Your Someday is Today
Published by John Terry - The Black Belt Leader in Leadership · Thursday 03 Sep 2020
Tags: Someday, today, black, belt, leader
Tags: Someday, today, black, belt, leader
Your Someday is Today!
By: John L. Terry, III - The Black Belt Leader
For centuries, mankind stared up at the moon with wonder. Some envision a day when man would leave the confines of earth's atmosphere and walk on that celestial body. Writers like Jules Vern and C.S. Lewis were among those early authors who crafted fictional tales of a time in the life of humanity when we would venture into the cosmos, visit the moon and other planets as well.
Someday we will put a man on the moon, explore the planets, travel into the deep, dark recesses of our solar system, traverse our galaxy, and boldly go where no man has gone before. Someday the confines of planet earth will no longer confine us. But disbelief kept us landlocked to planet earth for thousands of years.
John F. Kennedy's stirring "we will go to the moon" speech rallied a nation to believe we could come together and do something that had never been done before. An impossible dream could become a reality, and in 1968 we did. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon.
We've dreamed of "someday" before. For centuries people believed the world was flat and if we sailed too far, we would fall off the end of the world. The greek scientist, Pythagoras, proved this theory to be wrong, but disbelief held people in fear of the unknown until future sailors validated this when they sailed to distant lands and ultimately around the globe.
Our ancestors watched with envy as birds took flight and dreamed of a "someday" when humanity could take to the skies as well. Leonardo da Vinci envisioned flying machines that could one day conquer the airs, but disbelief (the ney-sayers) kept humanity grounded until the Wright Brothers took their inaugural flight at Kitty Hawk demonstrating that all things are possible to those who believe.
As children, we all dream. We have visions of what we're going to be when we grow up. We envision these great, magnificent, impossible realities and see the world of endless opportunity. Then along comes well-meaning parents and teachers who start to teach us WHAT to think and the burning flame of creativity within us is often diminished to a flicker or extinguished by a system that teaches conformity and living in the status quo.
But there are some who refuse to be put into the mold of conformity and groupthink. They refused to allow the spark of creativity, the passionate pursuit of a dream, to be extinguished by those who are willing to simply accept life rather than truly live it. Bill Gates, Stephen Jobs, Mark Zuckerburg, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Billy Graham are among those who not only dreamed big, but changed the world through taking action.
The problem for most of us is that we are still waiting for our "someday" to arrive. We have a dream, a passion, something we want to pursue. A cause we believe in, a business venture we want to launch, a book we want to write, a message we want to deliver, a group of people we want to help make their situation better - but we don't take action.
Sometimes it is the ney-sayers who are constantly dousing water on the passionate fire that is burning inside you. Other times it is a failure to believe in yourself. Whatever the reason, your dream, that burning desire within you to pursue a cause you believe in, is put on hold waiting for that elusive "someday" to arrive.
Procrastination is the death of your dream. It has been said more wealth resides in the graveyards of the world than anywhere else. That is where all the dreams left unfulfilled lay dormant, never seeing the light of day. All the books never written, songs never sung, businesses never started, inventions never created, and discoveries never found reside there.
Legendary football coach, Don Shula, once said, "It's the start that stops most people." Or to borrow a phrase from one of my mentors, Chris Robinson, "It's not that you can't. It's that you won't. The choice is yours."
So I am here today to sell you your "someday" is TODAY! You don't have to wait any longer go get started. You don't have to believe the ney-sayers any longer. You don't have to simply accept your life, you can choose to go live it. Pursue a dream that's bigger than you. Chase the dream that burns inside you and bring it to life. Make a difference at a time that makes a difference - which is NOW!
If you've been given a God-sized dream that is so huge it is scary, go pursue it anyway. Start where you are, use what you've got, and trust God for the rest. As you give voice to your dream and pursue it with passion, other people will catch the vision alongside you and join you in your quest to make a difference.
There will always be ney-sayers. They lack vision. There will always be problems. They are opportunities in disguise, waiting to reveal a new or different way of doing things. There will always be setbacks. Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn. There will always be wins. Celebrate them, but keep moving forward. Remember there is no finish line.
Leaders are people of action. Leaders see more and they see before. Leaders not only see the world as it is, they see the world as it could be and believe endless possibilities are always before them. They see problems as opportunities to discover a new way of doing something and believe that dreams are to be birthed into reality.
The world today is in desperate need of visionary world-changers. People of value who will add value to people. People who see the world as it could be, and are committed to making that better world become a reality. Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." That only happens when you pursue your dream.
Inside you are the books yet to be written, the inventions yet to be created, the discoveries yet to be found, the movies yet to be filmed, the songs yet to be put to music, the stories set to be told, the businesses yet to be started, the movements yet to be led, the lives yet to be renewed, the communities longing for a better tomorrow, and the nations waiting to be transformed. Those are the dreams inside of you.
Kindle the spark, light the flame, and go pursue with passion the one thing you know you want to do that can, and will, make a difference. Whether it changes one life or a nation, that doesn't matter. The important thing is that you quit sitting on the sidelines waiting for the starts to mystically align for you to get in the game and start playing to win.
Don't look back years from now and with a sigh say, "If only..." Don't let your dreams go to the grave with you unfilled. Pursue with passion that longing, that desire, that burning dream within you - and don't quit until you see it come to pass.
I give your permission to believe in yourself and your dream. I give you permission to start pursuing that dream today! I declare to you today:
YOU ARE A LEADER. YOU ARE A WORLD-CHANGER. YOU WERE PUT ON THIS EARTH, ON PURPOSE, FOR A PURPOSE. YOUR DREAMS WERE NOT GIVEN TO YOU BY ACCIDENT. THEY WERE GIVEN TO YOU BY GOD, ALONG WITH EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO BRING THAT DREAM TO LIFE. TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AT A TIME THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THAT TIME IS NOW!
Your "someday" is today!
2X martial arts Hall of Fame inductee, John Terry (The Black Belt Leader) is passionate about helping others become Black Belt Leaders in Life. He is a motivational speaker, leadership, sales & communication coach, and trainer.
Jessie Terry, John's daughter, is a Certified Speaker, Coach, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team and is actively involved in the JMT Global Youth Initiative. She is also a Real-Life Management trained coach and a certified Women-Safe Self-Defense Instructor.
For more information, schedule John (or Jessie) to speak to your organization or to book a personal, group or corporate coaching session, visit our website at www.beablackbeltleader.com.
If you are a faith-based organization, learn more about John and Jessie's outreach to churches, para-church organizations, or faith-based volunteer groups by visiting www.DunamisFactor.com.
John is an Executive Director with the John Maxwell Team and is passionate about helping others pursue excellence as they become "Leaders in Life". He is also a Master Coach & Trainer with Real Life Management, a human behavioral training organization helping people learn how to live "Real Life" and make better choices when it comes to relationships, money, health, and wellness. John is also a certified DISC Human Behavior Consultant.
John's newest book, Black Belt Leadership 101, debuted as a #1 New Release on Amazon Kindle in late March and has been on the Amazon Best Sellers List for over 2 months. Also available in paperback, this book highlights the 10 essential character traits necessary to live life as a Black Belt Leader in Life.
Why just be a leader, when you can be a Black Belt Leader?
This book includes a Discussion Guide for either your own personal growth and development or to facilitate a group discussion with your Team. Get your copy today.