I dropped by my buddy Brent’s house the other day unannounced and I was greeted at the front gate of his yard by two of his barking dogs.  One was a huge Labradorand the other was a small size mystery mutt.   Brent’s wife Kim, opened the front door and yelled, “Go ahead and open the gate and walk up to the house, but make sure you stay on the cement walk way!”  The thought of following her instructions made me a bit uneasy, so I yelled back, “Are you sure this is okay?”  And she said, “Yeah!  You’ll be alright, just stay on the cement!”  I hesitated a bit more, but eventually I slowly got the courage to open the gate.  

As I was walking on the cement walk way, the dogs kept barking and looking at me with a menacing look but it was if there was some sort of invisible barrier that was holding them back.  I must admit I was a bit bewildered and perplexed by what I was seeing but I kept moving forward.

I eventually reached the front door and safely entered the house without a scratch.  Naturally I was curious to understand what had just happened, so I asked Kim.   She said the dogs used to wear a shock-collar and it would shock them anytime they reached a certain point.  I suddenly realized that even now that they don’t have shock-collars on, they’ve made a mental note that crossing the imaginary line means discomfort.  WOW!!!

Needless-to-say, this got me to thinking of the direct parallel that exists with us humans.  We often times allow our past failures, loss and pain to stop us from pursuing things that are worthy of our best efforts.  Just as the dog is conditioned by shock-collars we can be conditioned by our past failures.   I truly believe that one of the biggest sacrifices a person can make in this life is to settle into a life of average, mediocrity and comfort to avoid the risk of failure, loss or pain.  We were designed and created for sooooo much more.

So a good question for today is,  Are your spoken words and actions worthy of  plagiarism?  Are your  current goals and dreams suitable to be envied?  Are your true intentions in all that you do deserving and befitting a noble and just  man or woman of honor?  Or, has your fear of failure, discomfort and pain conditioned you to play small and focus on helping and inspiring just those who share your last name?  Hmmmm…

These questions can serve as a litmus test for a life that’s destined to do something special.  If the masses aren’t being inspired by your actions, then dare I say you’re leaving sooooo much more on the table of life than you were designed and created to do and be.   Chew on this thought for a bit and decide what’s the next action-step for you if needed.  Don’t let the “Shock-collar” of failure and pain bully you into the corner of comfort and complacency.  Not today.

Don’t plot to kill the messenger on this one today.  I’m just looking to inspire others to make it GREAT!

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My Book:      “Make it GREAT”
www.MakeItGreatNOW.com