At age 3, I learned what it was like to be an older brother by little Marshall being born.
At 6, I learned to read and quite frankly have never stopped.
At 12, I learned what cliques were and that neither of us really ever cared for one another.
At 15, I learned what it meant to move away and have a fresh new start in a brand new high school.
At 18, I learned how to run a 1 Hour Photo lab and guarantee myself work by learning special skills.
At 21, I learned how to sew, so I could get a job that surprisingly has become my purpose and passion.
At 24, I learned the difference between what a leader and boss were.
At 25, well quite frankly, that chapter is still being written.
I say these things all because this weekend a friend asked me what bit of wisdom I would share with them from the past 25 years and I kind of blanked and came up with a very surface answer. I kept thinking about it all weekend though, if I had one cup of coffee with you and that was it, what would be the one thing I would give you to take away from me?
It is simple: Love and Invest in People.
I am by no means an expert or perfect example in this field but I am willing to say the one thing I would want people to take away from my life, this past quarter of a century, is that I love and cherished people. I look at my friendships and think, "Wow I am one lucky guy," but in all honesty we are just hard working friends. We make a point to see one another, keep up, lift one another up and laugh with each other. We stick through the rough patched because we know the good times ahead are worth so much more than a slight road bump. Those friends though, you know the ones, who jumped ship the second there was a problem or a hardship but came back as soon as it was smooth sailing, yeah, sorry to be the one to tell you this but they are not your friends. Those people who continually "edify" or "help" you every time you hang out by telling you to change yourself or belittle you, get them out of your life. The people who matter most, the people you need to be investing and loving in are the ones you can talk to and know you're being listened to and not just heard, the ones who call you as much as you call them, those are the people you need to invest in. I find myself kind of burnt out on trying to please new people at this stage when we're first meeting, so I've stopped the facades and started just being me 100% of the time. No flashy titles, no talking about myself in a haughty way, I'm just me, T.C. and I'm here to be your friend if you like me. It all boils down to this: If you want a healthy life, start with yourself and then everything else that you do, the people you meet, the friends that you make will be a whole part of you.
In closing I repeat, I am not an expert, but just a 25 year old sharing thoughts from his 6 hours in the car this weekend. I hope in some way this bit of my life can encourage you to invest and love people because without doing that life can get very lonely. Invest, love, live, fellowship.
Until next time by faithful blog readers I leave you with my mantra for 25:
"You are enough, You are so enough, It is unbelievable how enough you are."
-Sierra Boggess
Blessings,
TC
Until next time by faithful blog readers I leave you with my mantra for 25:
"You are enough, You are so enough, It is unbelievable how enough you are."
-Sierra Boggess
Blessings,
TC
