Go to college. Get a good job. Make money. Meet someone. Get married. Support a family.
All the above are common things that we all hear from the time we are 17 and just starting our college search to the time that we are 22 (or older for some people) searching for a job after graduation.
These things…
Just think on this for a second. Would you really be content with your life if “practical”, “simple”, and “normal” were the three words that defined your personality, your career, and your life? Your answer may be a resounding, “Yes!” and I am happy for you people-I really am. However, it is unsettling and unfulfilling for me personally to think about what my life would look like if I allowed those words to define who I am.
Nobody practical, simple, or normal ever revolutionized technology, saved people’s lives, did something original, left behind a legacy, or changed the world. No. I guarantee that nobody ever used those words to describe the most influential people in our world right now. I guarantee you that nobody ever used those words to describe successful business owners, doctors, lawyers, inventors, or social workers. I guarantee you that nobody ever used those words to describe Bryan Wish-the man who created this avenue for us to be fed with inspiration and turn around to feed it right back to others.
If you don’t get anything else from this dish, get this:
People that change the world are not ordinary. World-changers are defined by a different set of words: passionate, driven, hard-working, creative, intriguing, skilled, visionary, captivating, etc…
Now, I don’t know about you, but I cannot and will not accept just being ordinary when I know deep down inside of me that we were all created for something way bigger and better than ordinary. We were made to be extraordinary.
I know that I am not alone in this. I know that I am not the only person that longs for something more than a comfortable life. I know that I am not the only person that wants to make a difference in some way: small or large. I know that I am not the only person that needs a life in which the pursuit of money is put on the back burner compared to the pursuit of changing people’s lives.
I know these things because our world is changing. Yes, there are still 768 million people without clean water, 153 million orphans, and 1/6 children are going hungry in our world today. However, our world is changing.
Because of people realizing that they are, indeed, created to live extraordinary lives, those numbers have nearly been cut in half in the last 15 years. Wells are being dug, orphans are being cared for, and children are being fed.
None of these things happen without people realizing that, even though their efforts may seem ordinary, they are created to make an extraordinary difference.
I want to challenge you to realize the same thing for your life. I want to challenge you to realize that practical, simple, and normal may not be what will give you the most fulfillment out of life.
I want to challenge us to realize that we have a world that is waiting for us to find new ways to change it and leave our own, original mark on it.
I want to leave you with a few practical, simple ways for your life to stop being defined by the words “practical” and “simple.”
1) Delete the words “someday” and “almost” from your vocabulary.
2) Each day when you wake up, ask yourself, “Who can I serve today? How can I make a difference in somebody’s life?”
3) Enjoy Life-Do what you are in love with and passionate about.
“We were made for so much more than ordinary life. It’s time for us to more than just survive. We were made to fly.” -Casting Crowns
We can only be extraordinary because of the extraordinary One who created us. To Him be the glory.