Until My Money Runs Out

After a night of partying, three young guys stumbled to the breakfast table at a bed and breakfast that my wife and I were staying at on vacation in San Jose, Costa Rica.  They were laughing at their friend who was still asleep in the room who just got fleeced by a local conman who promised to be his “tour guide” during his stay in San Jose.   Although they were in their early 20's, it made me reflect back on the road trips with my friends from the Academy, in which one particular individual spent 3 days with the Federales at a Mexican prison during one of our spring break trips to Cancun in the mid-90s.

Two of the guys were young professionals and one was a welder.  They all were high school buddies and had the dream of taking a trip to Central America at some point.  The two professionals lamented on how much they hated their job, but they were staying the course and were really excited about the opportunity to spend two weeks on the road with people they actually cared about!  The welder was much more of a free spirit. He was very satisfied with his chosen profession and had just recently quit his job to take the trip down to Central America. I was curious about his “plan” and how long he would be on the journey since he wasn’t obligated to return back to work.  He quickly shot back at me:

“Until my money runs out!”

I laughed nervously and said to myself “What a fool!”  However, I reflected later on his statement and questioned whether I had spent 20 years checking meaningless “boxes” or cultivating relationships and living out my purpose.

You see - I was grieving after the death of my father a few months earlier and grappling with reshaping how I would move forward. I was fortunate enough to spend dedicated time with my father before his death.  I came to the realization that I could no longer merely keep score while denying the unique opportunity to approach life more intentionally and truly live in the moment.   

Each passing second is a missed opportunity to make an impact on our world and my purpose is not your purpose.  So, there is no need to compare your unique gifts and talents with those of others.

Are you sitting on your hands waiting for the perfect time?  There is never the perfect time and sometimes it's easier to be in a state of “comfortable misery” rather than moving forward to uncharted territory.  I know it's scary when you can’t look around the corner and know the ending. Let’s face it - despite your best intentions and “risk mitigation” strategies, life is filled with disappointments.  You begin to question your own judgement along with the naysayers who will try to put limitations on your potential. However, there is a cost of waiting and no one questions your judgement when you’re “successful” but you may need to re-frame your definition of success.  Be courageous - you can always revert back to being mediocre. Now go!