I Win

"I didn't lose, I just ran out of time at the end of the game."

I laughed the first time I saw this quote on the back of a T-shirt. I figured they are either in denial, or they had a real grasp of what life is always about. Never giving up on your dreams. The teams that lose a championship one year and come back to win it the next - those are the organizations I really have respect for.

I believe there are two keys to living an untethered life.

1. Never give up on your dreams. It is never too late to do great things. At 62 Tolkien published the first of his Lord of the Rings stories. At 71 Katsusuke Yanagisawa became the oldest man to climb Mt. Everest. At 89 Albert Schweitzer ran a hospital in Africa. At 95 Nola Ochs became the oldest person ever to earn a college degree.
2. Embrace the journey. If I am going to be 95 when I get my diploma, or 71 when I reach the top of Everest, I am going to enjoy the journey along the way. I would love to see all my dreams and aspirations come to fruition tomorrow, but it's just not going to happen. I have a series of successes and failures ahead of me, so I will revel in the victories and learn from my defeats, but I will continue to cherish this path God has set me on till I finish the course.

So win or lose, victory or defeat - I win at life. I embrace the journey, cherish the moments along the way and at the end of the day, maybe I will be remembered for something exceptional, but if not, rest assured that it was a great ride.