Go Big or Go Home

“Go big or go home” is probably a phrase you have heard and associated with body building and weight lifting. I think its meaning extends beyond the gym and is an important concept that should be applied to any endeavor on which we spend a significant amount of our time and energy.

I think that a lot of people can find themselves derailed from their passions when they become stuck in a pattern of doing things that are expected of them. It’s not so easy to march to the beat of your own drummer, or operate outside the herd mentality.

You know the kinds of things I’m talking about:

• Follow general school curriculum
• Dress a certain way
• Find a certain job
• Buy a house you can’t afford
• Vote for the guy your neighbors are voting for

We’re trained, told, and indoctrinated into the belief that we need to do all of these things starting at a very young age. Often, when we don’t fulfill these goals, we might feel like a failure. We might even find ourselves spending a lot of time and energy explaining ourselves. People love to question our intentions and intelligence when we don’t think and believe the way they do. I guess it’s sort of a natural human instinct to put others on the defensive in order to avoid explaining your own world view more thoroughly.

Boundaries were made to be pushed!

Look around and you’ll see disagreement everywhere. People will argue about everything. Religion and politics are the two big ones, but there are plenty of others too:

• Apple is better than Android
• The Giants are better than the Patriots
• Apples are better than oranges
• Xbox is better than Play Station
• Free weights are better than machines (well, some arguments hold up!)

Do you really want to know why it seems that no one in this world can agree on anything?

There are no rules, only generally accepted truths:

• Don’t hurt others, unless they deserve it
• Don’t take things that don’t belong to you
• Help others when you are able to

Be who you are, and pursue what you love to do!

The internet has changed everything, and the old rules simply don’t apply anymore. Systems of thought, cultural norms, and old ideas are being turned on their heads. Society is fragmenting even faster than the planet’s temperature can rise a couple of degrees.

It’s easier than ever to find other people outside of your current circle of knowledge who view the world in the same way and share the same beliefs.

We’re on the verge of an explosion of innovation!

Wild ideas and fantastic schemes aren’t so far fetched any more, when you can just get on the internet and find someone who shares your ideas, encourages you, and even takes those ideas to the next level. In this day and age, one shouldn’t feel isolated or care about being different.

It might take time to figure out what it is that you love to do, but once you find it, pursue it with everything you’ve got!

Right now as I’m writing this, and then, as you’re reading it, someone is doing something incredible – something that will change the world forever!

Someone is designing something more fantastic than the internet, developing compounds that will be used to cure things that aren’t even diagnosed yet, inventing new ways of communicating that no one else has yet thought of.

Someone is developing a talent that will surpass the talents and abilities of those who have come before.

Even on a much smaller scale, someone is changing ordinary into extraordinary, simply by doing what they love to do and not listening or giving a damn about those who say no, it’s impossible.

Someone is losing weight despite coworkers who discourage them.

Someone is getting fit, despite physical disadvantages and disabilities.

Someone is learning how to eat healthier despite an abundance of misleading information.

Don’t worry about the status quo, don’t stay up with the Joneses. Those who are afraid of change will always try to keep you from rocking the boat.

Thankfully, it’s getting easier and easier to brush them aside and ignore them!

Change is certain and inevitable.

“And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.

I’ve lived a life that’s full.
I’ve traveled each and ev’ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Regrets, I’ve had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.

I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.

Yes, there were times, I’m sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.

I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.

I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried.
I’ve had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.

To think I did all that;
And may I say – not in a shy way,
“No, oh no not me,
I did it my way”.
For what is a man, what has he got?

If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.

The record shows I took the blows –
And did it my way!”

Frank Sinatra

Go big, or go home!

Figure out what you want and go for it!

Get it out of your head that falling down is bad. There is nothing wrong with failure, failing is simply a means of refining a process.

Nothing is easy!

Don’t expect anything to just happen for you though. If you want it, you’re going to have to work for it. Begin by pushing away the naysayers. No one knows what’s best for you except for you!

If you’re not willing to give up sleep, work when others are playing, make sacrifices, leave your comfort zone, and learn new things, then you really didn’t want it bad enough.

This applies to all of your goals, no matter how big or how small. Regardless of whether your goals are losing weight, getting toned, finding a new career, finding your first career, being a good parent, better friend, or a better artist: start today.

Life is short, and there isn’t time to get caught up in those who don’t believe in you. As long as you believe in you, that’s all that matters.

Go big, or go home!