Sacrifice
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Last night at dinner Ol Mate (Corlè) asked me what I was doing today and I said ‘Getting up at 2:30 to run 25k before work’. She got kinda sad and was like ‘Ohhh dad, sorry you have to get up so early, why?’ I then had the opportunity to explain to her how I CHOOSE to get up at that time to fit my training in before work and if we have goals in life, sometimes it takes sacrifice to achieve those goals. I was actually quite proud of my response and she just smiled, shrugged her shoulders and on the conversation went. Maybe inside she just thought I was mad but regardless, it gave her something to think about.
This conversation led me to further thought on aforementioned 25k run. It was cool, dark, drizzly and there was no one around. I thought, this REALLY is a choice and one I am happy to make. As much as I would love some extra sleep some days, I love starting my day with something hard, no distraction and moving my body. It is a choice. A time DOES exist called 3am. No excuses.
This further led me to remember a conversation with a customer at work the previous day when he said he retired from 50years of slavery (work) to which I fired right back with ‘Its not slavery if you love what you do’, to which he smiled, nodded and agreed. That’s not to say running a business isn’t hard and doesn’t take sacrifice but in the end it is 100% worth it. Nothing worth while in life comes easy and ALWAYS takes sacrifice on some level. This principal applies across all areas of life.
In my mind there is MANY things wrong in the world and with the mentality of young people today. One problem of which is that they have no resilience, no ability to suffer for what they want in life, sacrifice and bleed for their goals. Heck, most of the time they don’t even have goals so this is another issue all together. A generation of weakness and fragility is coming and I don’t like what I see.
So. I can rant all I want but I think the best thing I can do is try and lead by example. Show my kids and the young ones around me that you do what you say. You get up at 2:30am to put the k’s in before going to work and smashing out brews all day. You show up, you fail and you bleed for what you love. You stay tough, you get knocked down but you keep coming back for more, not stay on the floor to get kicked around some more. Life is about choices not excuses and is 100% about leaving a legacy. No legacy can be left by flaky, delicate humans. Show humility and compassion but DO NOT take a backward step in the process. Today is all we got and I’m willing to sacrifice for my goals and the ones around me I love. Are you? Consistency + Commitment.