Don't stop until you're proud.

 The spectacular Ayn Rand wrote, in Atlas Shrugged, a novel I've read only once in my life:

“Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swamps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach. The world you desire can be won. It exists.. it is real.. it is possible.. it's yours.”

This was my life motto for the ensuing years; I read Atlas Shrugged while in the UK in 2008/2009 and I had that extract printed and taped to my monitor at work after that; I read it many times a day. Life took a turn for the busy sometime around 2015 and I got lost in many things, avoiding dealing with my mental and physical health and most aspects of personal growth. 

This morning, fresh into the new year of 2022, I started listening The 5AM Club by Robin Sharma, on Audible. (I was not up at 5am to do so, that's the blessing of my commute.) That Ayn Rand quote was the opening to Chapter 2. I had to rewind and listen again. Shocked in myself that I had forgotten the words that for so long, were etched into my mind so much that I could recite them on a whim. 

I had totally forgotten what they meant, and how my lonely soul was yearning for the life I deserved. I say this relative to a career and being part of the waged community, noting again I was driving to a job that ticks many desirable boxes, in a company that, for the most part, is very good to me. 

Yet, I am on the verge of a massive, disruptive change in my career - one that will change my life forever. 

I am petrified. 

I am also giddy with excitement. I finally get to do whatever it is I want to do. 

I get to choose. 

The world I desire is on my doorstep - and with no illusion about the difficulty and hardships that are sure to lie ahead, I can't wait to open that door.

Let's go.