The Extra Mile

My dearest readers,

now that I finished six wonderful college years—which were, throughout, riddled with some of my highest ups and my lowest downs in life—I want to share what carried me across a God-given path of opportunity. It had never been effort and keen wit alone, nor was it passion or excitement, no. It had foremost to do with the invincible will to endure, the one and only thing that made me go on, for better or for worse, through floods and hurricanes that can tear down a life in a heartbeat…but none of that matters as long as you always do your best.

Life is a challenge, and at any given moment you’re put to the test. It’s not for us to choose, but it’s for us, in a Baldwinian fashion, to accept this challenge. No path is easy; nothing and no one in this life can take that burden away from you. Crossroads after crossroads will put you on the spot, over and over again. And in all that struggle there is no one who can and will walk that way for you. That you must do (by) yourself…and in doing so you might as well insist upon it.

As much as that route can be a burden, equally as much it can be a sublime opportunity. The least of us are intrepid enough to stay en route throughout. There are just too many distractions, too many concerns that prevent us from constantly walking and moving forward. But in these little resistors lies the fuel you need in order to get to the top. Only a huge knockdown and unconditional, unshakable faith hold the torque, the power that can not only put you on the spot but power big enough to make you do marvelous, immaculate work.

Shayne Ward once said: “[I]t’s when people least expect you to do something that you often do your best.” Perhaps it is even when you least expect it, but it is not a mystery that these knockdowns can unlock potential you were not even going to learn about unless this life puts you on the spot. Therefore, whenever the sledgehammer of life sucker-punches you straight in the eye, don’t drop and fall to your face. How about you get your Taylor Swift on and shake it off, rise like the sun, and gas up your ambitions for more blindside hits to come?

You can drown in self-pity and distress, or you can take it like a champion and return, stronger, resolute, and reckless. And may we all be bound to the perimeters of life, we always have a choice, at every crossroad we face, to either do or don’t. What is your choice when there is no one on your side? What is your choice when circumstances push your back against the wall? What is your choice when another subject walks into your life and tells you you’re not good enough, you can’t do it, and it’s not worth it?

It’s not rocket science, it is life, a life you ought to live the way you want it, and if you picked up on that you might as well live it in a way where you can do your best at any given moment. You’re getting weary and old? Did you know you’re still at the top of your game? When the wrecking ball swings by again, send him or her my regards…and swing back, because no matter how deep life’s boot is in your guts, there is always a road reserved for you to walk on. Some call that the extra mile, a hidden trail that favors the bold. Why don’t you walk it? There is no one on it, no one but you on this stairway to heaven… #MomentumToGo