What's Your Story?

Six-Word Memoirs was created by Smith Magazine. They believe everyone has a story and they ask, “One Life, Six Words, What’s Yours?”

When I answered this question a few weeks ago, this is what popped into my head, “started late, should have started sooner.”

Last week I read one of the most inspiring books I have ever come across, Bill Strickland’s “Make the Impossible Possible (Amazon affiliate link) It is a truly powerful story of how one person can make a tangible, positive difference in the world.

Mr. Strickland started life in Pittsburgh, PA in one of the poorest, most forgotten ghetto’s in the city. But, he lived from the inside out, not from the outside in. He listened to his heart, his inner truth and through determination, taking one small step at a time he built one of the premier educational centers in the world, Manchester-Bidwell right in his own backyard.

In addition to his own story he tells numerous stories throughout the book of other people who through living their own passionate lives changed the world around them. When telling the story about Billy Strayhorn and how he came to work with the immortal jazz musician Duke Ellington, this quote stayed with me: “He took his dreams seriously and lived his life in a way that prepared him for the day when opportunity might favor him.”

Think about that statement. It doesn’t imply instant or overnight success, or even hint at success at all. Billy Strayhorn lived his dream and vision every day in small ways, and one day, when the opportunity arose, he was ready. He’d prepared for years.

I think about that because for a long time I didn’t embrace my dream or vision because I always looked too far into the future, and feared the commitment it would take and all the changes I would have to make to reach that distant dream. It was too big, too bold, too far away.

I stayed stuck for a really long time until a few years ago when I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had reached a breaking point. I wasn’t happy and every day going forward looked like more of the same drudgery. I didn’t want to just survive, work, sleep, eat and shop. I wanted so much more.

When I looked back, I saw a grey, depressed, dull life. When I looked up and looked into the future, every once in awhile I caught a glimpse of my dream, my vision, a glimpse of possibility. But, there were so many obstacles between the here and now and the future that I thought it was hopeless to even try.

So, one day I just stopped looking up and stopped looking too far into the future. I started moving forward, one tiny step at a time, picking way through the debris, keeping my gaze down, focused on what was right it front of me. I’d glance up every now and again to get my bearings, correct my course, and then look down and start moving again. The most surprising discovery I made was that although there were many obstacles in front of me, there were also paths marked by others who had gone before me and places to stop, rest, hang out and have fun. I didn’t know that along the way there was so much to be discovered, so much beauty and so much joy.

I started living my dream, my vision, every day in small ways. I named what was important to me: creativity and self expression, independence and personal freedom, spirituality, privacy, personal growth, lifelong learning and loving, supportive relationships. Slowly I began to make these a priority in my life. I asked for what I needed and began to expect to that I would receive it.

This commitment to living my dream, my vision has helped me grow and begin to live the life I always dreamed about.

When opportunities arose, I was ready. One example is this newsletter. If I had started it a few years ago I would have failed. I had the dream, but I didn’t have the commitment or the vision yet. I hadn’t done the internal work, the hard work to clear some of the old limiting beliefs and stories out of my life. I didn’t have a daily writing practice as a foundation. I was savvy when it came to technology, but not in terms of the vast array of online tools available today and I had little understanding, or awareness, of the growing online social communities. I took my time, took it one step at a time and learned what I needed to know. When the idea for this newsletter floated to the surface again I was ready.

Re-reading my six word memoir, my story, “started late, should have started sooner,” I realized I had it all wrong. I couldn’t have started any sooner. My whole life, everything I have done, every choice I’ve made, as led me to this point. The life I have lived is the life I needed to live to prepare me for today’s opportunities, and tomorrow’s.

My new six word story is, “started late, but right on time.”

What is your six word story? What does it say about you? How are you preparing today for tomorrow’s opportunities?

(Originally published in The Dreaming Cafe newsletter, Issue No. 47 Sunday, December 6, 2009. If you enjoyed this article you can subscribe HERE)