This month's motivational theme is Distant Horizons. Normally I have 180 posts written, designed and schedule for the beginning of each month. This month I have been needing to continue to write, design and schedule a little bit every day. I've come to realize how ironic that has become to symbolize the theme. It takes taking consistent singular steps that help you get closer to your desired destination.
As I stare at the horizon in the early morning hours as the sun rises, I reflect upon the individual who has been a source of inspiration to me becoming an independent author. Far too often those we idolize, we have a tendency to put them on a pedestal. We become their "fans." Well I don't do the fan thing and I don't set people up on pedestals. It has been Hugh Howey's idiosyncrasies and faults that have also been a source of inspiration. They became an inspiration because he was so willing to share his thoughts and insecurities.
Just because someone inspires you, doesn't mean that they are perfect and don't also need someone who inspires them to be better tomorrow than they were today. There are tweets of his that I have to shake my head and say, "Seriously?"
Yet, you can't discount the man's achievements in his life and the impact he has made for opening up the door for independent authors. Despite his flaws, he has good qualities. Most individuals around the world are not blatantly good or bad. We are all trying to figure out this life, one day at a time. We all have times when we look at ourselves and think, "Seriously?" We all shake our own heads at ourselves.
Hugh inspires me, because here is a man who had a dream of sailing the world. He paid the price, sacrificed and faced his fears to fulfill that dream. No one can ever take away the accomplishments that he made, because he looked at the horizon, grasped it and then harnessed the wind to reach it.
Almost overnight the world seems to have change. That opportunity for him may have been lost, had he not taken it when he did. Because he took the risk to reach that distant horizon, he will never have regrets. His memories are filled with wonderful adventures and lessons learned that will remain with him. In times of doubt, he can draw on them to gain the strength to harness the wind and sail across whatever life's storms he faces.
Distant Horizons... the one that Hugh showed us as he stripped naked and jumped off cliffs into the sea. Not caring what the world thought. Just living in the moment and fulfilling a dream or facing his fears. Then he emotionally stripped himself naked and shared the depth of his thoughts about those fears.
While I will never follow his example in many aspects of his life. The core foundation of being brave enough to be himself, not caring what others think about it and staring that horizon down as he faces his fears. His drive to lift those sails and harness the wind. To stare the ocean in the eye, face his fears and lift up his anchor. These are traits that I will continue to strive to implement and improve upon.
How can one not admire that quality? How can one not be inspired? We can choose to solely look at someone's faults and weaknesses or you can choose to acknowledge their strength in striving to become better each day in overcoming their weaknesses. We can constantly point out others flaws, rather than focus on ours and finding ways to seek solutions. The choice is ours.
As I look at the distant horizons in my life that I am striving to pursue, I realize that as I navigate to those horizons that I have to be willing to adjust my course as storms arise and waves come crashing around me. It has been in facing my fears that arise when I stare at distant horizons that I dive deep within to explore the reasons for those fears.
In doing so, I have found my strengths and weaknesses. I have gained confidence in overcoming those weaknesses and I no longer fear being me. To stand emotionally naked in front of the word and just be myself.
By diving deep within I have found me. I will always focus on finding commonality and striving to find resolution and solutions. I will always strive to continue to bridge differences with civil dialogue. I don't respond to demands and ultimatums. Don't assume anything about me. You'll most likely be wrong.
As I stare at the horizon, I wonder about what I will regret if I don't step forward to harness the wind and face my waves of fear. To find what I would regret, I had to find what I wouldn't regret. To define what I wanted, I first had to define what I didn't want. Until I understood me, how could I go through the process of defining and aligning?
It's all about where you choose to put your focus. To travel too distant horizons, you must first travel deep within.