Heed the Call to Greatness
- JP | #Intangibl3
- May 27, 2017
- 3 min read
There are a lot of things in a man's life that can hold him back from greatness. I have come into contact with many of them. The majority of these things, at least in my experience, are self-made. What I mean is that we create the things that fuck with us on our path. We come up with the reasons why we shouldn't put in 100%; we focus on useless shit instead of that which will aid us in progressing; we allow the opinions of others to sway our judgement. At some point, it's got to stop.
I recently decided that I want to join the Army. Now, joining the United States military has been a dream of mine since I was about 11 years old, however, I allowed what others had to say to stop me from pursuing it. I came up with excuses as to why I shouldn't do enlist. I turned my attention toward things that ultimately turned out to be a pointless waste of time.
I let my fear guide me. I allowed myself to be drawn away from the path that I desired to forge for myself.
I fucked up.
It took time, and challenges, and other masculine men to make me see that I had been in the wrong.
It all began with the realization that all of my preconceived notions that I had about life, love and faith had been largely wrong and in most cases I had gotten those ideas from someone else. Now I'm a firm proponent of the idea that experience is the best teacher so one must discover truth for himself, and although my mother had always given me that exact same advice, I never really applied it. I had to experience the truth of that statement before I could really understand that experience is what I needed to understand it. It's something that simply can't be taught.
From my realization that I didn't really know anything I had a bit of an identity crisis. It is difficult to come to terms with the reality that you might not be who you thought you were. A life full of excuses, confirmation bias and ill-conceived notions of humility make for nothing more than a marionette dancing on the strings held by those more powerful than he. The catch is that anyone outside of your life who has more influence than you only has that influence because you allow it. So in reality there should be no one that has more power in your life than you do. If only I had known that earlier it would have saved me a lot of heartache. But, again, experience is the best teacher.
Structures must be completely torn down before than can be built anew, and so it is with man. For a full scale transformation to take place one has to lose himself entirely. Then, and only then, does he have a hope of becoming all that his heart calls him toward.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said "None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone."
Each of us has a call toward our own personal greatness and that calling becomes all the louder after we undergo this shedding of the voices of others. The only voice that needs your ear is that one that is inside of you.
And so, regardless of what others say or do to deter you, you must, as I have learned, follow your own path. Of course many of you won't get this until you've experienced the falling away of your self, but some, those who have undergone this transformation or sorts, will get it. This is for you men who have realized that all was not as you had previously thought. Do what your experience, instinct and heart tells you must be done. That is how you will find true joy and peace.
Click here to see my new video: "I'm Joining the Army!?"
If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me at jon@intangibl3.com.
Until next time,
JP
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