“No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a central role in the history of the world. And normally he doesn’t know it.”― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

This life – the one we’re living now – is the one chance we have to prove to ourselves that we matter. That we belong. That we can do it. No one accomplished anything great by believing they would do it later, or “when…”, or “if…” They just showed up, tried, failed, tried again, failed again, and eventually found the secret sauce to their thing, their “Personal Legend” as Paulo Coelho called it.

The way we feel fulfilled is to discover our calling and step into it. It might be raising littles to the best of your ability, though they don’t come with a handbook. It might be starting a company that employs people and feeds families. It might be going into space and exploring the unknown. And there’s everything in between.

The irony is that we already matter. We already belong. And we can do it. It requires only one thing: getting out of bed every morning and getting in the game.

So make it count. This life. This moment. Don’t give up. Don’t underestimate your contribution to the world. We need you. I need you.

Show up. Be your best self. And kick some ass.* It’s what you were put here to do.

*One of my personal mantras 😉

[Photo: San Diego Half Marathon; photo by Jeff Youngren at Bauman Photographers]