I am terrible with grammar. 
Yet, I've written three books, and have a fourth one coming out within a month.
How did I not allow my lack of grammar skills to keep me from writing?
Simple. I'm not trying to be an editor, I'm trying to be a writer. 

Often times, what we think is an obstacle between us and the thing we want is actually an obstacle between us and something different altogether. Often times, the only reason that the obstacle is between us and the thing we want is because we chose to put it there. We choose to put it there because it's much easier to have an excuse than to actually do the work.

This is a talk I gave last week at a youth gathering about circumstances...

Today, all across the United States, we are celebrating our Veterans.

We remember Veterans for their courage, their bravery, their selflessness. We recognize Veterans for their willingness to sacrifice themselves for the good of others. We celebrate Veterans for their unwavering commitment to something greater than themselves.

Isn't this what we all want to be remembered, recognized, and celebrated for? Don't we want to be that kind of person in our families, schools, and businesses? I think most of us would agree that yes, we do.

The thing we forget though, is that in order to get to that point, those Veterans had to go through the muck. They had to endure unimaginably tough times. They had to show up and run towards the opposition. 

What we forget, is that if you want to be remembered for what a Veteran is remembered for, you gotta be willing to go to war and fight.

Thank you, Veterans, for being an example to all of us. Happy Veteran's Day.

When we experience trouble or pain in life, whether it’s from a bad grade, a break up, or a struggle with temptation, our immediate reaction is want to fix it as soon as possible.

But what if we think about it in terms of an injury? If you fell and broke your leg, you wouldn’t start poking at it right away, trying to heal it. You would go and get an x-ray first. You would get an accurate picture of the damage, so that then you would know how to proceed.

The same is true for conflicts in your relationships, disfunction in you organization, or personal issues within your own heart. We must be patient enough to reflect and get a accurate picture of the damage before diving in to fix anything.

This post os a bit of a prequel to one I wrote a few weeks ago. Read it here.

I have this friend who sort of plays a mentor role in my life from time to time. I call him whenever I'm facing a tough situation and he's always there to listen and to give wisdom or guidance.

Here's something that might surprise you though. Whenever I am facing a tough situation that might require my mentor's assistance, I never want to call him. Every time I do this tug of war in my head. 
"You should call"
"But I don't want to"
"But you should"
"SHUT UP!"

I don't want to call because I know that when I do, he's going to tell me what's what. He's not going to take my side all the time, or just say words to make me feel better. He is going to listen and give a completely honest, objective opinion, regardless of how much it might bruise my ego. He speaks the truth in love no doubt, but it is truth all the same. And most of the time, it's difficult to swallow. Most of the time, I get off the phone feeling much worse than I did before the phone call, but with a much better grasp on the situation. I walk around with a bit of a lump in my stomach for the rest of the day, but in the long run, I am always grateful for it.

Here is the common misconception about mentors:
A mentor is not there to make you feel better about yourself.
A mentor is there to make you a better version of yourself.
That process is rarely comfortable, and never easy.
But...it's worth it.

By the time you’re 3 or 4 years old, you’ve pretty much mastered the art of walking. You’ve been doing it for 2-3 years at this point. You’ve got plenty of stumbles under your belt. You know all the tricks and hacks to stay upright. At this point, you able to change it up, walk slowly, or maybe even run. 

For the first four years of our life, we pretty much dedicate ourselves to the craft of becoming a better walker. Then from 4 years old until forever, we pretty much plateau in our craft. This makes sense, once you’ve learned to walk, you’ve pretty much learned it. It would be silly to dedicate your time to become a master walker. There’s really no reason to touch your walking technique after you’ve learned how.

Your art on the other hand, is a completely different story, and yet most of us treat it the exact same way. We discover our craft as a writer, or a photographer, or city council member, and we work really hard at it for the first couple years. Once we’ve got a pretty good grasp on it though, we stop working, and allow ourselves to plateau. 

The problem is, art is not like walking. Becoming a master of your artistic craft is a worthwhile effort. But it is a lifelong journey, and only those committed to bettering themselves year after year will reach that level. 

Don’t plateau. There is always room for improvement.