Try Try By All Means Try

The regret of never having attempted a dream is one of the great regrets of life.  Ten years ago, a group of elderly residents in a care facility were asked, individually:  “What are your regrets?  If you could live your life over, what would you do differently?”

The answer … I wish I would have taken more chances.

That screams at me – and I hope at you also. 

We will never know the outcome, or what we can do, or where “IT” is hiding unless we take a chance and go for it once in a while. 

Yes, you might get rejected.

You may fail.

You may not come in first.

You may not even finish the race or the course or the program or the curriculum.  But you tried!  YOU TRIED!

You might even find that the end of the road is not where and what you wanted after all, but you tried.  Look at what you learned.

Seth Godin used this in his latest book:  “‘Will I get in’ is not nearly as good a question as, ‘It it worth trying?’” 

Try!  Try!  By all means try.

Go.  Do.  Become.  Strive.  See what lies on the other side.

And if your fall short – look at what you know.  Look at how the experience has changed you, improved you.

What we’re talking about here is this … make the leap!

Leap.

I once sought fame as the world’s greatest choral and orchestral conductor.  That carried me for twenty years or more.

And then I set my sights on being a mammoth business guru.  I learned, and am still learning, a ton from that one.

I had a vision of being a real estate success.  That lasted three years, thanks to bad timing and short funds.  But the experience has been valuable.

For thirty years I talked of being a writer.  I dabbled in it along the way and still dreamed about writing.  One fine fall day in October 2009 I was challenged to get serious about writing and start blogging, just to see if I had the stamina.  You see, I needed to prove to myself, and then the world, that I had something to say and I could sustain it. 

It worked.  Today, I have six blog sites, have published four books, and still write every day of my life. 

See the thread that is weaving through this post?

We don’t know what we can accomplish until we start.  It’s okay to make a bunch of starts.  Nobody cares, really. 

I do believe you will uncover your niche, your calling, if you knock on enough doors, turn over enough stones, or whatever metaphor you choose to use.

My advice …

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Where Do Small Steps Lead

I've watched three of our grand kids learn to walk.  You know the drill – the first steps are halting and uncertain.  And look at them today.  They all run and jump, skip and lead a full and active life.  Just last week I played Grey in some one-on-one soccer.  I remember his first steps.  He won our soccer game, by the way.

I started a new routine at LA Fitness a few weeks ago.  Now, 5 or 6 weeks later, I can run longer distances, the tightness in my leg muscles is lessening and I’m doing more.

I started taking Yoga about 2 months ago.  I have more flexibility, a stronger core and a general feeling of well-being after only a few weeks.  I can’t do all the poses and positions my instructor asks of us, but I do what I can, for as long as I can. 

Got the picture?

Small beginnings lead us places.

 It’s true for real estate agents, singers, speakers, writers, bankers, teachers, and mothers of new born babies, flight attendants and any other area of life you might consider. 

Small steps lead to slightly larger steps, and those lead to running marathons and winning races, improved circulation, lower blood pressure, giant companies and massive empires.

This just in … Starbucks started small and then grew.

~Einstein had to learn his times tables.

~Bill Gates got his start in designing tic-tac-toe games for computers, and after he and Paul Allen, founders of Microsoft, teamed up, they eventually graduated to the Altair 8800 mini-computer kit.  The impressive Microsoft Company came later, and its roots rested in those early days of their experimenting with computers and simple games.

Whatever your dreams are today, begin making those small first steps toward them. 

Small Beginnings Lead Us Places.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Creating God

In my twenties and thirties, my image of God looked very much like that of most other conservative Christian young men with whom I associated.  We gave him the mindset of a stern, mostly mad God, one who was ready to zap us for the first miss-step or wrong thought or deed.

He was not a smiling God.  He never laughed.  He never even chortled.  His voice was booming, and would rattle the dishes in every house within our town if He got too upset with us. 

How have you created God?

We viewed people from other churches as suspect.  Their God couldn't be nearly as great as our God; after all, our God was THE one true God.

As time has passed, my concept of God has changed, thankfully.  He is a more ecumenical God.  I've even allowed God to love some of those we once thought lesser of.  You know the type – the down-n-out crowd, the street people - even drunks and addicts, and others, who have chosen paths far different from the ones I've chosen. 

Can God really love a prostitute, a gay/lesbian?  How about a Muslim or a Buddhist?  And don’t get me started on Catholics. 

How have you created God?

I ran across this quote recently.  It is a telling declaration on our ability to fashion God in our own image.

“You can tell you've created God

in your own image when He

hates the same people you do.”

(At the moment I don’t know who gave us this quote, but it rings true.)

How have you created God?  With what character traits have you lauded him?  With what limits have you shackled him?

I’ll close with this.

OUCH!

Sort of reminds me of this:

“God so loved the whole world

that He gave Jesus Christ, His son …”

(John 3:16)

The WHOLE world.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Going Dark

My Dear Reader:

I am going dark for a few days.  In the meantime, please visit the great back-list of past blogs on this site. 

Have a peaceful day. 

P Michael Biggs