“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.”

This blog is an extension of a project that I began about 18-months ago. The purpose of the project was to determine why I had done so well in my professional life, but have seemingly failed in my personal life. I purchased my first home and was doing very well by my 20^th birthday. I was broke by my 24^th birthday, living from paycheck to paycheck. Though I was nationally recognized for my management skills within two of Americas largest retailers, I couldn’t seem to manage the personal aspects of my life.

The purpose of this project is to determine why people fail, and how to overcome the obstacles those failures have caused in order to succeed. I wanted to find my passion in life and help a few others do the same during my venture. I had started to blog a little, began writing a book, and did endless research. About six months ago, my involvement with this project began to fade and I was not giving it the attention I once had. Three days ago I decided that I wanted to start pursuing it full-time again. Two days ago purchased this domain name and started blogging again. Then this morning BAAMMM!! I got the phone call that brought everything back, it reminded me exactly why I started this whole project in the first place.

I received the call at 7:02 this morning to let me know that my 43-year old stepfather was rushed to the hospital in the middle of the night suffering from a massive heart attack. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, his heart failed. Fortunately on the third attempt he was revived. They told my mother that if they had made it to the hospital two minutes later he would not have survived. Two minutes, that was the difference between life and death, just two minutes. Had they hit a deer, got stopped at a red light, been behind a slow moving vehicle, driven up on an accident, any minor setback could have cost my stepfather his life this morning. I started to realize how fragile our lives are, and how quickly we can be taken out of this world.

Now I remember why I started this project in the first place. It was to figure out what I was passionate about and begin living the life that I want to live. So when my time is up and my maker comes to call, I can honestly look back and smile, knowing that I lived a fulfilled life without regrets. And while on my path to fulfillment, I want to help others do the same.

Today’s experience brought me to the “Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch and his statement:

“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”

~ Randy Pausch ~

We never know what’s in store for tomorrow, and because of that we should make sure that today is the best day of our lives everyday.

Have a great day!

written by rallenthompson \\ tags: Dream, Motivational, Succeed, Video