I wrote and shared this with my children at the dinner table. I’m now sharing it with you.
Dear Gavin & Connor. Daddy wants to share 5 things I’ve learned that will help you live an extraordinary life.
1. Take action. Most people don’t. They give into their fears and never find out what might have actually happened had they just done it. They find busy work to pretend they’re doing something and not taking the action that they need to take. Daddy has never done anything anyone else couldn’t do other than having made the decision to just do it.
2. Celebrate your uniqueness. Live beyond labels. There is only one of you in the entire universe. That is amazing. Don’t try to be like anyone else. Daddy was unhappy for many years thinking I was a fake because I was comparing how I did things with how everyone else does them. Now I celebrate my uniqueness and feel the power of it, as do everyone else that sees it.
3. You’re allowed to change your mind. You can do other things. You can reinvent yourself. You can abandon something that you’ve spent time on. The reality is you never really abandon anything, you take what you’ve learned and it becomes a part of you. Reinvention is a 21st century skill set. People in the 20th century did the same thing their whole lives. Today the people still trying to live by 20th century rules are having the most difficult time. Look at all the different things Daddy has done in his life, and I know I’m not done yet.
4. Embrace not knowing. Clarity for the future is something everyone wants, but it is a fallacy. Even when we think we have it, it is a mirage. If you embrace not knowing, you will be far better prepared for the reality of the unknown that is coming. My favorite metaphor is imagining myself paddling a canoe down a river with a bend up ahead. There is nothing menacing about it, just unknown. I’m reminded to enjoy the beauty of the trip itself and not worry about the destination.
5. Practice gratitude. When you feel gratitude every day, it makes the hiccups in life less of a big deal because you still have so much gratitude for everything else. 2020 has been one of the best years of my life because I am so grateful for all the positive things I’ve experienced this year and I don’t think much about anything else.
Love,
Daddy
