Tease: The most fulfilling thing in the world to do with your life, the coolest thing, is not what most people think. This is the reason so many look back at a life that felt unfulfilling.
Tip 3:
If you master this next piece of my history you’ll position yourself for living a fulfilling life.
At age seven my world revolved around playing ice hockey. Every moment possible, I stretched, visualized and practiced.
Finally after almost 10 years I made it to the highest level of hockey in my city. I was one of two goalies for a team called the Wexford Raiders. I was playing with the best hockey players in my age group.
It was one thing to get there but another to stay here because every season you had to try-out again. 20 goalies were competing for only 2 spots. We were down to the last 3. After our final skate my coach called me out of the dressing room; “Oudi, follow me.” Have you ever tried to read the body language of someone in attempts to predict their verdict? I didn’t like the look on his face. “Oudi, I’m afraid I have to let you go son,” he said.
Ouch, that really hurt. Hockey was my life. But wait I’m no quitter. I had to do something.
Plan ‘a’; outwit him. “Coach you realize that I come around once in a lifetime; are you sure you want to do this to yourself?”
This didn’t work.
Plan ‘b’; give him my best baby face.
That didn’t work either.
“Oudi, it’s not the end of your career it’s the beginning, just keep practicing, next year you have a really good chance of coming back.”
All the teams in the league had signed their players, so no there was no chance of trying out for any other squad.
That year I didn’t play with the best hockey players of my age group, I played with my best friends, who were closer to the worst hockey players in my age group. But I must admit they were cool and fun to be around, maybe too much fun. They were into partying and everything that went with it.
One of my friends said, “Oudi you’re not going to stay home and stretch, visualize and practice again are you? Play with us.”
What he was saying was be cool like us, drink and smoke with us. I ended up putting what was important to them first. As a consequence, day after day, my skills got worse and worse. When tryouts rolled around the following year, I was too embarrassed to even try.
I never played competitive hockey again. I don’t blame my friends; I made the decision to give up on my dream of trying to be a professional hockey player. For years I couldn’t find anything that made me feel as alive as when I was playing hockey. In my first year at University, you could say my life hit rock bottom. Although I’m fine now, I was diagnosed with cancer. This was the biggest wake-up call ever!
One night my mom sat next to me on the couch, as I stared out the window. She said something that could completely change your life; “Son you will always be pulled in different directions in life by people who just want to be around you. But now it’s time to put first things first, you. Not your friends, you. Do what is important to you.”
Simple words, but very timely and very powerful.
Are you putting first things first? Or is what’s most inspiring to you not cool enough for someone else?
I have found that when you do what’s most fulfilling you take better care of yourself. You stop being reckless with yourself.
Finally I found my something just as fulfilling as hockey, studying and learning. This wasn’t cool enough for my friends either, but it was cool to me.
So now instead of saving pucks, I’m saving spines. Instead of being a professional hockey player I am a professional speaker and health professional.
So what do you need put in your life in order to be fulfilled? It’s simple. You need to put first things first, you, your dream, your priorities. That’s the coolest thing you’ll ever do with your life, is to commit to going full speed and full force going after the inspired results that matter most to YOU.