Moving Forward with Hope: Doing something awesome

Moving Forward with Hope
Doing something awesome

I stumbled across an internet phenomena the other day, Kid President—a talented, confident young man who’s been through some tough times health wise. He’s come out with a series of videos including one entitled, “Pep Talk” on resiliency, heart and going after your dreams. It’s for all of us.

What Kid President lacks in specific advice on career planning, he makes up for with truth and wisdom useful in almost everything. Including transitions.

“Life isn’t a game, people”, he begins, “and it’s not a cereal either.” “It actually is”, he corrects himself on the second point, giggling at his own mistake. The kid grabs you from the start and you stay close as he quotes Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken.* And then explains poignantly how that road is the hardest and contains the most rocks and potholes. He cracks me up by saying, “Not cool, Robert Frost,” but you know he believes it’s the only road if you’re looking for meaning from life and work.

His career philosophy class continues with reference to Journey’s song, “Don’t Stop Believing.”

And adds his editorial comment, “unless the dream is stupid!” Sound advice on the importance of balancing dreams and reality in charting one’s career course. Imagination and employment research work in tandem.

He closes strong with encouragement to “Create something awesome.” “This is your time.” “We were made to be awesome,” with tone and smile that warms and inspires. There aren’t enough seminars in the world to go into the substance behind his exhortations. But we know it contains truths we all long for in our work.

To get there, we need to:

• identify our “gifts” ,translating them to what the world most needs
• do the work necessary to apply these ideas to real life opportunities
• use well the time we have on this earth
• begin the process now; there’s a first or next step which is doable and will provide encouragement
• believe in ourselves, the people around us and something beyond

---

TODAY…

Think about what awesome work you really want to do. Who can you talk to about it? What obstacles exist and how can you get around or over them? What piece of your dream has Kid President’s message tapped into?

*The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost