Am I Being Honest With Who I Am?
“Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.”
Am I Being Honest With Who I Am?
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash
It is not enough to merely think about our potential. We need to discover it, to live it, to make it a reality. It begins as an image, something you want to see more clearly. You tell the world what you like and what you don't like, what is bugging you and what is giving you delight. You tell the world what you would like more of, what you would like less of, and through this clarity, a shift occurs.
Am I being honest with who I am? Do I practice what I think and preach? Do I follow through on what I know of myself? Do I make a stand when the world challenges who I become?
These questions, and our answers to them, define us and largely determine our destiny.
Jimmy Kimmel did something that few men care to admit doing, he cried, on TV to boot. He had a good reason, Billy, his seven-month-old son, just went for a second surgery on a faulty heart. The shows of emotion have given him an authenticity that the other late night hosts just don't have. Expressing the rawest of emotions in a manner that many of us would choose death as an alternative. That level of vulnerability is miraculously incomparable. It just doesn't happen.
In an interview with GQ, Jimmy comes close to making an apology for crying (aka being human) "... I still wish I could keep it together. I see others keeping it together, and it makes me wonder if I'm emotionally unstable. My dad is the same way. He's definitely the same way. We don't express a great deal of emotion but when we do, it really comes pouring out."
Inspiration is what happens when we make sense of the past. Looking death in the eye serves as a wake-up call. Jimmy's words slice with the emotion of a man who nearly buried a child. Seeing an opportunity to live true to his potential, Kimmel took the stage. His platform could hold the government accountable. A bloody battle to reinstate the Children's Health Insurance Program. Which protects one in eight kids in America who need coverage for catastrophic care of some sort.
With an estimated annual salary of 15 million dollars a year, you're afforded the opportunity of the best care available. Regardless of decisions that affect the 99% of us.
Jimmy came from modest beginnings. An experience that gives him a sense of appreciation and gratitude that you can't buy. His desire to be a voice for the voiceless gnaws away at the fear that would have otherwise kept him silent.
I'm sure if you ask Jimmy, he'd answer with a resounding yes for each of the questions you were prompted with earlier. Taking the long difficult path is the only way you'll truly get what you want.
Jimmy told the world that he believed, every child should have access to healthcare. The world listened, Congress moved forward on resolving CHIP funding.
Rock Thomas delivers a powerful, personal story on how to resist the labels forced on you in order to redefine yourself.
Why do we put off decisions that could give us a better future? I've been at that crossroads many times in my life. Whether it was a decision to start my own business, launch a podcast or even ask my partner to marry me. I knew all three of these decisions would give me a better life. But in the back of my head, all I could think about is what if I ended up being a colossal failure?