Maybe in the end, what matters most is with what titles will you die?
Author? Yes, please.
Magician? Hell yeah.
Massage therapist? Duh!
If there is anything more important than habits, I can’t imagine what they might be. To me, habits are everything! If I want to be strong – especially since I’m not the type of man naturally rich in testosterone – then I have to do the things a strong man does. That means every damn day! The minute I set the dumbbell down is the minute my strength dissipates. To do is to be. To stop doing is to stop being. For me to “be” strong, I have to do the things a strong person does. I have to have their habits. Emulate them to the nth degree or further.
Here’s the bottom line.
I want to be a massage therapist!
I want to be a writer.
I want to be known as a magician.
All these disparate goals clamor for my attention, like a newborn child, instinctively clamoring for the teat.
To do is to be. And, conversely, to not do is to not be.
Nike had it right all along.
Just do it!
A more brilliant slogan I cannot imagine.
Here are the titles I wish to be recognized as fulfilling when I die.
(Clearly, this article is asking you, dear reader, to imagine how do you wish to be remembered after your life is over?)
Writer, massage therapist, magician. Check, check, and check!
I’m about to alienate and send away all the Law of Attraction folks in 3 .. 2 ..
Ready?
While they would have you embrace the idea, that life is infinite, that you can (and should!) have it all, I would suggest you consider a different idea.
Life is finite.
Three words.
Words that don’t leave you ‘pumped’ or shouting ‘Shut up and take my money.’
Life is fleeting and finite.
None of us get out of this thing alive.
In the end, we all die.
If I want to be the guy who could do a bunch of push-ups, then I need to do a lot of push-ups.
Every.
Damn.
Day.
If I wish to be remembered as a magician, I need to ensure that I do amazing feats of magic.
Every.
Damn.
Day.
If my intention is to be considered a terrific massage therapist, then I need to work that magic with body-work.
Every.
Damn.
Day.
In the end, it’s just that simple.
Do what you wish to be remembered as.
Shhh!
Come closer.
Do you want the real secret?
The real secret is this: there is no secret, no shortcut.
Just do it!
Do what you want to be remembered for. Do it regularly and do it often.
That’s it!
There! You have your secret. But Nike said it first!
Just do it!
Stories by Shawn 
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