Nighingale
Are there viable and explainable reasons why things don't go the way that we expect? Do we have complete control over external forces that influence our course? No. But, do things outside of our control ultimately dictate our success? Are we victims of the world, or victors?
"No victor believes in chance." - Friedrich Nietzsche
There will always be "good times to reconsider" or "realize that your dream isn't going to ever happen." There will always be excuses that most would nod their head and say, "that really is a tough thing to get through" as they coddle your decision to turn back from the big idea you were running towards that was thrown off course by something beyond your control. But, when it all comes down to it, the difference between the victors and the victims in this world is one thing: the choice that each of us makes about where the ultimate responsibility for our happiness lies. Does it lie in the hands and external forces of this world, or have we claimed it as our own? That is the choice and the answer makes all the difference in the world.