Riders Of The Storm.
“Gather ‘round, everyone…
The queen has charged me with the arduous task of setting out to seek new lands and new places for our nation to build. Now, I don’t know what’s out there — I only know that it will be an adventure…
The road is dark and rife with peril, but in the end, who else can say that they died knowing that their life stood for something? If we succeed, we come back with a great boon for our civilization; if we fail, we don’t come back at all.
So, who’s with me?”
After much deliberation echoing from the crowd, a man stepped forward, “I’m with you! What else is there in life if not for adventure?”
Time passed and another man decided to push his friend forward, “Did you not say that you always wanted to travel the world? Now here's your chance!” “Yes, but I have much to do at home, and a sickly father to look after. If it weren’t for him, I would go. I can’t go…”
Another man suddenly bellowed, “If there are riches to be had, I’m in!”
And yet another, “I’ve never seen anything beyond my own village, it will be good to experience something new.”
As the town hall began to wind down and the spectators had made their final decisions on whether or not they would go, a man decidedly chimed in as the crowds started to disperse, “SCREW IT, I'm in! I’ve just got something to settle up here at home, but I’ll catch up with you guys when I’m done.” “With what sails?” another man laughed to himself aside.
A few days later, the captain and his newly formed crew were headed off. En route to the docks, the same crowd from before had gathered around them to wish them all good luck, “You guys are amazing! We know you’ll find something great out there!”
A dissenter in the crowd whispered to himself, “Dead men, all of them...”
The captain looked around at the massive crowd and turned to his closest crew member and said, “They all talk, but in the end, we are the ones who they will be writing the history books about…"
And with that, they were off.
So, which one in the story were you?
We each get tasked with greatness in our day to day — whether it be finding a new job, pursuing a new career, admitting to someone that we were wrong, or moving out West to follow our dreams.
The goals may vary, but the hardship is one and the same. Who is going to risk it all, who is going to say that they had, and who is going to die wistfully longing for a life that they wished they had lived?
Be the change you seek, for the change always starts with you. We all want to be lions, but very few of us are capable of handling the pride.
—so, chase your dreams; because in the end, no one else is going to be there chasing them for you.