I Dare You...

Hey Warriors, I was looking through my hard drive and found this: it's part of my "manifesto" that I had on my first website. It's a few years old and I'm surprised I didn't delete it. I'm a bit of a philosopher, although I'm pragmatic and cynical. I have nothing to sell, just would like your thoughts on this. Please read it if you care to and let me know what you think...the piece is as follows:

You can be better than you are.

Interesting way to start this manifesto, but the above statement is basically the core message. Every manifesto has a story, and mine follows my personal development from an annoying toddler, to the man I am today. I grew up the third of six and raised in a traditional lower middle class, catholic family. As a kid, I had been brought up with discipline and an ethos that called for perpetual self-improvement. I was spritely and energetic, but I was also terribly scrawny, weak, and ineffectual. My appearance didn't match with who I was inside. My parents had written me off as a genetic caste: doomed to be lanky, small, and weak for the rest of my life. I refused to accept that.


As a teenager, my parents had gotten divorced, and my entire upbringing had a complete paradigm shift. I was no longer disciplined and challenged, I had been left to my own devices, and that left me a great loss. My uncle had offered to teach me how to fly. I began training for a few months, but became sketched out by the prospect of flying alone. I went on hiatus under the excuse of being busy with school...yeah right.


I stopped playing sports, I stopped being clean, and I started working for the first time in my life. I had not become self conscious about my physique until high school. It was then that I realized I was a 6'0" 130lbs weakling, and it was no wonder why girls didn't like me, and guys made fun of me. My home life was undesirable because as the middle child in a broken family, I had to shoulder more responsibility than any teenager should have had to. It wasn't pleasant, and I was forced to "grow up" fast and the burden of responsibility coupled with a bleak outlook made for a life of desperation.



Dealing with many after school fights, and a growing disdain for life, I was always feeling ****ty, and just angry with everything. I couldn't understand why things had to be this way, or what would become of me. I knew broken families made broken people, and I never would have guessed that I would experience my family being broken apart.



One day after school, I walked to the library down the road from my high school, and I came across a book by William Danforth. The book was called I Dare You, and it is still one of my favorite books. I remember picking it up and thumbing through the pages, and after a few minutes I found myself completely absorbed by the book, the message made me move, I felt my blood boil, almost as if I was ready to go to war.



After a few lost hours in the library, I had finished the book and left with a renewed conviction for my life. I was determined to work on letting go of the past, letting go of my anger, and striving to be the best person I could be. I began a lifelong crusade, and I still work on it everyday.


See, you don't have time to be depressed or miserable when you impose new expectations on yourself. I released my ambitious energy, and I began challenging myself in every facet of my life. I started weight training, I became more extroverted by striking up conversation with strangers, I took my uncle back up on his offer and resumed flying, and I got over my fear of heights by getting into motocross. Ever since that day I've resolved to push the envelope of my comfort zone, accepting new challenges to overcome and become a better man as a result.
Over the relative short time since then, my life has had a major paradigm shift, not only in ideology, but in practice. I went from being a shy dork, to a bold individual. I went from being scared of flying, to not being able to live without it. I went from not being able to jump a bmx bike, to hurling a 230 pound motorcycle through the air, becoming a very talented freestyle rider. I went from being a skinny weakling, to becoming strong and muscular. I was a nobody, now I'm a somebody. I don't write this to brag about my own accomplishments, but to illustrate how we are ALL capable of such transformations, and that we ALL want to become better than we are.



ARE YOU A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH?
I'm on a journey of discovery. I am looking for those priceless few who have the badass nerve to do amazing things; those who are audacious, ambitious, and ready to set the world on fire with their go-getting, never-say-die attitude.
The world belongs to those who take action, and I'm looking for those like-minded leaders who want to strike at the heart of anything keeping them from being the best they can be. To you, fellow warriors, I am going to share with you my daring philosophy, which carries with it great responsibility. Once you have it, you can never let go of it. Once it is yours, you can never rest until you use it to inspire others around you, and the more you do, the more capacity you develop to give back. Deep within the fiber of your very being is the hunger for true efficacy; to unleash your latent potential and abilities.



"I Dare You, whoever you are, to share with others the fruit of your daring. Catch a passion for helping others and a richer life will come back to you."
-William Danforth in I Dare You

Legacy Work, and Self Efficacy
I dare you to wage an endless crusade in your life...starting today. Strive to be your best. I believe that you are a better, more capable and more talented person than you are right now. The only reason you are not living up to your potential, is because you don't dare to be. Once you start to live deliberately and courageously, life takes on a new significance. Isn't what we all want to do? Don't we all want to live a more badass, rich, and meaningful life? To fully embrace your latent abilities and potential and to develop your gifts to the maximum possible use...isn't that what we all want to do?
My personal experience has convinced me that personal growth and self-fulfillment come from a daring lifestyle, and service to others; to be all that which you want to be, and to share the fruits of your success with others. No matter your background, your age, social or economic status, if you are one of the badass few I'm looking for, then the rest of this manifesto is for you. I promise you a more rewarding life, but only if you take action.


You are better than that
Many people I know whether my own contemporaries, or those much older than I drift through life with little direction. Many are simple pleasure seekers that also believe that the life of the party and self-indulgence is not only freedom, but self expression. I believe that's complete bull****. It's no secret that most people like the easy way, but the path of least resistance makes crooked rivers, and weak people.
Lazy people do not want to change their ways, but their life of leisure has kept them from feeling the sting of failure, and the thrill of accomplishment. Now some of you may be thinking to yourself, "Gee I can't live this kind of life. My circumstances don't allow it." Or "I'm happy to live a simple life, without making waves, or taking risks." Bull****, and more Bull****. But if you insist on maintaining that position, then please stop reading now and go about your business......I'll wait.


For you that are still with me, I have a slight anecdote to illustrate my point. I remember one time not so long ago that I had confronted a close friend about his temper. He had little control over his emotions, and to upset him had severe consequences. During our heated conversation, in which I was making little progress with, I looked at him in the eye and said "you're better than that." I noticed that just saying that one phrase had moved him. He paused for a moment, looked at me and said "you know what, you're right." He has since then worked really hard, and has kept his temper under control. Once in a while I'll have to remind him with that very statement, and it reinforces his drive. Now I'm sure to tell everyone else I have a heart to heart with that very statement...and at times, I even have to tell myself that. We all have vices, and we've all done things we're not proud of. Even the best of us succumb to thoughts of despair or worthlessness at times. But it is at these times that you must remember that you're better than what you have demonstrated so far, and you're better than what you think you're capable of.

How to Dare

The spirit of the fighter is something you must embrace. You must face problems aggressively, and aspire to greater responsibilities willingly. As I said before, most people are content to drift through the path of least resistance. Many are prey to a variety of fears, and this same fear keeps many would-be giants living lives of quite desperation. For example, as I write this now, I learned that I have to shoulder an additional $390 to my monthly expenses. I don't like it of course, but I'm going to meet this new responsibility head on.


My most memorable marketing professor liked to say quite often: "how many Bob Dylan's are out there, but will never pick up a guitar?" He usually went on to lecture about how there is so much wasted talent, and untapped potential in the world because people don't dare to live boldly. We are a different breed though; we dominate our fears. We look fear in the eye and say "**** you!" We look for things that "can't be done" and tear apart those assumptions.