First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do. ~ Epictetus

Since before we were born, our parents had a plan for what they wanted us to be. After a few years of getting to know us and analyzing our behavior, they may have crafted a different plan. I was supposed to be either a crash test dummy or a lawyer. Of course there's no relation between the two but those were my mom's choices. By the time I was 12, I had already had 4 different sets of stitches, two oral surgeries, and 1 broken bone. (That helmet she made me wear around the house made sense after awhile). She figured that I would need to be an attorney in order to defend myself! Now at the ripe of age of 34, I've added 9 reconstructive surgeries, more broken bones, multiple sprains and a bad back to the fold. All of which are the results of my own accidents! Clearly she was on to something. While I sit back and laugh at my experience, there is a seriousness to the words of Epictetus. I am tired of people always telling me what they are going to be but never doing a single thing to get them there. I have friends that tell me they are going to be doctors, lawyers, accountants, and nurses, but won't even bother to take the first step of requesting a college admission application. I have friends that tell me they are going to be better leaders, fathers, mothers, and mentors, but won't do a single thing about addressing an opportunity they have to improve. It is usually the start that stops most people. A lion wakes up one day and says to himself that he is going to be king. He then proceeds to go about his business of trying to make it happen. We have a lot to learn from the lion.


My challenge to you this week is to take a first step towards accomplishing a goal you've set for yourself a long time ago. Perhaps you had a goal to be more organized. This week be non-negotiable on your promise to have one pile of papers on your desk completely addressed and removed. If your goal is to lose weight, take all the candy and junk food in your home and put it in a box. Wrap it with so much duct tape that by the time you get through it, you won't want what's in it anyway. If your goal is to be a better parent, commit to reading one book, EVERYDAY, with your child. Life is what happens while you're busy planning for it. Its time to stop planning and get on with it already!

Alonzo Kelly
http://alonzoweeklyleadershipthought.blogspot.com