There are lots of bones out there—the wish bone, the funny bone; but the most important bone is the backbone. This is the bone that gives you the stature to live out your dreams.
Charlie “Tremendous” Jones writes about the Three Decisions in Life in the bestselling motivational classic, Life Is Tremendous. They are: Who are you going to live your life with; what are you going to live your life in; and what are you going to live your life for?” Determining what you are going to live your life for takes some real soul-searching. You can step in and out of relationships and jobs without even trying to work at them or giving them much thought. Finding what you are going to live your life for, that one true passion that consumes every waking moment and fills your subconscious when you sleep, is truly tremendous.
The closest comparison humans have to a dog’s bone is their dreams and aspirations. No matter how long it’s been buried or left lying around, when you come back to it, it’s all good. You instantly recognize it. It may be a childhood dream or your perfect job. Always have a bone worth burying and worrying about. A bone whose taste and smell you can’t get out of your nose. A bone that you always go back to and value as your most prized possession.
My father would go days without sleeping when he was on the scent of a hot project. Who can sleep when you’ve got your passion coursing through your veins, making your heart beat stronger, keeping your mind firing with flashes of brilliance? That’s when you know you’re motivated, when sleep moves down the list of priorities. The result of finding your bone is ceaseless activity.
And if you’re still unclear about what your individual passion is, the activity of helping others realize theirs will put you on your own path to discovery. As Zig Ziglar put it, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.” So while you may not yet know exactly where your magical bone is buried, it doesn’t take much digging to sniff out many tremendous ways to help others.
