Impossible

I recently read Impossible: The Manifesto by Joel Runyon and many parts of it have been stuck in my head ever since. Joel was like many of us, doing what he was told and expected to do and waiting for the payoff that never came. Many of us do what we are expected to do, go to high school and get good grades, go to college and get good grades and then send out tons of resumes to get the job we are expecting since we did the previous two. For many of us (and for Joel) this didn't really happen. Joel's life changed when he asked himself two interesting questions:

1. Are you telling a good story with your life?
2. Would anyone want to read it?

Constantly waiting for something to happen to us is a terrible way to go through life. We have to get out there and make things happen. We have to create and challenge and just do as much as we can. Our life is precious and short. Why do we continue going through life bored and unhappy? We are in control of our destiny, we just have to have the courage to grab hold and steer. Life is never going to be easy, but it is also never going to be as hard as we fear.

No one is ever going to give you a blueprint to happiness and fulfillment. These are personal and the direction we take depends on who we are. Impossible isn't going to show you how to tell a good story, but it will challenge you to figure it out for yourself. Take a little time and read the manifesto (and then read it again, if necessary). This could be the jumping off point for the story you want to tell. Stop waiting for things to happen; do what you dream, be it big or small. Start writing a story others will want to read. Start living with purpose.