Pursuit of Perfection, Performance Excellence, Living Your Dreams
Winter Olympics Figure Skating Lysacek
The ultimate display of beauty, the pursuit of perfection, perseverance, and dedication is here – the winter Olympics. Regardless of whether you believe they represent a tremendous waste of money, are won by the wealthiest countries who can afford to invest in such expensive sports, or perhaps that some of the events aren’t even sports at all…they have been around for a few thousand years (the first Olympic games were in 776BC, with the modern Olympics starting in 1896) and are a reflection of our ongoing pursuit to recognize those among us who strive and who dream, who come as close to perfection as humanly possible.
Vancouver Winter Olympics Ice Sculpture
This is one of the few areas of our world where something is desired more than money…where a dream exists to obtain something intangible – recognition, respect, and achievement. These men and women in many cases have sacrificed throughout their entire lives at the chance to prove, on a world stage, that there is nobody better, none more commitment, more talented, or more deserving. What have they given up at the chance for performance excellence, perfection, to full their lifelong dreams, and to perform for all of the world to see? Did they give up sleep, friendship, relationships, relaxation, mediocrity, and pettiness to strive for something greater, something grander?
In many cases these athletes have invested their entire lives at the mere chance to fulfill their dreams. Simply minor deviations from perfection are all it takes to remove one of these incredible athletes from their chance at obtaining the gold medal. Figure skating, ice hockey, skiing, curling, luge…you name it – risking their body and in many cases their lives for a chance at greatness. If they blow it, its not as though they can just wait until next year – they have to wait four years to try again, assuming that they aren’t too old to participate next time around. At showtime, there is no room for should have’s and could have’s -this is their one chance to give it everything they’ve got. It can be painful to watch these athletes sacrifice in the name of perfection and excellence as one simple mistake can be the difference between success and failure – dreams shattered in a single breath.
Vancouver Winter Olympics
What is your dream? What is your purpose in life? What sacrifices have you made to fulfill the life you were destined to live? What did you give up to stay true to your path? What did you let go of? What was the cost of the pursuit of your dreams? We cannot all be Olympians, but we can all strive for excellence in our lives. Imagine finding something that you believe in so much that it inspires every moment of your life, every fiber of your being, and every ounce of reality in your life. You owe it to yourself and to your world to discover your purpose in life and to pursue it with every ounce of your being?
Don’t die without following your dreams and fulfilling your purpose in life. Find something you can believe inand give it everything you’ve got.
Sometimes we don’t have the courage or faith to pursue our dreams – and at times we are “encouraged” or in some cases “coerced” by outside circumstance to follow our path and listen to our truth. Here is one inspirational story that is sure to inspire you, in case you missed it in the PARADE section of the paper today – for those of you who still actual “read” the newspaper in its original form 🙂 (Dreams Do Come True)
As an aside, I would like to pay a heartfelt tribute to all of you who have made immense sacrifice in the pursuit of your dreams, in the pursuit of a passion larger than life, almost beyond comprehension. I praise you for staying true to your purpose and passion even when you may have been surrounded by those who doubted your greatness, or even when you may have been tempted to doubt your own magnificence. Here’s to your dreams, your desires, and to everything you life for.
I invite you to share your stories below…I would love to hear about your dreams, and what you have given up to follow them.
Blessings,
.
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Kay, you are truly an inspiration for those who haven’t yet made the decision to choose happiness over pettiness, greatness over the status quo, and fulfillment over mediocrity. As you know, we can blame only ourselves for our suffering. It sounds like you have made a great life for yourself, and your husband is very fortunate to have found you as well. I will make sure we get a copy of the book out to you to read in your spare time – Thank you for taking the time to share!
Blessings.
Wonderful post, David! There’s nothing sadder in life than letting your dreams slip away for no reason other than you “get busy”. I know many people that did and when I ask them what happened to the dreams they had, they shrug and tell me seriously that life got in the way. Heck, this IS life! None of us should ever feel that gaping hole in our heart where we know we settled instead of being courageous.
I wanted two main things in life: to write and a happy marriage. I always dreamed of writing, poetry in particular, and gave it up for nigh on twenty years when family and work took priority. I sadly “got busy”. When you add to that a failing marriage, redundancy, a son on the autistic spectrum, a husband that morphed into a secret alcoholic and depression, perhaps no one would fault me for putting down the pen. What I lost most over that time was my positivity and my enthusiasm for life: I was going through the motions and only just. But I picked the pen up again about six months before I left him. Writing was the one thing I could hold onto that was mine and mine alone. It became a safety valve for me as I sorted through what I really wanted in life and who I was.
Dreams do come true when you commit to them. I write now more than ever, some for work and some for pleasure. My new husband that I love dearly is the most compassionate, thoughtful and intelligent man I have ever met. Best of all – through much reading, listening for guidance and soul searching – I rediscovered myself, my passion and my positive spirit.
No one said dreams come easily or without trials along the way, but then anything worth having is worth working for. Getting busy with the mundane is the worst reason in the world to let them slip away. If you’re going to be busy, allow it at least in part to be about achieving your dreams. We can all make time for that in some small way every day. 🙂
P.S. Sorry this was so long! Once I start talking, I can’t stop sometimes LOL. Wishing you all good things. 🙂