She’s 11 and knows where she’s going…do you?

Emma, my 11 year old, has been busy working on an assignment for school.  She has had to gather a variety of quotes and write her thoughts about each of them over the last few weeks. It is a project that has kept her busy and engaged for days on end – writing, drawing and reviewing.  Tonight she brought me one of her pages to edit, little did I know her words would have such an impact on me – but most assuredly they did .  She had chosen the lyric below from the song “There’s a World Out There” by Paul Brandt and had decided to write a short paragraph about it for one of her quotes.

“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”

Here is exactly what her short paragraph said about the above lyric.

This quote is from Paul Brandt’s song There’s a World Out There.  It means that you have a life; live it to the fullest. No one can tell you what to do or where to go in life.  If you want to be a rock star but your Mom wants you to be a scientist she can’t tell you to be something that you don’t want to be.  Be a rock star.  Be anything you want to be.  No one can tell you what to do.  It’s like the quote “Don’t follow the trail, make your own.”  In my life I try to lead others.  I try to stand out and not copy others.

Parents often want many things for their children as they grow.  They want the very best for them.  They hope that their children will grow to be successful and productive citizens of the world. Too often though, many parents believe that financial or career successes will ensure happiness and wellbeing for life. Often they set their children on the paths that they believe will be the best; the most successful. They expect their children to become something or someone that they are not. Unfortunately, the results of this type of parenting almost never leads to a happily-ever-after ending in life.

Today,  I look around and see many adults who have made decisions about the direction of their lives in order to please others.  I see people who struggle with what their day to day realities have come to represent.  I see too many people who are simply going through the motions, day in and day out. I see unhappiness and people who are honestly lost in their lives.

Maybe it is for some of these reasons or situations that The Top 10 Ways to Start Living Your Life is perhaps one of the most popular posts ever written by Liz Strauss, Founder of SOBCon and GeniusShared. Maybe this is also why people who read Julien Smith’s The Flinch are both scared and invigorated at the same time.  I think it even explains why AJ & Melissa Leon, who have truly chosen to live life according to their hearts, totally stand out head and shoulders above the crowd. People are attracted to others who know exactly what they stand for and where they are going.

The exciting news is that for all of the misdirected people that I meet, I also see others who have come to recognize that life is actually better when lived according to one’s own values, beliefs and desires. I watch people who are clearly trying to readjust themselves for whatever time they have left on this earth; because at last they have come to understand that they must be true to themselves.  How wonderful it is when someone is able to totally align their heart with their actions and find their own true north. It is something to celebrate when a person becomes who they have always wanted to be.  The power of authenticity to self can never be underestimated.

So after reading Emma’s paragraph tonight, I realize that can I allow myself a moment to celebrate.  I can be thankful that the investments which @bobhcc and I have put into parenting Emma Boyd thus far are perhaps paying off.  Luckily, we might just be doing something right. I am truly assured that my 11 year old daughter honestly believes that she can follow her heart, speak with her own voice and chart her own path in life.  I believe that there is no greater gift that we can give to her or she to us.  My fingers are crossed that she will carry this forward with her every day, forever.  If she can, she will have a rich and wonderful life that she will be happy with.

Who are you living your life for?  Do you know where you are going?