Wrecked is one of those books that can change you, if you let it. I’d go as far as say it’s a must read.
The message within it’s pages is quite literally the opposite of the way our culture lives. As the book starts making you uncomfortable, you begin to understand why – it is speaking directly to the heart of humanity:
I want to begin by saying that Wrecked is a gift. An invitation to a better, more purposeful life. As I was turning the pages I could envision my journey to where God has brought me, and was compelled to commit and endure more than ever.
For our generation and the one coming after us, I think Jeff has done a rare thing – put out the right book for the right time.
This past week I found myself to be very busy. At the end of the week I noticed there was much I set out to do that didn’t get touched – like write a couple posts for The Adventure. There were also trivial things off my radar that consumed mass quantities of time.
I was perpetually working on something, but not accomplishing anything.
It brought back to mind what one of my mentors calls The Law of Limited Focus.
Is your courage showing in your life and art?
Well… is it?
Please leave your thoughts in the comments.
I just wrapped up three decades on this big blue ball hurtling through space. Crazy, I know. Actually comprehending that sentence propelled me on an introspective journey that I’m going to share with you. Here we go.
You know what I’m talking about.
You’ve been hard at work on a project, a hobby, or even a dream. You’ve reached that “point of no return” moment and you feel unsure, anxious.
There is a reason that Reset and Power are different buttons.
Is it good enough?
Will people like it?
Will people hate it?
Will I be criticized?
Is it worth it?
And in that moment you panic and hit Reset. You decide to move on, to do something better, to start over in hopes of being perfect.
It’s December, though you wouldn’t know it here in North Carolina until you see all the Christmas decorations. The snow-blanketed Christmases of my youth have been replaced by sunny and 50ºF. I’m not complaining. For my family (wife, dog, me) December means travel time — preparation, planning, packing, and I’m sure a whole host of other things beginning with a “p.”
This year I found myself reflecting on my trip home last December. It wasn’t monumental or life-changing, but a few days after I returned to Carolina I felt compelled to write a list of things I learned during the trip home. Some of them were real-world reinforcements of the blatantly obvious, some were things I knew but didn’t know, some hit me like a ton of bricks. All were poignant. Today I share that list with you.
We all get to a point where we keep doing what we are doing, largely because it is what we have been doing (insanity!). It’s habit, it’s ritual, it’s even escapism because it feels easy and safe. Then comes your moment of reckoning — is this what you envisioned? Are you truly creating art, or just adding to the noise on the internet? Are you using your gifts and uniqueness, or suppressing them to conform to a perceived standard?
Once you have asked these questions, there is no going back. You can try, but it will remain in the back of your mind creating discontent until you reach the point where you give in to what is scary, but right. Here’s what I’ve been wrestling with recently:
