One Statement and One Question that Impacted My Life
Recently, actually in the same week, I had a statement made to me and a question asked of me that made me stop and reflect. Does that ever happen to you? Can one word or phrase someone says jump out at you and challenge you to think about your life for a moment?
Either way, here’s what happened to me and I thought it was important enough to share.
One Statement:
I have become friends with our local university president. Recently while we were having lunch, I talked to him about the possibility of getting my doctorate. I just completed my second masters degree this past month. He was encouraging, but questioned how I would do that and continue to pursue the big dreams God has me in the middle of right now. His statement was:
Ron, at our age, we can’t afford to waste a moment of our time.
Wow! Do you see the urgency in that statement? He’s right. What he didn’t know at the time is that I didn’t plan to quit everything else to pursue a doctorate, but the point is well taken. I need to be more purposeful in my life these days than ever before. I’m thinking…perhaps…that you do also!
One Question:
My son Nate has always been part of my personal accountability, whether I asked for it or not. He’s home for the summer and recently while throwing a baseball he asked me this question: Dad, are you going through a mid-life crisis?
He was referring to my increased passion lately for writing, networking, and connecting online. He specifically wanted to know if I was building my platform for my own sense of accomplishment. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting a big head.
I answered him by saying something such as, “Well, if it’s the kind that you’ve heard about, where a man grows his hair long again, gets a new moustache, a girlfriend or a motorcycle, then the answer is ‘No!’.” The truth is, however, and what I went on to explain to him, is that I am more purposeful than I’ve ever been in my life. For the same reasons my university president’s statement resonated with me so loudly, I want to be even more purposeful these days than ever before in my life. If that’s a mid-life crisis…so be it!
What about you? Why are you doing what you are doing?
