Give up on your dreams?

I just finished a book by Seth Godin called "The Dip". An excellent read, and one that I wish I read years ago. I wont give away the book, but what I learned was how important it is to stay focused on what is going to make you the biggest success. And quit doing all the things that make me lose my focus on those things.

I was always good at sports when I was young. I like many young people dreamed of being a professional sports player with all the benefits that go along with it. As I matured, I soon realized that while I may be the strongest and fastest on my block, I was not able to compete on a state wide level. I was at that point interested in a variety of other things that were catching my attention. Even if I had the natural gifts it took to compete with those gifted athletes that were on their way up, I did not have the focus to even have a shot.

After high school is when the peer pressure began. So many people seemed to have my future all planned out, disregarding what I had planned for my own future. Did they mean well? Yes. Did it help me reach my goals? No. As I started down the road of life, eventually I was able to get off the roads they had me on, and started the journey down my own road. It was then that I was focused and had passion to hone my God given skills and talents.

Once a person stops allowing themselves to be pushed in a direction by other people and gives up dreams that belong to other people and not themselves, it is at that moment that they truly define their own destiny. Nothing (besides themselves) can hold them back.

Seth Godin believes that everyone in the world has the ability to be the "best in the world" at something. For some, that seems more obvious than others. You remember those people that are very artistic, or can sing like a bird. Their future seems so obvious, all they need is a shot of confidence and a bit of hard work and perseverance. However, most of us have to do some serious soul searching in order to find what that God given talent is. Isn't it wonderful to know that we all have something? Every last one of us. We can hone that talent any way we like. Rather we are money motivated or family or whatever.

Read it. "The Dip" by Seth Godin