ONE FINAL NOTE:
MY DESIRE FOR YOU
I WISH I COULD BE THERE IN PERSON WITH YOU TO CELEBRATE who you are becoming, to witness the decisions you are making, and to see you stepping up to a life lived with intensity. But that is the consequence of the distance between us. So I’m writing you this note and sending all my best wishes with it. I’m very proud of you! Keep reaching into your bold, new future. Keep counting up your days. Cherish every second, every minute, every moment. Seize them all—to accomplish, to celebrate, to act.
Be your best self and do not imitate anyone else. Find your strengths. They are your talents. They will make you smile and cause you to experience real joy on the inside.
Don’t listen to those who ridicule the choices you make or the dreams you share. Let no one despise your youth. As Og Mandino explained in The greatest Salesman in the World, “Experience is overrated, usually by old men who nod wisely and speak stupidly.”2 Create your own experiences. And know that you are creating memories for a lifetime.
Life is not about finding yourself; it is about creating yourself.
You have to take chances to make your dreams reality. Face your fear head-on and move rapidly. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Make lots of them! Your odds for success will increase with the number of decisions you make.
Have patience with your dreams and the expectations you have for others. Be impatient with yourself daily. Live as if this is your last day. Say “I love you” to all those who matter. Know that everyone matters.
You must play full-out right now. Sit up. Hold your head high. Breathe deeply. Lift your chest up. Stand straight and with confidence. Dust yourself off. Stop being a party pooper in your own life. Smile. A bigger, noticeable smile. Start acting happy. Yes, you act first. I promise the feeling of happiness will soon follow.
When I left that hotel room forty-eight hours later, I had a sense of purpose and direction like never before in my life. Do you know what it feels like to wake up every day with the absolute certainty that what you will be doing every hour of that day will add up to something much larger than you? If you don’t know what that feels like, I promise you can. There’s no secret trick or complicated formula you have to follow. All it takes is for you simply to decide that you are going to live your life with purpose, and that you will never stop chasing that purpose as long as you’re still breathing.
Decisions you make right now can change your life forever. Literally forever. You do not choose to be born. You do not choose your parents. You do not choose the time period in which you live. You do not choose the country of your birth. You do not choose the circumstances of your upbringing. In most cases, you do not choose to die. You do not choose the time or conditions of your death.
Despite all the realms of this choicelessness, we do choose how we will live. May you have a glorious ending by beginning today.