Conquering the Volcano

I once heard of two friends (one very athletic, the other was definitely lacking in the area of physical ability) who decided to take a hike to the top of volcano. They were enjoying the beautiful clear blue skies and each others company. Once they had spent an hour on top enjoying the view they decided it was time to head back down.

On the way down things began to get exciting, the volcano actually ruptured. As they weaved their way down through the glowing red lava, they reached a stream of lava about 15 feet wide. This stream of lava was all that stood between these two friends and their safe escape. In his state of panic the athletic friend said that he was going to run and jump to his safety. After all he was on the track team in college, and even competed in the long jump.

Even after much pleading from his not so athletic friend, the athletic friend got a running start and jumped as far as he possibly could and he jumped further than he had ever jumped before. He probably set a world record that will never be broken and landed safely on the other side. He told his not so athletic friend that he would go get help and come back.

Finally, after waiting as long as he possibly could, the not so athletic friend jumped as far as he could and he fell short by ten feet, and was instantly killed.

So which of the two are you? Are you the athletic one or are you the not so athletic one? Or does it even matter which one you are?

Both men were faced with the exact same challenge, both men had the exact same conditions surrounding them, yet one man was successful and the other failed. Neither man knew that beautiful morning the challenge that they would have to face. However, one man was prepared and the other man wasn’t.

Will you be prepared when life presents you with a challenge? Will you be prepared when life presents you with an opportunity? So how can you prepare for something when you have no idea exactly what opportunity or challenge you will have to face? The answer is that you can’t….you can only live you life to the fullest each and every day. You should live each day as if it were going to be your last.

Prepare to the fullest.

I once heard it said that if an oak tree had a human’s ambitions it would
only grow ten feet tall. We so easily sell ourselves short. Surround yourself
with people who push you to grow and push you out of your comfort zone.