Persevering

Life does not go as planned. We have dreams, goals and hopes for life. We are going to win the championship, get a scholarship, perform on TV, be famous, be rich and meet the spouse of our dreams. Raise perfect kids. Live in a mansion.

Real life is more challenging. We are awkward. Very interested in a boy or girl. They aren’t interested and find someone else. Work hard, fail and learn. Try again. Don’t get the promotion. Starting a business or restaurant and it closes. 90% fail in first 5 years. 90% of us don’t have enough or any retirement savings.

Never anticipated:

Failing Junior year of college. (Graduated on time)

Leaving home for work. (Repeated relocations to stay employed)

Getting laid off, being fired, or seeing coworkers laid off.

Being broke.

Months or years unemployment.

Not finding a spouse in 20s. (Married at 46)

Being sued (won, but cost thousands)

Bankruptcy (side effect of lawsuit & investment failure).

Being injured or ill. (Months of rehab & recovery)

Falsely accused of misbehaving & lying in career & marriage.

Family members with mental illness.

Losing loved ones.

It may get depressing. Don’t be.

Met and worked with so many great, talented people. Tried many things and learned skills accumulated. Learn resilience. Got better jobs and businesses. Learning investing. Found joy in serving others, giving away time & effort. Parents tell me how much they love it. When we need help, we learn how wonderful it is to be cared for. Life is good.

Goals change as we live our life. What were your dreams at 18 or 30 does not sound like a dreams at 50 or 60. We adjust. Persevere through hard and frustrating days. We get humility. Work harder and smarter. We develop new talents. Get resilience. We have fun. Tough times don’t last, tough people do.

Don’t be afraid to fail. There are few things more liberating in this life than having your worst fear realized.  Conan O’Brien talked how losing the Tonight Show led to reinvention and growth. He created a nationwide tour and landed his own show.

Remember you are a child of God. What we wanted is not as good as what He wants for us. You will get through your trials.

“Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.” - Conan O’Brien