You’re one of the lucky ones. You’ve made it to your 90’s or even 100’s and it’s that time. You lie down for your final nap and never wake up.

If you’re a man of faith – and I am – you don’t think life stops there. Your soul, the essence of who you are, not just your physical form, lives on.

You’re dead but your consciousness still exists. I don’t think we take the same form, I think heaven is in the presence of our Maker and hell is in absence of Him. But for argument’s sake let’s say you go up to the pearly gates and see God.

Standing next to him is a fella that looks exactly like you. He’s a little stronger, more muscular, leaner. He looks like he’s lived more. He has scars on his face and hands and his skin is a lot tougher than yours is.

God says to you, Well done, you lived a good life, but you could have lived a far greater one. This guy is who I created you to be, this is your destiny.

In a glimpse, you see everything that this man, YOU, did. You see that he lived a HARD life. An arduous one. He didn’t compromise his values. He didn’t set small goals. He didn’t quit or cry or whine about his circumstances.

In this glimpse, you’re exposed to what you could have done, who you could have been.

You see the land you could have owned, the thousands of people you could have helped because of the millions and billions of dollars you could have earned.

You see the adventures you could have had and the scars they could have left.

You see the leader you could have been.

It hits you like a punch to the gut. You lived SMALL. You lived quietly. You lived a life of FEAR compared to what you could have done.

You were lazy, weak, afraid, envious, and cynical.

You could have been so much more.

If you have faith – and even if you don’t – compare yourself to this ideal, this potential, this man you can be, this man you’re created to be rather than comparing yourself to the guy next door or the fella down the street or the prick on TV.

Ambition is God Telling You What to Pursue

The second aspect of this epiphany, this glimpse, is that the man standing next to your Maker did what you’d always dreamt of doing.

He hunted in Africa, built a billion-dollar company, married his sweetheart, gave back, lived clean, worked hard, worked out, didn’t make excuses, and took action on the biggest dreams that YOU have.

… While you simply passed them off as dreams.

What your soul begs you to do should be given credence. It should be seen as important. Give it power, sustenance, by acting on it.

You know what your greatest ambitions are. There shouldn’t be anything in this world that can stop you from moving toward them.

The Scars

Finally, the man you CAN BE has been beaten up. He’s failed. He’s had ups and downs and he’s almost died a dozen times.

His life, however, was lived on a far more grand playing field than the one you (we) currently occupy.

He DID the things that you only dream about doing.

He didn’t see obstacles or barriers, but dreams, destinations, goals.

Give your dreams the respect they deserve.

Set higher goals, aim far higher than anyone you know.

Then understand that nothing simply happens. Everything in life takes effort, pain, and persistence, and you can handle all of it.

Get after it.