I grew up in a conservative, middle-class, Christian home. We lived a typical life, where my dad worked and mom managed the household including me and my two sisters. We went to church regularly, including Sunday School and up until I was about 12, I would have been seen as the well-behaved, good kid who loved God and his family.
But by the time I was 14, everything began to change. I quickly moved away from all I knew and began to connect with people who encouraged me to explore a life that would cause me to spiral out of control.
In grade 10, I missed more classes than I attended, I failed every class, (apparently there is a correlation between attendance and grades) I used illegal substances every day, I stole from stores and people to support my habits and essentially walked away form everything my parents had taught me.
To say I was a frustration to them would be an understatement to say the least. I know I caused them a lot of pain, a fact I can’t outlive.
Often, at the end of his patience, and completely exhausted, my dad would say, “Dan, anyone can do what you’re doing!”
This puzzled me at the time, because I was thinking, “Dad, if you knew half of what I do, you’d know that there wasn’t anyone I know, doing the things I was doing at the level and intensity at which I was doing them.”
But what my dad was trying to tell me, was, I wasn’t doing what I should be doing. That I was taking the easy way through life, rather than deciding on who I really wanted to be. To him, I was just following a crowd of people who had no ambition and no direction, and I wasn’t coming close to maximizing my potential.
Have you ever asked yourself, “Am I reaching my potential?”
Years later, my life began to change, I started to live by a different set of standards and values. For example, I don’t steal…ever. I don’t have to think about it, debate it, or consider the circumstances or my options. I just don’t steal.
I believe each one of us has been created in a specific way, to do specific things in life, things that maybe no one else on the planet can do. At least, not in the way you or I can do them.
I find that very exciting and motivating.
And one of the reasons I wrote my latest book, “Vantage Point: Five Perspectives to Live a Better Story” coming out this September, 2023.
If you’re stuck, feeling like there is more to your life that what you are currently experiencing, then I hope you’re grab a copy when it’s available. I trust it will help.
In the meantime,
Life coaching can help. Contact me for a free 45-minute discovery call. Let’s talk.
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