One by one, you do. All of you. Yes, even you. You change the world. As it spins on its axis. You are out there, touching and smiling and talking and feeling. You create history.
I see these movies about painters, writers, and other creative geniuses. I see them, and I think to myself, Yeah! I could do that. Of course, then there are other complications. I am regularly amazed by movies. I hear people say things in them that I didn’t realize other people thought. I thought I was the only one. Figures.
These characters take chances. They take risks. They step out into the unknown. They risk failure. And the successful ones transcend the bullsh*! experience that many of us experience.
I have taken risks. Heather and I stepped out into the unknown when I left a guaranteed paycheck for a non-paid copywriting internship. There was no telling what would come of it, and I couldn’t go back to my old job. The first year was like riding the Texas Giant (roller coaster – sheesh, where have you been?). I went from hope to disappointment, hope to disappointment.
Today, I see the world somewhat differently. We never change completely, even when our lives are transformed. Remember that.
As I said, I have taken some risks. I have avoided others. To this day, I do not know if I can write a book. I have yet to push through. I started a book four years ago that I would love to complete, but I haven’t seriously picked it up in 3+ years. But it’s still there. It’s in my heart. I know a hundred other people must feel this way, but I feel this kinship with C. S. Lewis. There was something in his fiction that I haven’t found anywhere else. I found magic. Real magic. Tolkein can’t compare. Robert Jordan can’t compare. All the usual suspects can’t compare. Lewis knew things he never fully divulged.
…I’ve just avoided a bad joke about women (though probably not, since I’m admitting to it). God made each one of us unique. Something in us must shine. Watch the film, Coach Carter. The truth is worth hearing:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It’s not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.â€
So the question again: How will you change the world? You don’t have to tell me. You don’t have to tell anyone. But think on it.