“…One of the greatest tragedies is living your life with the belief that yesterday was too much, today is good enough, and tomorrow is going to be better. There is no tomorrow. I know that sounds like an unreasonable statement, but I don’t want to go to sleep anymore thinking that I will do it tomorrow. There might not be a tomorrow. Seriously though, I feel like we take for granted the fact that we will wake up the next day. This isn’t the case for a lot of people around the world. So how can I every single day get the most out of my life? I think just attacking my plan with a passion and purpose will get me to a successful end of the day…”
…A better man for me is someone who does not settle for the way the world is, who seeks to make it better with his voice, and constantly looks at himself in the mirror diving into his soul-searching for how he can improve…
…There it is. That is the summation of this whole project. Every single day of my life I dive into it and use it as a learning experience. I kid you not when I really truly lay down on my bed at the end of the day and think about what I went through that day and what I did with my life. One of my favorite songs is Against the Grain by City and Colour. I listen to this song a lot because it really calms me down at the end of the day and it puts me in a good place mentally. The message is you must follow your heart no matter what. I find this to be exceedingly difficult in a society where acting on your heart is rare and almost looked down upon. In just looking back on what has happened throughout today, I realized this: I am going to make mistakes, I am going to say and do the wrong things, but they are coming from a good place. What I mean is that I can honestly tell you that my intentions recently have all been coming from the heart. Whether it is communicating with someone who I haven’t talked to in a long time or smiling at someone passing by. My heart is amazingly full and bursting with dreams and love. There is no proper way to end this post, so I am going to end it with one of my favorite quotes…
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. – Eleanor Roosevelt”
Thank you Evan @ The Better Man Project
Live & Learn 
This is so great!
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Like you posts David. As someone with a philosophical bent and concern with ethics, I’ve always been a bit, well, cerebral. I’m adapting a slightly more intuative approach latly, and find I’m spending more time reflecting, rather than just worrying. I don’t always get things right, but as long as I’m trying – and paying attention – I’ve stopped giving myself a hard time about it. Cheers!
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Hi Chris. I took a peak at your bio. A self described “trailer park kid from Minnesota who moved around a lot and never called anywhere home…having no culture of your own, so you borrow…someone who will never make anything of himself because he’s too damned concerned about doing the right thing.” Someone who reads Haruki Murakami. Someone who has “The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy” in their Blog Roll. We should all draft in your wake…Thanks for visiting and sharing your comments. Dave
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Dave,
Will have to check out Against the Grain by City and Colour. I am reminded by your post of a sticker atop a full length mirror mounted on the landing at the crest of the steps in our headquarters building at Fort Benning. You saw it (the sticker), and a full image of yourself when you crested the steps. It read: “How do you look today?” Yes, there was the surface elements of one’s “A” line, creases, and shine on the boots, but I always read it as more. “Who are you and what will you be today?” was the question it asked me. It was not a self-affirming question, more of a challenge. I have kept it with me ever since. Its a delicate balance indeed between self-acceptance and self-improvement. Ultimately, my process at least, is ask the question and do my level best to answer it through my thoughts and actions each day.
Also, as cheesy as it may sound, Bon Jovi’s “Stick to Your Guns” was my daily mantra for many years. It spoke to a small town kid from Missouri with dreams that outstripped his means.
Thanks again for your constant discipline and dedication to this blog.
Len
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“Who are you and what will you be today?” Love this mantra Len. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Dave
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Love that you posted this! Great inspiration. Thanks for liking my post, I am truly grateful.
Peace and love,
Tammy
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