A Brand New Ending

There was a hospital study done on people close to death. They were asked to reflect on their lives’ biggest regret. Nearly all of them said they regretted not the things they did, but the things they didn’t do. The risks they didn’t take. The dreams they didn’t pursue. I ask you, will your last words be, “If only I had…” Hey you, wake up! Why do you exist? Life was not meant to simply work, wait for the weekend and simply pay rent. No. I don’t know much, but I know this. Every person on this earth has a gift. And I apologize to the black community. Martin Luther King? That man never had a dream. That dream had him. You see, people don’t choose dreams. Dreams choose people. 

So the question I’m getting to. Do you have the courage to choose the dream that picked you? The dream that picked you, that befits you and grips you. Or will you let it slip through? I learned a fact about airplanes the other day. This was so surprising see, I was talking to a pilot and he said many of his passengers think planes are dangerous to fly in. But he said it is a lot more dangerous for a plane to stay on the ground. I said, “Say what?” And he said, you see on the ground the plane starts to rust, malfunction and wear much faster than it would if it was in the air. As I walked away, I thought, “Yeah, it makes total sense because airplanes were built to live in the sky.” 

And every person was built to live out the dream that they have inside. So perhaps it is the saddest loss to live life on the ground; without ever taking off. Most of us are afraid of the thief in the night who comes to steal all of our things. But there is a thief in your mind who is after your dreams. His name is ‘Doubt.’ If you see him call the cops, and keep him away from the kids. He is wanted for murder for he has killed more dreams than failure ever did. He wears many disguises and like a virus he will leave you blinded and divided and turn you into a ‘kinda.’ 

A kinda? There’s a lot of ‘kinda people.’ You kinda want a career change. You kinda want straight A’s. You kinda want to get in shape. Simple math. No numbers to crunch. If you kinda want something, you’ll kinda get the results you want. What is your dream? What ignites that spark? You can’t kinda want that. You have to want it with your whole heart. Will you struggle? Yes, you will struggle. There’s no way around it. You will fall many times. But who’s counting? Just remember, there’s no such thing as a smooth mountain. If you want to make it to the top, there are bridges that must be crossed, there are times you will get depressed and things which get you stressed. But let me tell you something. Stephen Spielberg was rejected from film school three times, but he kept going. A television executive fired Oprah, but she kept going. Critics told Beyounce she couldn’t sing. She became depressed. But she kept going. Struggle and criticism are prerequisites for greatness. 

That is a law of the universe. And no one escapes it because pain is life. But you can choose what kind. Either the pain that comes on the road to success or the pain of being haunted with regrets. You want my advice? Don’t think twice. We have been given the gift that we call ‘life,’ so don’t blow it. You are not defined by your past, but instead you are born anew with each moment, so own it now.

 Sometimes you gotta leap and grow your wings on the way down. You got to get the shot off before the clock strikes; because in life there are no ‘do over’s.’ I know I sound like I’m preaching, but if you don’t use your gift, you not only fail yourself, but the whole world. So what idea do you have buried in your mind, what cure, what skill to bring to this universe? Uni meaning one. Verse meaning song. You have a part to play in this song. So grab that microphone and be brave. Sing your heart out on life’s stage. You cannot go back and make a brand new beginning, but you can start now and make a brand new ending. 

(Transcription of a current inspirational video)