As I have shared before, one of the coolest things about being the author of Monday Morning Mojo is the mojo people share with me.  A couple of weeks ago, Darlene Brinkerhoff, who works with us at Intero forwarded me a great blog post her son Jeremy wrote from his blog called Some ChadVice, focusing on advice and topics for those who seek personal growth. As I read the article, I knew I needed to share it with you. First the message itself is awesome, but what the article doesn’t share is Jeremy is in his early 20’s.  I was a bit floored when I read it and wondered if he was just republishing something from someone else. But NO – he wrote it. Most people spend a lifetime and don’t ever figure out what Jeremy shares. The lucky ones figure it out in middle age. Very few figure it out in their 20’s. Thanks for the inspiration Jeremy and keep sharing the mojo.

Now that I have THOROUGHLY confused you with the title of this post, allow me to explain myself. I was having a conversation with a couple family members of mine recently and thought of this blog-worthy analogy to share with you all.

THE BOULDER: Everyone of us has within us the potential to do great things – to achieve our dreams. Whether we harness that potential though, is what separates the successful from the rest. Now imagine a boulder, perched atop hill. That boulder, with all its girth, has the potential to go in any direction. And, because it is so heavy, once that direction is chosen, there is no stopping it. You ARE a boulder. Now what are you doing to do?

SINK?

Often the daily obstacles life places before us can weigh on our ability to motivate ourselves. And, unfortunately, many people become a slave to this. As time goes on, more and more obstacles seem to pile up, and complacency sets in. “Oh I’ll just worry about it next week,” or “It’s really just not worth my time,” are the sayings that cause people to become complacent. And so they sink. Sinking deeper and deeper until they can no longer make their way out. Now ask yourself, have you been sinking lately?

DIG?

Complacency is definitely an enemy of success, but its archenemy is a “self-defeating mindset.” When people exhibit this tendency they actually worsen their life situation by their actions. Their mind plays tricks on them, and does everything it can to find reasons or excuses not to succeed. Giving up before they even start, or overestimating how busy they are to avoid having trying something new – this is digging. Those who dig often habituate toward it and dig deeper until they can’t get out.

ROLL!!!

The only way to achieve whatever it is you dream of doing in this world is to ROLL!!! Set yourself in motion. Harness the potential of the boulder that you are and choose where you want to go. All it takes is a little push in the direction of what TRULY want to do with your life, and gravity will take care of the rest. For example, say you have always wanted to start your own restaurant, but have always told yourself it was “too difficult at this point in your life,” or “would require far too much money.” Why not set yourself in motion? Take baby steps at first. Pick up Running A Restaurant for Dummies and start reading! If it’s something that you would truly love doing, you won’t be able to put the book down. Then, that excitement will make you want to start to talking to restaurant owners you already know, who then give you advice on what they did, and give you the next person you should talk to.

THE TAKEAWAY: If you are passionate about something, start learning about it. Take small steps toward it because I promise you… an object in motion, stays in motion. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, surely Sir Isaac Newton’s will suffice.