Fighting for the Impossible
"4!....5!....6!...." The boxing referee dramatically counts to 10 getting closer and closer to ending the fight. He stares down at me sprawled on the mat as I struggle to get up. My head is in a fog and my body is seduced by the comfort of the mat, it's hard to get up when I can just stay down and not fight!
THAT is the scene that plays in my head every morning when I wake up at 4:15am. To be clear, I don't "need" to wake up that early and unless I have a predawn meeting I don't need to be in the office until five hours later. So why do I do this to myself?!
I have imposed this emphatic sense of urgency and purpose because I refuse to live a mediocre life. The goals and dreams I have can best be described as ridiculous and unrealistic by most. These goals are the "Northern Star" that guides me, the light at the end of the tunnel that keeps me going, and the unrelenting motivation that forces me to grow so that I may reach new heights. I dedicate my early morning hours to develop into that person; I read and study a lot. I'm mining for informational gold nuggets (as my mom eloquently put it) with each page potentially holding the missing key to graduate to the next level of understanding and experience.
I want more out of life, a lot more, and I am determined to fight to get it. I am not just fighting for what I want, but I am fighting for all the people that depend on me. I am in their corner fulfilling my responsibility of being the best so that I can do the most (for them)!
Mediocre goals don't require much effort but also don't inject much motivation either, a revelation I learned from the latest book I read (The 4hr Workweek by Tim Ferriss): "Having an unusually large goal is an adrenaline infusion that provides the endurance to overcome the inevitable trials and tribulations that go along with any goal. Realistic goals, goals restricted to the average ambition level, are uninspiring and will only fuel you through the first or second problem, at which point you throw in the towel. If the potential payoff is mediocre or average so is your effort."
In my case, what galvanized this motivation is the memory of the difficult life I had growing up. Being broke (financially) and broken (spiritually) is a combination no one should ever endure. The harder I work the more "distance" I feel like I put between me and that broken, helpless, miserable state. Gut-wrenching defeat is something you never ever forget.
"…7!...8!" I jolt up like I just got hammered with 1000 volts of electricity and sit on the side of the bed, groggy, caffeine-deprived, but "I'm up! I'm up!" I tell myself. I would argue that this daily countdown has been one of the biggest game-changers in my life. Winning is all about showing up to the fight and having unwavering purpose to hang in there when you are trading blows with life! As Mohammed Ali so eloquently said "Impossible is not a declaration, it's a dare, impossible is potential, impossible is temporary,…Impossible is nothing."
