“Change Cars for New York”

My mom used to wake my brother and I up each morning by opening our bedroom door and belting out “change cars for New York.” Apparently, she picked it up from a train conductor when she was younger. I’m not really sure if that’s true, though, as I don’t ever recall mom ever telling us the story behind her saying.

So, before I share what currently motivates me each morning, I’d like you to take a few moments to think about what it is that motivates you.

For many individuals motivation stems from their desire for food & shelter. Basically, they are scared of being hungry & cold. Ya know, I get that. I like to be fed and comfortable too!

Now, this is all well & good, but let’s say you’re in a position where you will never lack for food & shelter. What would be your motivation then? Would you even be motivated? Or, would you just be content being “fat & happy”, figuring this is as good as it gets?

I guess what I’m really trying to get at is simply this – what is the “one thing” you truly desire to do? You know, the “one thing” you keep putting on the back burner, the bottom of your bucket list, or keep telling yourself “I’ll get to it later once I…” and what is keeping you from doing it?

After pushing all your excuses aside, yes, every single last one of them…have you ever taken the time to chart a path to achieve your “one thing”? Really, have you? I’m telling you, your “one thing” just isn’t going to happen randomly or by chance. That’s not how life works. You gotta have a plan, man. You gotta have a plan.

So, what’s your plan, man? What’s your plan? I mean, isn’t your “one thing” worth taking the time and making an effort to work towards? Isn’t it worth making the numerous sacrifices you’ll need to make along the way? After all, IT’S YOUR ONE THING!!

Here’s the thing, though, these words ring hollow to me. If you asked me what I’ve done to achieve my “one thing” or if I had a plan to get me there, I’d have to say “no”.

It’s not like I haven’t started down the road. It’s more like I have started/stopped my trek so many freakin’ times I’ve become fearful of where the path will lead simply because I can’t “see” the final destination & don’t know what I’ll do once I’ve arrived. I mean, what do you do once you’ve done what you’ve always desired to do?

For as long as I can remember, I wanted to “write the next great American novel.”

Now, I won’t say that’s what motivates me to get up each morning, but I will admit that each morning I hear a little voice ask “so, when are you going to start writing that novel, huh, when? If not today, how about tomorrow? If not tomorrow, how about the next day? If you’re never going to write it, why are you wasting your time thinking about writing it? Just write it already, will ya?”

It’s not that I’m lacking for ideas. I have a fantastic idea for a book covering my family’s life-long relationship with the game of golf. I’ve even gone as far as asking my family members to write their stories and send them to me for compilation. I’ve written several of my own golf stories, but…I just can’t seem to “get over the hump” and get the book all “buttoned up” and ready to go.

And that frustrates me. Frustrates me so much I don’t really care if I ever finish the dang book! Ever!

Funny thing is, though, I do care. I care deeply. Maybe too deeply. These stories hold a special place in my heart and the hearts of my family. The stories are “ours”. The stories are “special”. The stories mean “the world” to me and us; what if others view them as just words on a page?

And there it is, my deepest fear, laid out like a big fat piece of meat on a plate for public consumption…

–> The fear that others won’t value the stories as much as me. That I’d pour my heart & soul into the project and then have my project rejected. <–

I have to ask myself  – is that a good enough reason or just another excuse to keep me from accomplishing my greatest desire?

If the answer is “yes”, then I should just give up this very second, right?

If the answer is “no”, then I should pull myself up by the bootstraps and just do it.

Obviously, this book is going to get written. It has to because it’s my greatest desire and I can’t give up on the dream.

Yes, I will write it starting this week. I will blog my progress. I will share with you my greatest joys and my greatest sorrows.

I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I am writing this book for me and that’s all that really matters. I write because I want to, not for glory or fame, but because, well, because writing is my greatest passion.

Now, if that ain’t motivating, I don’t know what is…