Viral Happiness

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Neither the woman or the old man were at all impressed with the fact that he was a shepherd. They were solitary individuals who no longer believed in things, and didn’t understand that shepherds become attached to their sheep. He knew everything about each member of his flock: he knew which ones were lame, which one was to give birth two months from now, and which were the laziest. He knew how to shear them and how to slaughter them. If he ever decided to leave them, they would suffer…

…Here I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought. He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have.

from The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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Change  is hard.

The anticipation of change – a new job, a new home, a new challenge – can be exciting. Dreaming about it and planning for it can be fun. But the actual act of making that change is difficult.

In The Alchemist, Santiago has to choose between “something he had grown accustomed to and something that he wanted to have.” And, in order to grow, we have to do the same.

We are always thwarted by apparent comfort. For instance, when we are in a job that we dislike, at least it is a known entity. We may dislike the boss or the pay or the monotony, but at least it is a boss and pay and monotony we know.

I once knew a banker who had grown weary with banking. He was still a young man, so I asked him why he didn’t go ahead and make a change. He said that he was caught in golden handcuffs. He was very comfortable with the money, the position, and the prestige, and these ‘golden’ aspects of the job kept him ‘handcuffed’ to a profession that brought him little personal fulfillment.

He was trading the possibility of passion for the certainty of comfort.

Please don’t misunderstand me. Being comfortable is not a bad thing. The fact is, once you step out and commit to pursuing your passion, you will find a place that is more ‘comfortable’ than you could have imagined. The problem comes when we trade the possibility of true fulfillment for the assurance of easy sameness.

Pursuing this passion takes effort, and that’s where most people fail. They long for change; they dream of change. But they never do anything to change.

What do you want to be, do, or have?

What can you do to move closer to a life of passion?

What is the thing you are here to do, that thing that Coelho calls “your personal legend?”

In your heart, you know what gets you excited. You know what it is that you were meant to do.

Find that thing and vow to take a few small steps each day in the direction of your dreams.

Like Santiago, dare to look away from your “flock” and to move toward your “treasure.”

So, what do you want to be when you grow up?

Sounds a bit silly, doesn’t it? A child’s question. And we should be well past such things.

But I am not past it. Here at the ripe middle age of 53, I’m still wondering.

So I ask myself, “Buz, what do you want to be when you grow up”

And the honest answer comes to me: “I’m still not quite sure.”

You see, I’m no guru. I’m a searcher, just like you. I’m on a quest…a lifelong quest.

Reading Paulo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist, I have fallen in love with his phrase for it.

He calls it (what you want to be) your Personal Legend. I’ve been given glimpses into my Personal Legend. My quest has led me to work on Viral Happiness. It’s led to my writing two ebooks and filling notebooks with reams and reams of unpublished material.

But I long for my Legend to break forth into my psyche like a bright, guiding star. I want a beacon in my life. I long for clarity. Maybe you do, too.

One of the ways that I intend to encourage that breakthrough is to blog more and write more and (selectively) read more. Maybe you would like to join me.

You could start by reading The Alchemist. Offer a comment here or by email about your own personal journey. Let’s start a dialogue that may lead to a deeper realization of our Personal Legends.

Answering that question – What do you want to be when you grow up – is important business. Let’s start fresh giving it the time and effort it deserves.

We are imminently worth it.