My knees are stiff, my back aches, my neck is in pain. Do I really need to wake up right now? It’s 5am.
My mind wanders for a second, but I already know the answer. If I want to live my dream, then yes, I have to wake up. So I get out of bed, stare out the window, and smile. 4 years ago, I did not believe this life was possible.
It’s 5am. I wake up. My body is tired. A piece of me wants to go back to bed. But I know that’s not an option.
Today is my opportunity. Today is your opportunity. You can move forward, take action, start achieving the life of your dreams. Or you can go back to bed, watch some TV, drink another beer… What are you going to do?
I took a moment. I could feel my chest. My heart was racing. What’s wrong with me? It didn’t make sense. I was 27 years old, healthy, had a good job, loving parents, great friends, involved in the community, and the list keeps going.
Yet, as I lay on my bed at 2am, overwhelmed by my life, I knew something was wrong. It was as if, the world had been handed to me, and I had no soul. From a logical standpoint my life was great, but my heart showed otherwise. Why can’t I appreciate? Why do I feel this? Why do I hate my life?
It was a hard thing to admit – that I’d done everything I was told to do… and felt empty. Western culture tells us “Get a degree, get a job, get a home, make a lot of money, and happiness is yours.” I’ve tested the theory… It doesn’t work.
I used to be a teacher in the inner city. Every morning I would wake up at 530 am to go teach in the poverty stricken neighborhoods of Los Angeles, California. On some level it felt good. On paper, it looked great. Here I was – in my mid 20’s giving my heart and soul to educate america’s underserved youth. But if I’m honest, with you, with myself – I did it for the wrong reasons.
It was hard. Really hard. I’ve seeing my mother cry 2 times in my lifetime… Now it’s 3.
“I don’t want you to go.” I didn’t know what to say, how to respond, what to do. So I did nothing. She hugged me, tried to hold back her tears, her emotions. But I’d already seen it, felt it.
Sometimes people say strange things, odd things, things that make you do a double take. Do you ever think about quitting your job, moving to a far away land, and pursuing some crazy dream? Me too, a few times.
Sorry, I’m being melodramatic. Let me rephrase that. It crossed my mind about a thousand times. Notice the past tense. So I did it. I quit my job, I moved to Japan, I am pursuing my childhood dream: I’m trying to become a ninja. Today I want to share my story in hopes of inspiring and encouraging you to follow your dreams.
