Disney Leadership Keynote Speaker
Five daily blogs about life's 5 big choices on five interconnected sites.
First thing on the list today, inspired by the Third Day song I’m currently listening to:
It’s simply joyful to know that so many people visit each day. Your visits humble me, inspire me.
Second thing on the list: If a movie was made of your life, what song would be featured?
If it’s easier, what top two or three songs? Hard to pick just one.
“Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence.” — Saint Peter
Perhaps hope is elusive to us during a midlife crisis.
Perhaps hope surrounds us during a midlife celebration.
All this time, I’ve been asking you to think about your answer to the simplest, but most important question a young person may ask you.
Are you inspired enough now to come up with your own unique and special answer?
Humble servant.
Profoundly simple.
Easy to remember.
Easy enough for others to remember it.
But not powerful enough to get others motivated to think long enough, and hard enough, to do anything about theirs.
It’s fun to dream big dreams, isn’t it?
We did this constantly as children, a little less often as adolescents, and even less as teenagers.
Well, maybe we dreamed more as teenagers, but mostly about sex relationships.
But when did we stop dreaming about flying, or becoming an astronaut, artist, inventor, teacher, parent, Olympic athlete, President, CEO, farmer, race car driver, explorer, adventurer, writer, etc?
When?
When life started to get complicated.
When we can return to simplicity, our dreams will start to flourish again.
How do I know? Because I’m writing this for you to read.
Okay, my wife says I march to the beat of a different drummer. And after 50 years, I’m finally okay with that. It’s who I am – who I want to be.
Are ya with me? Are you cool with who you are? With the way people judge perceive you?
No, really, are you? Most people are, right? Because most people are pretty “normal” (whatever that means).
But if you’ve ever felt sort of out on the edge, the fringe so to speak, it’s a fairly lonely place to be. And it takes guts to be out there.
Had to tell you all of that to tell you this: “You didn’t give enough consideration to yesterday’s challenge to have a convincing answer today.”
How do I know? Because I live on the fringes, an outsider. Outsiders know. Wish it was explainable.
So, may I ask you, again, to take yesterday’s challenge more seriously today?
You know what, don’t even worry about. It’s far too much to ask of an adult, in mid life, to have an immediate, and convincing answer to the most basic of childhood questions.
Just tell those precious young minds to run along, and not to bother you.