"We all have two lives, and the second one begins when we realize we only have one." -Confucius
As humans, we are all faced with a monumental decision every day.
Which door do I enter today?
Door number 1 or Door number 2?
These two doors are so exponentially different that they lead to two entirely different paths.
Let me correct that, they lead to two entirely different people who live two entirely different lives.
Those two doors symbolize the following:
Our current life
Our unlived life.
Door number one reveals our current life.
A predictable life that delivers a solid dose of safety, comfort, and certainty. Leaving little to the imagination.
Door number 2 is our unlived life.
An unpredictable rollercoaster that gives you an equal plate of suffering, uncertainty, and sacrifice. Truth be told, it guarantees nothing in return.
Every second you are alive, you have the choice to enter door number one or door number two.
Neither of them closes forever unless you decide to swallow the key.
Sadly, most people still have the key of door number 2 sitting in the pit of their stomach as they sit nice and warm with door number 1 locked behind them.
The choice between these two options looks obvious to most.
It's door number one hands down. Right?
After all, this is where the majority of the world sits. Hanging around in a nice little hot tub with the water at a perfect temperature of 100 degrees. Not too cold, not too hot. It's exactly how they want it. And if it feels just a little uncomfortable, they can step out of the jacuzzi and change the dial.
But I challenge you to look deeper. At least entertain the thought of Door number 2.
But why would anyone choose a life that embraces pain without the absolute guarantee of pleasure?
Because if chosen, the unlived life will give you something that is beyond measure or understanding. "The second life will transform you into the person you are truly meant to become."
Now, by opening the second door, you may experience mind-numbing trauma and extreme self-doubt. But it will only be temporary.
If you stay long enough in this uncertain world, it will eventually lead to your ideal archetype.
You will achieve the trinity of Self-Reliance, Self-Transformation, and Self-Mastery. Reaching the highest version of self. The pinnacle of your potential. Possessing a gift so sacred that only you can share it with the world. A unique specimen that maximized all of its powers.
Just maximizing your God gifts alone will make you a great white amidst a sea of mediocrity. A true "Rare Breed."
Sadly, most people retreat the second they see unchartered waters. They immediately shut door number 2 and dart back through door number one blindly.
Jumping head first back into shallows of comfort and stagnancy. The "Just another day" lifestyle.
They even go as far as to barricade themselves from ever going back to the second door. Draping it with heavy chains, triple locks, and a huge "Do not enter" sign graffitied across the front. The red paint is so prominent you can see it bleed down towards the bottom of the floor.
Little do they know, the second life they turned their back on would force them to acquire skills that they once thought were unattainable, gain wisdom they once thought was once unfathomable, and achieve feats they once thought were unreachable.
But they never make that break through. They enter that new dimension.
But it all starts with opening the second door to that second life.
Swimming towards the unchartered waters.
Sadly, the life we truly deserve is often the life we ignore.
Instead, we choose to live in quiet desperation as Henry Thorough said so eloquently.
Telling our unique genius to be silent like a harsh 3rd-grade teacher would tell a toddler to sit in time out and face the corner after scribbling outside the lines.
We have so many moments when we tell our genius to stay between the lines, instead of letting it run free. Allowing it "Shake up the world" like Muhammad Ali.
But the life we deserve will require a twisted affinity with suffering and a healthy relationship with pain.
As they say, "Make pain your best friend and you will never be alone."
But most are not willing to endure the pain. Most of us are not willing to suffer.
Suffer through the failures.
Suffer through the humiliation.
Suffer through the discipline.
Suffer through the criticism.
These are probably the only things the second life can guarantee.
But this suffering is only temporary. It will not last forever unless you make the foolish decision to tolerate that unnecessary abuse.
Most importantly, the person who walks through that second door is the one we respect most.
It's the person we would follow through the ugliest storm.
The person we would look to for guidance if we felt lost.
Why would we not want to meet this person?
This is the person we would become if we chose the second life.
And yet, it is still not enough to choose "door number 2."
Door number 1 is just a little too cozy. Door number 2 is just a little too risky.
For most, the reward of the second life isn't worth the temporary pain.
This second door will require a rebirth.
Remember, we will die many times before reaching our heaven.
Constantly refining and reinventing ourselves.
Killing who we used to be to make room for who we should become.
Creating greatness with our bare hands like an artist shaping a raw slab of clay, a musician wielding an unused instrument, a writer spilling his soul onto a blank page, or an entrepreneur scribbling their vision on a notepad.
Why are we are not willing to create ourselves to take on that second life head-on?
I truly believe that if you haven't received something in life, it's because of one of two things.
You haven't earned it.
You are chasing the wrong path.
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