Winning in the Long Jump

            His legs were short. He walked with a limp. He wasn’t too smart—not smart enough to know that the long jump was a sport for guys different than him. Yet he pursued.

            She was overweight. Her feet weren’t so flexible. Her shoulders a little slumped over. Yet, her desire to be a ballet dancer outweighed all of the above. She pursued her dream.

            He was told at 15 that he would never become anything. He spent all of his time at the computer playing games and becoming a wizard at them. At 17 he began to develop computer games that made him a millionaire. He pursued his passion.

            So many times in my life I put aside what I hungered for in my heart to live a life that took less courage and tenacity. I wonder if I continued in my pursuit of acting, singing, writing, and recording, if I would have made something great of myself. But I never stretched beyond myself to feel the pain of struggle or knew what ignoring rejection meant.

            I suppose that rejection of what it took came from a deep-seated knowing that I had struggled enough as a child. I never wanted to go hungry again. I had been rejected by my own mother, when she left my father, and I didn’t see her again for the next six years. I suppose that following a path like theater and writing and recording, where rejection is paramount, was just a little too much for me to fathom after a time.

            So, the two things that bring greatness to the surface, deep passion great enough to overcome rejection and the consistent pursuit despite the times when there is no money to live were not in the cards for me. So, does that mean that I’ll never be able really be successful at my own long jump?

            You know, I’m not ready to give up on any dream right now in my life. I go back to the idea that God is unlimited. I am a part of that same unlimited God. So, there is unlimited possibility in my life as well.

            Do I have to struggle to get my life long dreams? I’m not sure of that either? 

            When we’re young, everything has a different price on it. Right? As an older man of 52, I don’t believe in struggle anymore. I don’t believe in sacrifice either. I do believe in hard work and preparation. So, every day I do what I can to be prepared for all the things I want in life.

            If I’m not prepared, I continue on the path toward being prepared. For instance, I have a book that I wrote about a year ago. I decided not go with the current publisher I was working with because it seemed we were on different pages moving forward with my career. So, I decided to wait on God for the right opportunity.

            In the past three months I have had a couple opportunities come up that look promising. (This is where preparation and openness to spirit comes in.) You see, the best things in my life have come not from struggle, but from what had been set before me, as if on a golden platter by God.

            And as far as rejection goes, I don’t believe there is any such thing anymore, especially if God is in control of what happens. Rejection is a state of mind. If I choose to feel rejected, then I will be rejected. If I choose to be the person that simply wasn’t the right person for the project, that’s a much better place to be for me. The story isn’t over for any of us, until we make it over. Always remember that.