AN OPEN LETTER FROM FUTURE YOU…

Embrace the frustration, worry, and sense of hopelessness that may consume you – it is there to serve notice that something needs to change.

Empty your mind of concerns of perceptions, of outcome, of choosing the wrong path – these are external value judgments that clutter internal decision-making.  The “right” way is unique to everyone, there is no one-size-fits-all.

Realize there is an enormous weight that comes with owning the fact that you are solely responsible for your present situation and future outcomes.

That isn’t a burden, that is a blessing.

Most everything to this point that has prevented you from reaching a certain status, securing the success you believe you deserve, or negatively impacted your growth is self-manufactured.  The only power any of this has is whatever power you give it.

You may find comfort in blaming outside circumstances beyond your control because they absolve you of responsibility and remove agency from your choices.

That may feel perfectly natural, but it is brutally inefficient.

YOU define your life, you are the architect of your own destiny.

No one handed you this life; you created it, grew into it, and will one day eventually outgrow it.

The sooner you realize that time is a non-renewable resource, the sooner your eyes will open to the fact that life is not a dry run or a dress rehearsal.  The more you respect time and leverage it to your advantage, the luckier you’ll find yourself becoming.

Time is the great equalizer and the ultimate level playing field.

Your primary goal should be to do what you want, when you want, where you want, with who you want.  Freedom is more valuable than money.

Each day is an opportunity to chart a new course, to pivot towards something more fulfilling, and to re-calibrate towards where you want to be.  It helps to start with the end in mind and reverse engineer the process.

You don’t need a foolproof plan with every detail accounted for, but you do need a sense of urgency to get going and faith in the fact that you’ll find your direction along the way.

Don’t let the lack of a final destination prevent you from stepping to the starting line.

What you do on the journey will define your legacy.  Have you put any thought into your legacy, of what want it to be?

Probably not, that’s a big, scary question to have to ponder when the minutiae of daily life is so demanding of your attention.

What about control?  Do you want control over your life?  If so, how do you propose to get it?

Control doesn’t come from a reliance on a single source of income or a job.  Those are paths feel safe but are like walking on a tightrope with no net.

Learn, diversify, and thrive.

No one is coming to save you, so plan accordingly.

As you are doing so, ask yourself how you will choose to exercise your right to become everything you want to be.

How hard and smart you work will determine the height of your achievement, but don’t think one is going to substitute for the other.  The more you put in the work, the luckier you will begin to feel.

You can follow two very different paths moving forward:  You can continue to shuffle paper around, chase invisible ghosts, and worry about justifying your existence spinning your wheels at a 9-5 or you can decide you are so fed up with this current state that you make a choice to break the cycle and get out.

This is a very personal choice, so it is advisable not to take it too lightly.

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably spent the better part of your adult life brainstorming ways to do this, but to what end has any action been taken?

Evaluating all the scenarios and doing the research and reading all the books is procrastination masquerading as progress. You have spent far too much time in thinking mode, it is high time for action mode.

Inaction is no longer a viable solution.

It is time to get to work.

Concentrated effort is the only way to achieve your desired aims.

If concentration seems hard, try suffering through a life of regret instead.

You are an intelligent, capable, ambitious individual using at best 10% of your natural talents and skill set.

What about that other 90%?  Doesn’t it deserve a look too?

As you go out there, break through the artificial roadblocks you invented to keep you stuck and complacent and take charge of the life you are meant to be living.

Do you want the full experience of living, or do you just want a bland, mediocre existence?

There is a terrifyingly wide gap between the two – do you even know the difference between them anymore?

People all over the world, every single day, choose themselves and leap into something totally different than what they have spent their lives unhappily doing. 

These people live by faith, not by sight.  Will you walk among them?

So remind me again, why not you and why not now?  The time for talking is over, now it needs to be spent showing yourself what you are made of.

Momentum is an incredible force multiplier, but it has no power if you fail to even start.

There is a highest and best version of who you are, but it is not out there looking to be discovered.  

It is within you looking to be revealed.

Find it, and discover the path to life you are capable of living.

Do it for Future You.