Who I Am
On one hand, I’m a pretty normal guy. I like football, beer, and war movies. I have a beautiful wife, two kids, one dog, and a nice house in the quasi-country. On the other hand, maybe I’m an abnormal guy in a normal shell.
I think I think a lot more than most people I know. Sometimes that’s a bad thing, but I’m never bored. A lot of what I think about is what I should be doing with the rest of my life. People are defined by their work - it’s either self-imposed or written into their histories by the people who know them. If I am defined by what I’ve done so far, I’ll consider myself a very productive failure. You could say I’m driven.
Usually when you hear that someone is “driven” you think of some money-obsessed coke-head yuppie. Although I like money as much as the next guy, and I definitely want some more of it, that’s not the primary driver of my “driven-ness.” Money won’t do it. If it would, I’d be in New York.
What turns my crank? Impact. I want to make a difference. Usually when you hear that someone wants to make a difference, they’ll go on to tell you that they’re starting a basketball program for at-risk youth. Nothing wrong with that, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Like money, I like this kind of impact. It makes life live-able. I spend a lot of time with my church and with Habitat for Humanity. It’s great, but that ain’t it.
When I say impact, I’m talking about truly changing the world. I want to make a splash. Fame’s cool, fortune’s swell, but none of that matters to me like change.
I am here for change.
I tell people that. In my Fantasy Football league. In my Sunday School class. At the bar. I get the same blank stare no matter where I am. That’s my big abnormality. And I’m happy to be stuck with it.
I’ve come to believe that God puts us all here for a reason, and equips us for that objective with our skills, attributes, and experiences. I’m here for change. That’s who I am.
