I still have permanent nerve damage that streams down the right side of my body. It feels exactly like when you run your cold hands under hot water. That numbing sensation is my right side all the time. It never stops. Each day I go to the gym and battle it. I get stronger every day, but my strength for continuing on is not to better myself, but knowing that bettering myself inspires other people to better themselves.

I don’t raise myself on any pedestal. If you think that you clearly do not know me. I work so hard and endlessly strengthen myself in an effort to help everyone I meet build their own pedestal to get them to a height they never imagined they could be. I know that each and every one of us can be there because, by all accounts, I never should be where I currently am…and where I am going to be 10 years from now will seem even more extraordinary.

Today is my anniversary and there is a deadline for an amazing, dare I say it, perfect job opportunity that ends today. The anniversary of my aneurysm is the deadline. Coincidence or something more? I know God exists. I saw angels when I was 3. I believe in fate and that everything happens for a reason. That’s the same honesty I put in my application.

I live my life for other people because helping others discover the meaning in their lives gives meaning to mine. Applying for this job, that is all for me. That is the one thing I will do for myself today. Everything else will be for my friends and others, the same way I live every day of my life.

Our pedestals can be constructed as high as we can possibly vision. As soon as you start pushing yourself, momentum carries you into continually building strength. Starting is the hardest part. The pain we feel when we start something new is the struggle of initially erecting our pedestal. Once that solid, huge base is planted, building off of it one inch at a time is as easy as taking a step…because literally that is all you are doing once you realize how far you can walk.

Build your pedestal…because you can. Everyone can. Why did I play baseball for 13 years? Why did I lose 65 pounds? WHY did I run 5 marathons? The answer is simple. Because I can. You can too. Don’t deny yourself the ability to live because it is in pushing yourself and growing that we find our reason to live.

Life is not about coasting through. It’s about the struggle to achieve. You attain life on that journey. You may not always reach the achievement you were reaching towards, but by simply reaching, and reaching fully, you will end up exactly where you are supposed to be.

Make an effort and life will give you what you are supposed to have. It’s only when you stop trying that you stop caring. It’s when we no longer care that life passes us by. You will only continually push when doubt does not exist in your mind. Just believe in yourself and everything you’ll want in life will be given to you…because you have earned it.

There is no way to properly end this post. I can’t. Life continues on and I still have so much left to accomplish. This is merely what I have learned thus far, which is so much more than I learned even last year. (Last year was my 21^st anniversary, so I was a little drunk this time last year.) Now my mind is clear and I know exactly where I want to be because life has shown me where I need to be by bringing me there. I was brought there because I never doubted my ability to progress.

My life is to share that with everyone and help others find and embark on the lifestyle I live instinctively now. I will only continue to grow, and with that growth I will only further discover the joy of living. I must have done something right in life thus far. Each year I grow up a little bit more and now life has gotten to a point where my growing up is fully dependent on how much I help other people grow and expand their lives.