My son, Brandon (here - the top one - with his best friend, Anthony) and I enjoy riding bikes together. It makes for great father-son time. A while ago I made a "mistake" and told him about how his mother and I rode in the MS 150 14 years ago.
The MS 150 is a charity bike ride for Multiple Sclerosis. You ride 75 miles the first day from Cherry Hill, NJ to Ocean City NJ. And then you ride back the next day!
Ever since I mentioned this to Brandon, he decided he wanted us to ride it together. Unfortunately we haven't had the time to optimally train like we need to, so I think it's going to be challenging. So far, the longest ride we've done is 22 miles. In addition, we are doing the ride on mountain bikes, which makes it much harder and will make it take much longer.
So is the article just a one big "whine-fest"? No, I'm getting to my point. Having all these challenges could easily make me want to come up with a reason NOT to do the ride. But we're going to do it, because I have BIGGER reasons to follow through. Here are some of them:
- It will create a forever memory with Brandon
- It's a chance to raise money for a worthy cause
- It will teach Brandon about fundraising and giving
- Training for it will help me get in better physical shape
- Not doing it would be very disappointing for Brandon (and the rationale for not doing it seems weak to me)
- It will feel great to accompish this!
For me these are all pretty big reasons. And it takes sizeable, inspirational reasons for us to do something we may not otherwise want to do. It takes a compelling vision for us to move outside our comfort zones and take on significant challenges.
This applies to our professional lives as well. Whether you're a business owner or an employee, the same principle applies - you must be inspired to perform the hard things that make you successful.
These days it seems that there are too many of us who are going through the motions with our professional lives. We settle for less than our dream, rationalizing that "this is as good as it gets."
So what are your big, huge reasons for getting up each day and making a living? In my experience, it needs to be bigger than simply "making money". Working for a paycheck is not inspiring for most people.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself that may help you unlock the bigger reasons for what you do:
- How does what I do fulfill a mission or calling in my life?
- Who do I help by what I do?
- How do I impact their lives?
- What is the money I'm making doing for me and for others? How am I using it to create my dreams?
- What is it about what I do that makes me come alive?
You want to get plugged in to your compelling vision. If you find when you reflect on these questions that true fulfillment lies on things outside your chosen profession, it may be time to make an adjustment. This could mean anything from a career change to a different approach to your existing job.
Whatever you do, don't settle. Find your reason - your calling and live it out. Life is too short to do anything less.
PS: By the way, Brandon and I are looking to raise money for this worthy cause. For more information on how you can participate, please see the next article.
