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There were a lot of factors that piled high to become my tipping point.
Which – as I found out – is the opposite of a breaking point. Everything came together to push me over the edge.
Not a breaking point, but a point of breaking free.
My ‘ledge’ was the decision to unsubscribe from the ‘shoulds,’ to stop following other people’s rules.
It was the decision to move to Cambodia. To create my art. To full-on pursue my biggest passion. And to try to build a life – to make a living – from it.
Big decision. Big ledge.
I’ve realized that I got here by collecting examples.
Religiously I collect stories from inspirational people, and I bank their stories away.
When it came time for me to take a dive into the unconventional, I cashed in on those stories.
I never expected to see the day when I was more afraid to stay at home than I was to go after my dreams.
But eventually I had so many examples of people who had done it that I lost my reasons, my excuses, not to try.
Who’s in my ‘inspiration bank’?
1. It includes the people who have ventured outside the box to pursue their big idea.
2. It also includes people who never got their chance to.
3. And – people who had their chance, but never dared to try.
The revolving theme of my fund is: Time is precious. Your dreams are possible. Be afraid of not trying.
My Inspiration Fund is my protection from people who continuously go out of their way to explain to me how my dream is impossible.
It’s my personal case-study that proves what can be done by individuals unwilling to accept ‘impossible.’
It’s also a reminder of what is important. A reminder of what is possible.
Here’s one I’ve been thinking of this week:
Last summer, thanks to one of my dearest friends, I met an incredibly kind man. I happened to meet Jerome two weeks before he would celebrate his one-year anniversary of having a new heart. He had received a heart transplant at the young age of 23.
On the morning of this anniversary, in a tragic and cruel irony, Jerome was found dead in his home.
The photo that is in the side bar of this website? He took that photo.
He took this one as well. As you can see, he was good at making a person smile.
Today is his birthday. He would have turned 25.
Life is short.
Are you struggling to get yourself out the door?
Find your reminders. Find your reasons not to wait any longer.
In many ways, my Inspiration Fund has been more vital for getting me out the door than my financial nest-egg.
The money runs out.
The stories don’t.
They are reusable. They are resilient. Their value increases by sharing them with others.
The stories sustain me in a way money cannot.
Because it is stories – it is people – like Jerome, that not only give me the audacity to go after my dreams.
They are my reasons not to quit now that I am on my way.
Money can’t buy that.
Who’s in your Inspiration Bank?
